Weight gain after quitting citalopram / celexa?

amdavies
amdavies Posts: 24 Member
edited November 29 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all
I am looking to see if anyone has had the same experience with citalopram as me. I took it for anxiety for 8 months and then slowly weaned off over the summer. My weight was steady while I was on it but I have had a weight gain creep since I came off of about 1-2lbs a month. I have now gained 11lbs.
I have been carefully tracking my calories and I am currently training for a marathon so I know that is not the problem. I have 5 dresses that I bought last year that won't come close to zipping up!
I have decided to try 5-htp in case it is a problem with my serotonin levels.
I would love to hear if anyone has had similar issues, especially if they have been able to start losing weight again.
Thanks!

Replies

  • mrtastybutt
    mrtastybutt Posts: 87 Member
    Celexa was always weight neutral for me. On or off. I take 40 mg currently. I take it for both anxiety and depression. I've taken it on and off over a period of about seven years. I used to only take 20 mg but for the past two years it's been at 40 mg.
  • amdavies
    amdavies Posts: 24 Member
    I know it is different for different people. Mine is definitely riggers by coming off. I tapered off from May to July. By the end of July I was up by 4lbs. As I am usually a stable 120 lbs this was quite noticeable. I read a bit about people gaining weight when they come off so I popped one of my left over pills and over night lost 3lbs! Obviously I want to stay off the pills, but the weight gain is really getting me down and I don't want to buy a new wardrobe!
  • HilaryK8
    HilaryK8 Posts: 1 Member
    It has been a long time since I have taken Celexa but I remember ballooning up after quitting it and then finally stabilizing after 3 months or so. Have you tried Lexapro? It's supposed to be better if you're trying to lose weight.
  • amdavies
    amdavies Posts: 24 Member
    Thanks Hilary. Did you lose the weight after ballooning? I don't need to be on medication currently, I was on it in response to huge stress and anxiety from my previous job but have left to improve my work/life balance.
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