Keeping weight off while on Selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (i.e., Lexapro, Celexa, Zoloft)

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  • petstorekitty
    petstorekitty Posts: 592 Member
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    Hi Esanata! Sometimes being on these meds directly or indirectly attribute to weight gain. I was only on Lexapro for a few weeks and *things* stopped working so I switched, but I was on depakote for 3 months and gained ~12lbs in the first month. I only managed to maintain by super dieting and constant exercise.
    Celexa had no affect on weight but also made *things* not work so I dropped that.
    I have known others who had more success with weight loss once off Lexapro.
    I was switched to Latuda about 1.5 years ago and I did not gain on it.

    When it comes to taking ANY medication, be mindful of as much as possible so you can appropriately tell your doctors how they are affecting you. Feedback is so important and it's not helpful if it's not accurate.
    Grab an app for your phone and track mood, weight, bloat, hunger, sex drive, freak outs, activities, exercise, etc, etc.
    Eventually you will see a pattern. Try not to worry about weight gain before it happens, Good luck!
  • coreyreichle
    coreyreichle Posts: 1,039 Member
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    ksenya03 wrote: »
    Not changing diet or routine I gained 40lbs in 6 months on Lexapro. I talked to my doctor about it. My doctor was skeptical it was the medication (apparently weight loss is more common) but after running tests to rule out other issues switched me to a different medication. In the first 4 months after the switch I lost 20lbs, once again not changing much about diet or exercise. I've had to make changes since then to continue losing weight but for me changing the medication made a huge difference, not only to my weight by also to general mood. Not sure if it was directly the medication or issues surrounding my diagnosis that causes the weight gain/loss. On my new medication I have less stress and a lot more energy, which makes it easier to adhere to the changes I need to maintain for my health.

    I would be skeptical too. Something changed: You either ate more, or were less active.
  • coreyreichle
    coreyreichle Posts: 1,039 Member
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    IrishHarpy1 wrote: »
    coreyreichle wrote: »
    esanata wrote: »
    Hello MFP community. For those to whom this applies to, how do you keep the weight off while on seratonin inhibitors (i.e., Lexapro, Celexa, Zoloft) - these are a kind of antidepressant.
    I've found that the medicine is attributed to weight gain, and no matter the calorie counting or consistent work outs, I still can't manage to keep the weight off. Anyone else out there have similar experiences? What do you do about it? I'm 5'5", at 145lbs. I'm a size 8 and my goal is to lose at lease one pant size! :)
    Thanks!

    Log your food. Eat below caloric goal. No weight will be added. It's like science, or something!

    If only it were that simple. I did all of the above - and still managed to pack on 15 pounds over the course of 7 months on Zoloft, and that's after 3 years of perfect maintenance. Nothing else changed... weighed/measured everything, exercised daily, no other changes other than the introduction of the medication. Sertraline can cause metabolic changes that affect the body's ability to use/absorb calories in a small percentage of the population, and it appears that I got lumped into the lucky few. I've been off the medication for 5 weeks, and managed to lose 5 pounds off the gain by changing nothing but stopping the meds.



    It is that simple. Science, it works. You must eat at, or below, your TDEE to maintain/lose weight. It's pure science.
  • IrishHarpy1
    IrishHarpy1 Posts: 399 Member
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    coreyreichle wrote: »
    IrishHarpy1 wrote: »
    coreyreichle wrote: »
    esanata wrote: »
    Hello MFP community. For those to whom this applies to, how do you keep the weight off while on seratonin inhibitors (i.e., Lexapro, Celexa, Zoloft) - these are a kind of antidepressant.
    I've found that the medicine is attributed to weight gain, and no matter the calorie counting or consistent work outs, I still can't manage to keep the weight off. Anyone else out there have similar experiences? What do you do about it? I'm 5'5", at 145lbs. I'm a size 8 and my goal is to lose at lease one pant size! :)
    Thanks!

    Log your food. Eat below caloric goal. No weight will be added. It's like science, or something!

    If only it were that simple. I did all of the above - and still managed to pack on 15 pounds over the course of 7 months on Zoloft, and that's after 3 years of perfect maintenance. Nothing else changed... weighed/measured everything, exercised daily, no other changes other than the introduction of the medication. Sertraline can cause metabolic changes that affect the body's ability to use/absorb calories in a small percentage of the population, and it appears that I got lumped into the lucky few. I've been off the medication for 5 weeks, and managed to lose 5 pounds off the gain by changing nothing but stopping the meds.



    It is that simple. Science, it works. You must eat at, or below, your TDEE to maintain/lose weight. It's pure science.

    Not sure if you caught the part about NOTHING changing except the meds...
  • denversillygoose
    denversillygoose Posts: 708 Member
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    My medication has not affected my weight whatsoever. When I asked my doctor (prescribing physician) if it might affect me, she pretty much rolled her eyes and said only if I overeat.
  • tag624
    tag624 Posts: 166 Member
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    I am on Lexapro and have lost about 75 lbs....not because of the meds because I changed my outlook on food, I workout and log my food, like others say, if you don't overeat then it shouldn't affect your weight.
  • Dekayla13
    Dekayla13 Posts: 64 Member
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    I'm not a doctor by any means but to say that it's "pure science" why someone's gaining or losing weight on medication is kind of harsh. I mean every body is different. I was on Lexapro, it's supposed to HELP with depression but it made me almost kill myself. Every person's body is different and just because it will normally effect people a certain way doesn't mean that it will be true in every case.
  • jennalennafur
    jennalennafur Posts: 80 Member
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    I'm on some kind of generic zoloft and if anything, it's keeping my mood up and helping me feel motivated to work out more.

    But My doctor also said weight gain loss isn't a side effect of the medicin.
  • sleepymom5
    sleepymom5 Posts: 2,454 Member
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    This topic showed up on my page and I have a daughter (teen) who is now being treated medically for anxiety. She is on her third try with medication and it seems to be working(had allergic reaction to the other 2). I never said anything to her but she struggles with her weight and I was afraid this will be a problem with her. So far, so good but I felt relief reading everyones response here and have a better understanding of what can happen. Thanks to all of you for responding to this question! And thanks to the original poster too!
  • mollyjjames
    mollyjjames Posts: 3 Member
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    Hi Luvox is an SSRI that is specifically supposed to help people with eating disorders (not that you have one) so it doesn't have the side effects of weight gain.
  • austinsneeze
    austinsneeze Posts: 222 Member
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    I'm on wellbutrin, which is an appetite suppressant as well as an anti-depressant. I definitely haven't gained weight because of the pill.
  • Libertysfate
    Libertysfate Posts: 452 Member
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    I was on Celexa...put one some weight. Now I'm on Prozac.
  • Quasita
    Quasita Posts: 1,530 Member
    edited September 2016
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    The thing that happens with most of these medications is that they can limit impulse control, while increasing fatigue. In very high doses, most SSRIs and SNRIs are actually indicated for weight loss, and most of the "new" weight loss prescription medications are a mixture of high dose medications in these classes for this very reason. They are indicated for weight loss because high doses of these medications basically "numb out" the hunger impulse in the brain... much like phentermine does, but without the amphetamine kick.

    When you use a term like "impulse control" people often think that, it means things like doing crazy stuff, but it can also mean blind eating/grazing, difficulty holding to routines, things like that. In some rare cases, the thyroid levels, kidney and liver function, and the guts are influenced and thus, can contribute to digestion and absorption issues, but the medication alone is unlikely to cause significant weight gain. IF they cause weight gain, it's likely 5-10lbs of water weight as you adjust to introduction to and increases of the medication, and will mitigate over time as long as you hold to healthy eating habits and adequately hydrate.

    The important thing about making sure you keep the weight levels in check is not relying on impulse alone to tell you when you are hungry, when you need to eat, and what you should eat. You have to let logic rule first, particularly if you notice that you might be having issues with impulse.
  • beginforthelasttime16
    beginforthelasttime16 Posts: 533 Member
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    I'm on Lexapro and I've only had a gain once since starting it... That was because I accidentally missed a dose and spent a whole day stressed out and stuffing my face before I realized what had happened and why I was behaving the way I was. Since getting back on track, I haven't experienced any crazy hunger pains or continued the gain. So now, all I can do is make better choices and relose the weight I binged. :#
  • mrspinky85
    mrspinky85 Posts: 79 Member
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    For me, I think if I take it in the middle of the day the drowsiness I feel from Zoloft doesn't hit me when I eat breakfast and lunch. I just now figured this out that I was eating too much carbs and sugar because my medicine combination was causing me some serious depletion in energy. Now, that I know (from taking it late by mistake) that if I wait a few hours to take zoloft, I am not chowing down on as much. If I do have a bad day, I usually have had a few good days that makes it okay. I haven't added exercise back in just yet to see how it goes. I am just kind of excited seeing my numbers headed down.
  • xWondertje
    xWondertje Posts: 65 Member
    edited September 2016
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    IrishHarpy1 wrote: »
    Not sure if you caught the part about NOTHING changing except the meds...

    Your TDEE changed due to the medicine, so you ate too much and thus gained weight. It really is that simple. You just need to keep an eye out for what the medicine might do to your metabolism, and make sure it doesn't change or that you adapt to it in order to stay at the same weight.
  • adopt4
    adopt4 Posts: 970 Member
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    A couple of things here. First of all, meds do change your body and you can gain weight without changing anything else. Hate to disagree with the majority here, but they simply haven't done their research on this. Not all doctors are informed. It can change your metabolism, slowing it down, making you burn less during exercise and even though you are doing the same things, you burn less and therefore - might gain weight. That being said, there might be truth to the other things people are saying as well. It's a well known side effect of those drugs that people gain weight. Not necessarily from sitting down and eating a package of Oreos a day, either, I'm talking normally skinny people pack on the weight. If the medication doesn't work for you, try another. If it works and this is the ONLY side effect, then it might be worth examining your diet closer, working on eating foods that boost your metabolism, working on changing your eating/exercising schedule, etc. But if the side effects are not worth it, there are lots of those on the market for you to try. (If you were a stress binge eater and went on one of these and lost weight, especially a lot of weight, it's can be because they stopped binge eating or stress eating. Or, their body system is such that the drug doesn't affect them adversely in that way).
  • sara_b0702
    sara_b0702 Posts: 21 Member
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    Definitely talk to your doctor about your problems losing weight.

    I was on Zoloft for about a year and a half - I found it hard to lose weight but part of that can be contributed to the fact that it wasn't as effective for me after awhile, so my depression was probably the primary factor there.

    I'm on bupropion, or Wellbutrin, now - it's an NDRI. It has a greater effect on norepinephrine than on dopamine, which is different from what SSRIs do, and definitely works better for me in terms of treating my depression. Now that I'm re-committing to weight loss and healthy eating, I find it easier to resist the temptation to emotionally eat or binge than I did when I was on Zoloft.

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