Anxiety Medication

jordanqu
jordanqu Posts: 1 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I take anxiety medication which causes weight gain. I have decided to work harder to lose weight without going off my meds, which would not be a good idea. Has anyone on anxiety meds had any success in losing weight while taking the meds?

Replies

  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    My brother takes mood stabilizers and antipsychotics known to cause an increase in appetite. When he was in a hospital setting, he gained weight while eating hospital food and not getting much exercise. Now that he is home, eating Mom's cooking, helping her with extensive yard work, and walking several miles per day, he lost all the weight he gained in the hospital and has maintained a healthy weight for over three years.

    He doesn't count calories. He does eat lots of whole foods - fruits, veggies, legumes, whole grains, etc. There's very little, if any, junk food in the house.
  • fr33sia12
    fr33sia12 Posts: 1,258 Member
    I'm on fluoxetine which first off made me feel nauseous so could hardly eat and lost 7lb in a week. I put it back on after a couple of weeks when the side effects wore off and am fine now. I haven't noticed any increased appetite which some people do experience.
  • puffbrat
    puffbrat Posts: 2,806 Member
    I take a mood stabilizer and it has had no effect on my weight loss.
  • srsx1
    srsx1 Posts: 1 Member
    I 'm on medication as long as I remember. I started with Prozac but, I stopped taken it when I found myself gained a lot of weight, from size 6 to size 14- I was able to slim down big time by walking or jogging, daily. few years later, I was put back on medication but this time on Sarafem, than Fluoxetine when I noticed that my weight increased I asked my Dr for the best medicine that would help me out in losing weight, bupropion was her answer ..indeed I stopped gaining weight but - I try to walk .. for an hour or so daily - ..as walking outside or do any kind of kind of activity lessen my depression. Hope that would help you out a little in answering your question.
  • missiontofitness
    missiontofitness Posts: 4,059 Member
    Medications can often have side effects that lead to increased appetite for some. You absolutely should not go off your meds without doctor supervision (so good for you for recognizing that now!). Focus now on managing your appetite; I find that logging my food (and pre-logging for the next day) helps me keep on track and keep the snacking at bay.
  • vetvicki
    vetvicki Posts: 62 Member
    I'm on Fluoxetine and it hasn't affected my weight or appetite.
  • lizziequek
    lizziequek Posts: 1,373 Member
    i was on fluoxetine & it didnt make me gain weight , I lost , but when i was put on a tranquiller , it made me put on over 15 pounds & I ended up heavier than I've ever been in my life ! Thaf really upset me as I had a very very good figure & did lots of exercise. I stopped taking it myself in 2 months ago & do acupunctuure & yoga instead . Have already lost 5 pounds & aiming to lose the other 10 by end February / mid March.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    edited January 2019
    srsx1 wrote: »
    I 'm on medication as long as I remember. I started with Prozac but, I stopped taken it when I found myself gained a lot of weight, from size 6 to size 14- I was able to slim down big time by walking or jogging, daily. few years later, I was put back on medication but this time on Sarafem, than Fluoxetine when I noticed that my weight increased I asked my Dr for the best medicine that would help me out in losing weight, bupropion was her answer ..indeed I stopped gaining weight but - I try to walk .. for an hour or so daily - ..as walking outside or do any kind of kind of activity lessen my depression. Hope that would help you out a little in answering your question.

    Yep, I started with Prozac which gave me anxiety attacks. The doctor then prescribed Trazodone on top of the Prozac, and this made me feel hungover in the AM. I cycled through Zoloft and some others before also finding Bupropion (Wellbutrin/Zyban), which does not appear to have any bad side effects for me.

    It's a tiny bit speedy, which I find helpful, as depression makes me prone to lethargy. The extra boost from the Bupropion helps get me outside - exercising outside is the most useful thing I do for depression and anxiety.
  • mph323
    mph323 Posts: 3,565 Member
    Dilvish wrote: »
    Regular exercise and healthy diet are excellent prescriptions for anxiety/depression.

    One important point: Cut out refined sugar/carbs. It has been medically proven that removing sugar (in all it's forms) can reverse some mental health issues like ADD and others.

    Do you drink soda pop (even diet)? Cut it out. Eat packaged snacks and foods? Cut them out!

    If you crave sugar, eat some fruit. If you crave it in a drink, have a watered down portion of an unsweetened juice. I personally love pomegranate juice and mix a mere 1/4 cup with 2 3/4 cups of water and sip it through the day.

    Can you provide the source for this nonsense?

    OP, just ignore this - there's no credible research to back up any of it, and trying to adhere to random restrictions like this will just add to your anxiety. Eat what suits you and provides adequate nutrition. In my limited experience, increased appetite issues go away once you get accustomed to the meds.
  • aokoye
    aokoye Posts: 3,495 Member
    Dilvish wrote: »
    Regular exercise and healthy diet are excellent prescriptions for anxiety/depression.

    One important point: Cut out refined sugar/carbs. It has been medically proven that removing sugar (in all it's forms) can reverse some mental health issues like ADD and others.

    Do you drink soda pop (even diet)? Cut it out. Eat packaged snacks and foods? Cut them out!

    If you crave sugar, eat some fruit. If you crave it in a drink, have a watered down portion of an unsweetened juice. I personally love pomegranate juice and mix a mere 1/4 cup with 2 3/4 cups of water and sip it through the day.

    Please stop.

    First, that's not true (if only...). Second, that's potentially dangerous advice to be giving out.
  • ExistingFish
    ExistingFish Posts: 1,259 Member
    aokoye wrote: »
    Dilvish wrote: »
    Regular exercise and healthy diet are excellent prescriptions for anxiety/depression.

    One important point: Cut out refined sugar/carbs. It has been medically proven that removing sugar (in all it's forms) can reverse some mental health issues like ADD and others.

    Do you drink soda pop (even diet)? Cut it out. Eat packaged snacks and foods? Cut them out!

    If you crave sugar, eat some fruit. If you crave it in a drink, have a watered down portion of an unsweetened juice. I personally love pomegranate juice and mix a mere 1/4 cup with 2 3/4 cups of water and sip it through the day.

    Please stop.

    First, that's not true (if only...). Second, that's potentially dangerous advice to be giving out.

    The first sentence is quite true, if you remove the word "prescription" - but that is exactly what my doctor, and my previous psychiatrist, and my therapist, ALL recommend - exercise. It has been proven to help mild to moderate depression. I suffer from anxiety and I speak from personal experience, exercise helps my anxiety substantially.

    The rest is debatable. But I will say that exercise is excellent for mental health.

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC474733/

  • ExistingFish
    ExistingFish Posts: 1,259 Member
    I take as needed medication for my anxiety, I do not do well on daily therapies for my anxiety. I use exercise, therapy, supplements, and medication (as needed only) to manage my GAD. The therapy is recent and I feel like it has really helped. Insurance did not used to cover it, now I have better insurance and I can actually get therapy it's nice.
  • aokoye
    aokoye Posts: 3,495 Member
    edited January 2019
    ExistingFish wrote: »
    aokoye wrote: »
    Dilvish wrote: »
    Regular exercise and healthy diet are excellent prescriptions for anxiety/depression.

    One important point: Cut out refined sugar/carbs. It has been medically proven that removing sugar (in all it's forms) can reverse some mental health issues like ADD and others.

    Do you drink soda pop (even diet)? Cut it out. Eat packaged snacks and foods? Cut them out!

    If you crave sugar, eat some fruit. If you crave it in a drink, have a watered down portion of an unsweetened juice. I personally love pomegranate juice and mix a mere 1/4 cup with 2 3/4 cups of water and sip it through the day.

    Please stop.

    First, that's not true (if only...). Second, that's potentially dangerous advice to be giving out.

    The first sentence is quite true, if you remove the word "prescription" - but that is exactly what my doctor, and my previous psychiatrist, and my therapist, ALL recommend - exercise. It has been proven to help mild to moderate depression. I suffer from anxiety and I speak from personal experience, exercise helps my anxiety substantially.

    The rest is debatable. But I will say that exercise is excellent for mental health.

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC474733/

    Mild to moderate being the key phrase. I should have added that to my post.

    To tell someone who has anxiety or depression that more severe (points to self) to just go with exercise is really not viable and, as I said, potentially dangerous. My therapist is very pleased that I exercise, however we both know that there's no way that exercise alone would be a good plan. I mean in my case meds also aren't effective, but to say, "just don't do anything other than exercise" would be very dangerous (it would, at a minimum, land me in the hospital).

    I know more than a few people who fit that profile and there is plenty of literature that backs the, "exercise isn't effective in people with depression that isn't mild to moderate" claim.

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