Is taking medicine really a valid excuse to be overweight?

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bidwhist
bidwhist Posts: 40 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Now I know that they say some medicine make you gain weight. That same medicine doesn't stop you from exercising or watching what you eat. Just wondering if anyone other than myself who doesn't believe in the built in excuse about the medicine.
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Replies

  • anubis609
    anubis609 Posts: 3,966 Member
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    I'm pretty sure Adderall counters that problem.
  • kittiekatk
    kittiekatk Posts: 11
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    I can't speak for EVERYONE but only for myself, and TRUST ME, I WISH that I was just lazy and an unhealthy eater, those are easy fixes!! I have 3 kids, run around like crazy, exorcize 4-5 times a week, go to zumba classes every week, and have been counting cals for a year. I have GAINED 40LBS since starting my Thyroid medicine last fall. I think SOME meds, are harder on the body than others, and don't use mine as an excuse, but would LOVE to just stop taking it. Unfortunately, its meds, not tic tacs, so I can't. :p Like I said, can only speak for myself.
  • MochaMixAZ
    MochaMixAZ Posts: 844 Member
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    I think it can be used as an excuse, just like many other things: a bum knee, genetics, the weather, geography, etc.

    Any of these can contribute to a tendency for weight gain, but actual weight gain can usually be counteracted with more ardent exercise and nutrition.
  • kenzietea
    kenzietea Posts: 614 Member
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    yes- it is. Steroids (prescription for autoimmune disorders and cancer) absolutely cause you to gain weight even if you don't change a thing with your exercise and eating routines. I am not sure about other medications, but steroids cause a whole mess of issues, and with out a doubt you will gain at least some weight. Even naturally thin people who would continue to be thin with out steroids gain weight. Good thing about them is once you stop and they are completely out of your system, you can typically lose weight very easily.
  • aaleigha1
    aaleigha1 Posts: 408 Member
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    I have recently survived bilateral pulmonary emboli and I have only just started to exercise again and by exercise I mean trying to hit 2500 steps a day (I am putting it up by 500 a month
    and two of the medications I am on increase appetite
    so yes medical drugs I need to help me continue to survive and inactivity due to my condition have increased my weight
    however I am not playing the drugs card - as I want to get as fit as I can again - just saying that YES some drugs and some conditions will result in weight gain - oh and I gained weight while eating 1400 cals a day - so I was not pigging out either
  • awkwwward
    awkwwward Posts: 73
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    It depends on the medicine. My mother HATES food - she wouldn't eat a drop if she didn't need to and was 120 most of my life. Fast forward to when she got put on insulin and gained 25 pounds in under a month. Fast forward to the next month when they put her on another insulin and it made her sugar levels go WAY WAY WAY too low and she was instructed by her doctor to eat candy and soda ASAP to get it up and gained another 25 pounds that month. My mother would have had to have been eating CONSTANTLY (not working out 2 hours a day and counting cals like she was...) to have gained that much weight that fast. Lots of medications can screw with your hormones and make weight loss difficult or make you gain a FEW pounds (as in 5 pounds, MAYBE 10 pounds....) but beyond that...there are few drugs to make it much more than that.
  • ErrataCorrige
    ErrataCorrige Posts: 649 Member
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    My sister is on medications for fibromialgia. I am with her everyday, and she still eats the same (pretty healthy) and still tries to get in a work out on her better days (almost the same as before), but in the last year has gained about 60 lbs. Sure, she could work out harder (if she wasn't in so much pain all the time) and eat even better (although she really doesn't eat junk).

    However the medications have, without a doubt, changed her metabolism. Her body does not react to food they way it used to, and her body retain considerably more water than it used to.

    Many medications have been proven to slow metabolism, or change the way the body chesmistry works in relation to burning energy. Proven in labs and studies. that is why they have to list it as a side effect in the first place. Proven.
  • trilikeagirl
    trilikeagirl Posts: 218
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    Just wondering why one would start a forum post just to be snarky?
  • PJmetts
    PJmetts Posts: 210 Member
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    My daughter was on meds for Bipolar and some of them caused a lot of weight gain, despite diet and exercise, she couldn't get to her normal weight-that in turn caused more depression. When her meds changed the weight came off and she STOPPED working out and eating well, so it was a double edged sword.
  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
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    I took one medication where I gained 25 lbs in a month. After I stopped taking that medication, it took several months for that weight to come off. Tell me, how many sticks of butter a day would I have to eat to truly gain that weight? It was the medication.
  • killerqueen17
    killerqueen17 Posts: 536 Member
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    It's not an excuse to stop trying, but it can certainly slow and/or reverse your weight-loss progress and be VERY frustrating...
  • noneya2010
    noneya2010 Posts: 446 Member
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    I can't speak for EVERYONE but only for myself, and TRUST ME, I WISH that I was just lazy and an unhealthy eater, those are easy fixes!! I have 3 kids, run around like crazy, exorcize 4-5 times a week, go to zumba classes every week, and have been counting cals for a year. I have GAINED 40LBS since starting my Thyroid medicine last fall. I think SOME meds, are harder on the body than others, and don't use mine as an excuse, but would LOVE to just stop taking it. Unfortunately, its meds, not tic tacs, so I can't. :p Like I said, can only speak for myself.

    I agree - I also have thyroid problems and was excited to get on meds thinking it would help me LOSE weight. Nope - didn't happen. I'm on the 3rd med now (hopefully the final one as it seems to be working well) but it definately is not assisting in my battle of the bulge!
  • noneya2010
    noneya2010 Posts: 446 Member
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    yes- it is. Steroids (prescription for autoimmune disorders and cancer) absolutely cause you to gain weight even if you don't change a thing with your exercise and eating routines. I am not sure about other medications, but steroids cause a whole mess of issues, and with out a doubt you will gain at least some weight. Even naturally thin people who would continue to be thin with out steroids gain weight. Good thing about them is once you stop and they are completely out of your system, you can typically lose weight very easily.

    Oh wow - YES -- I totally forgot about the dreaded steroids and weight!

    And another thing - I had a very good friend who got cancer and went from about 140 to 240 in less than 1 year. And not because she was eating bad. She was extremely sick and had to be encouraged to eat just a little bit. So yes - without question -- meds can and DO make you gain weight!
  • 123456654321
    123456654321 Posts: 1,311 Member
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    Just wondering why one would start a forum post just to be snarky?

    Why are people so quick to call someone snarky around here?
  • bidwhist
    bidwhist Posts: 40 Member
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    Just wondering why one would start a forum post just to be snarky?

    How is asking a valid question being snarky?
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
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    Does anyone need an excuse to be overweight?

    I put on a stone in 6 months on paroxetine. That was one of the reasons I stopped taking it. I wasn't eating any more than normal. It's not an excuse. I don't need one. I needed the medicine and that was that, but yes, it caused weight gain and being depressed with a 6 month old baby and no help from anyone else, any exercise that wasn't walking 6 miles a day pushing a pram was impossible.

    Likewise, steroids cause weight gain. Unfortunately you are usually given them for respiratory diseases that make exercise impossible. I was on steroids for pneumonia last winter. It's pretty hard to do much more than sit on the sofa or in bed and try not to stop breathing when you have pneumonia.
  • kenzietea
    kenzietea Posts: 614 Member
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    It's not an excuse to stop trying, but it can certainly slow and/or reverse your weight-loss progress and be VERY frustrating...

    Yes, definitely what she said
  • trilikeagirl
    trilikeagirl Posts: 218
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    How is asking a valid question being snarky?

    "Just wondering if anyone other than myself who doesn't believe in the built in excuse about the medicine. "

    You weren't really asking for additional information that was so kindly provided to you. Your question specifically asked if there were others like you who simply believed overweight people who blamed their meds were lazy and/or just making excuses. Snarky, by definition.
  • kittiekatk
    kittiekatk Posts: 11
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    Just wondering why one would start a forum post just to be snarky?

    How is asking a valid question being snarky?

    Obviously there are alot of people out there like myself, struggling with weight loss, and maybe someone implying we use our medicine or health conditions as excuses doesn't sit very well. Try not to judge what you don't understand. I would gladly give you my thyroid probs, and you could see if the meds made YOU gain or not, then you would know. Until you've been there, there's no way for you to feel what its like. I understand your frustration with people using excuses you feel are unworthy, but as long as YOU don't use any, what would it matter?
  • kenzietea
    kenzietea Posts: 614 Member
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    How is asking a valid question being snarky?

    "Just wondering if anyone other than myself who doesn't believe in the built in excuse about the medicine. "

    You weren't really asking for additional information that was so kindly provided to you. Your question specifically asked if there were others like you who simply believed overweight people who blamed their meds were lazy and/or just making excuses. Snarky, by definition.

    Yeah it was kind of snarky. And its clear you don't have a lot of knowledge on the subject...I could easily see how your post could be found hurtful or rude, although I don't think you had malicious intentions.

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