Anti-Depressants and Weight loss

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  • Megume
    Megume Posts: 74
    I was on Zoloft for almost a year, and gained nearly 40lbs. Oddly enough, the chemical in our brain, Seratonin not only makes you happy, but triggers your body to hold onto and gain weight.. hence, fat and happy.

    Some people are more seratonin sensitive than other.. turns out, I'm extremely sensitive. My doctor took me off as soon as my bloodwork showed the levels in my system. I was then placed on Pristiq which is seratonin and one other chemical. It helped a lot and made losing my excess weight a lot easier.
  • _HeathBar_
    _HeathBar_ Posts: 902 Member
    About 10 years ago I was taking Wellbutrin for depression and to help with my ADHD. It caused me to lose a lot of weight and I was already a very skinny teenager at that time.

    I just didn't feel like eating... ever. It just made me really thirsty so I drank a lot of water and never ate anything.

    It also helped me cut back on my smoking. I went from a pack a day to about 5 a day.
  • jennifergaudette
    jennifergaudette Posts: 23
    No problem sug :) My mans on it as well. So you can imagine the good times we have!! :D
  • FLGatorGrl
    FLGatorGrl Posts: 33
    I have been on many anti-depressants and finally Wellbutrin is what works best for me. Paxcil was the one that caused the weight gain 40+ lbs. Wish I could get off of the meds completely but have tried numberous times and just does not work out and then it takes 2 to 3 weeks to get the meds regulated. Just talk to your Doctor and if they will not change your meds go to another that will listen to you.
  • ElectricMayhem
    ElectricMayhem Posts: 214 Member
    I tried every drug listed by everyone here over the course of about 10 years to find one with the least side effects and what worked best for me and that ended up being Cymbalta. i did really well on it for about 5 years and then decided to stop meds all together about a year ago and i feel great! Zoloft was by far THE WORST of all that i tried (i actually broke out in hives after about a month of taking it so had to stop), it made me feel like a zombie- no feelings at all and i slept horribly and gained weight (can't remember how much)... good luck in finding the right one for you!
  • tiffanyvc
    tiffanyvc Posts: 99
    Here's my two cents as a psych nurse:

    There are so so so many medications out there, and each one effects every body differently. You need to find the one that is right for you. Talk with your doctor and try other meds. There is nothing wrong with that. What causes one person to gain weight may cause you to lose weight. No different than other meds - give me Aleve for my headache, because Tylenol doesn't seem to touch me. Whereas my coworker swears by Tylenol.

    The only psych meds that I've seen cause major weight gain are certain mood stabilizers and a few antipsychotics.

    But, my point is, talk to your doctor - there are many options out there!
  • harley_rose
    harley_rose Posts: 236
    I too was on Zoloft, gain a good 40lbs with it, it really didn't help my depression it made it worse... I didn't realize how bad until I got into a motorcycle accident and the pyscho told me that the anti-depression I was on was making it worse for me.. I was put on Wellbutrin, it was like night and day for me... It took my body about 3-4 months to adjust but I found the drive to cut back on drinking my beer, found the drive to eat right and plus exercise... Sometimes you just don't realize that anti-depression are making you worse...

    Good luck to all
  • Bentley2718
    Bentley2718 Posts: 1,689 Member
    People have different reactions to different drugs. A lot of people so far have said Wellbutrin has contributed to weight loss, although the prescribing information suggests that this is true in clinical trials, it does not mean that this will be true for you.

    If you are unhappy with the weight gain, I recommend you discuss your options with your doctor. You also probably want to weigh the potential benefit, of perhaps not gaining more weight on Zoloft, against the risks of changing medication (which might lead to even more weight gain, loss of any improvements you've seen on your current meds, etc.).
  • hwoody0705
    hwoody0705 Posts: 1
    Wellbutrin has worked well for me. More than anything, though I have found that the more I exercise, the less side effects I see.:smile:
    I also had reached a plateau where I couldn't lose weight and when I started watching diet and working with a trainer, it has helped. Overall, I have tried several antidepressants, tried Prozac, and it made it so I didn't sleep. Switched to Lexapro and did ok, and then I started to have issues, so now I have been on Wellbutrin for several years and LOVE it! Above all, talk to your MD. They can recommend things that will help!
  • lizard053
    lizard053 Posts: 2,344 Member
    I have taken all sorts of different anti-depressants and managed to lose weight while my symptoms were controlled. Unfortunately my symptoms kept coming back and I kept gaining it all back. My symptoms are under control right now with pristiq and nortriptyline. I only got them under control when adding the nortriptyline! I don't know if the (really expensive) pristiq is even doing anything at all! I'm also hypothyroid so I take Armour for that.
    prozac - good drug, pooped-out quickly
    effexor - not bad, gave me the jitters
    welbutrin - made me a lizzy monster
    zoloft - great success, useful for many years, then pooped out
    pristiq - no different result from zoloft, but not as good as zoloft was

    Yes I gained weight. But I took it off too. No problems losing weight with zoloft at all. Just gained when it pooped out on me. I have to take Xanax whenever my anxiety gets high, but I'm not complaining too much. It works well. I've lost and gained and lost and gained, now I'm losing again. Hopefully for good this time!
  • TamImbrogno
    TamImbrogno Posts: 72 Member
    Ive been on antidepressants for 10yrs. Only one I can loose weight on is viibryd! Give it a try
  • TNTwedell
    TNTwedell Posts: 277 Member
    Same story here - this time last year, my doctor put me on Prozac - within 3 months I realized I had gained 15lbs. NOT NORMAL!
    Flip side - I felt fabulous. So I just thought the weightgain was "happy weight" - I started "dieting" and working out and STILL GAINED. went up to 20lbs.
    Complained to my doctor, so he swithced me to Celexa - I stopped gaining weight - but didnt lose any. And honestly, I was working out and dieting so much that if I wasnt on any SSRI's I would have probably lost the full 20.
    Complained AGAIN to my doctor - showed him my food journals/exercise journals/etc and he has now given me a cocktail.
    150mg of Wellbutrin and 1/2 my dose of Celexa.
    thinking the Wellbutrin will give me the bump my metabolism *and libido* need while the Celexa can still keep my calm.

    (the Wellbutrin is more for depression then anxiety and since I dont have depression; I have to tread lightly with how its going to make me feel - if you're an "anxious" person by nature - then having an "upper" isnt going to help.

    taking my new cocktail for about 1 month now - havent noticed much of a difference, honestly - so, the Celexa really must be pretty powerful stuff.
  • echoica
    echoica Posts: 339 Member
    bump
  • LauraSmyth28
    LauraSmyth28 Posts: 399 Member
    After reading this thread I am DEFINITELY going to talk to my doctor about changing from lexapro.

    I've been on it twice before, but this stint has been my longest so far, 2 years. I can lose weight on it no problem, but not as fast, and the lack of libido is a killer.
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