Anti-Depressants- How I Gained My Weight

Personally, when I was on anti-depressants in the past I LOST 15 pounds. As a psych major, my personal belief is that it is the lifestyle and mental health issues that causes the weight gain (coping with food, alcohol, laying in bed all day, not exercising, lack of motivation for anything) NOT the actual medication.

Like I said, I tried to work it off to no avail.
Everyone is affected differently.

I'm happy that you've lost weight though and learned how to manage your life without the drugs! :flowerforyou: I just don't understand why people point fingers at medication for making them gain weight when it can be more related to lifestyle and health---> not necessarily your situation, but the ones that gain 100 pounds or so and blame the antidepressants when it is evident it was their lifestyle due to their mental condition.

Exercise is the BEST antidepressant

...I feel great being off of them, and take herbal supplements instead. Anyway, if I skip a dose of my herbals there are no fatal side affects that are potential when you skip a dose of a pharmaceutical.

1) Your herbal supplements aren't even fully evaluated for safety, let alone effectiveness. People think that because things are "natural" they're safe. Arsenic, cyanide, and a whole host of other things are also "natural." There are plenty of problems with the FDA approval process in the U.S., but it is more rigorous than what "natural supplements" go through.
2) There are very few pharmaceuticals that can cause fatal side effects if you miss a dose. Those that do are likely to only be prescribed as a last resort or because they are the only available treatment for a very serious disease. I've been on a lot of anti-depressants (over the course of 2 decades now), and few of them came with that sort of side effect. The truth is, you have a better chance of getting killed in a motor-vehicle accident than by the vast majority of modern anti-depressants.

I thought Lexapro was the reason I was gaining so rapidly. There was not an option for me to stop it though so I just dealt with it. I still continued to gain weight though despite being active.

In the end, it turned out that I had hypothyroid, it had nothing to do with my antidepressants. And actually, with the hypothyroid, my depression would have gotten far worse if I went off my Lexapro.

I still take it now, I am still managing to lose weight (17 lbs in 65 days so far) Just saying, if you have an issue with depression and anxiety, I'd look for another cause to the weight gain before assuming that is it (whether it is a medical condition, lack of activity, or simply overeating) Going off your meds can be a big mistake if you truly need them.

Pills don't make you gain weight. The side effects might make you care less about monitoring your intakes, but there is no magic substance in them that cause you to hold on to the fat.

I went off Prozac before I lost 100 lbs, and I ended up with severe anxiety again along with obsessive worrying. I went back on the anti-ds and still managed to lose 105 lbs.

Just keep in mind if you go on a new medication to be aware of the side effects.

The birth control thing is another myth/excuse, imo. You may gain water weight but if you eat less than you burn you will lose weight.

Pills don't make you gain weight. The side effects might make you care less about monitoring your intakes, but there is no magic substance in them that cause you to hold on to the fat.

I went off Prozac before I lost 100 lbs, and I ended up with severe anxiety again along with obsessive worrying. I went back on the anti-ds and still managed to lose 105 lbs.

Just keep in mind if you go on a new medication to be aware of the side effects.

The birth control thing is another myth/excuse, imo. You may gain water weight but if you eat less than you burn you will lose weight.

There are "pills" that do make you gain weight. Maybe not anti-depressants, but there is an anti-psychotic that completely inhibits the part of your brain that tells you that you are full. There are so many chemicals being passed around as the quick fix to all your problems... do you really think not one of them has a side effect that causes weight gain??

Sublog....apparently you've never been on antidepressants. I will tell a couple of stories to show just exactly what it does. My personal experience first. I had been on Prozac for about five years (and gained about 45 pounds WITHOUT changing my diet or exercise routine) when I suspected I may be pregnant. Because there were no long term studies at the time, I immediately stopped taking them. From the day I did that, till the day I delivered...nine months later....I "gained" one pound. Again, no change in my eating or exercising. Once the immediate baby weight was "gone" I weighed 30 lbs less than when I got pregnant.

Second, my sister and her daughter both participated in a depression study. My niece, who was about 23 at that time and had ALWAYS been STICK thin gained so much weight in six months that I did not recognize her. She gained over 60 lbs....as did my sister! Needless to say, getting "FAT" certainly does not help with depression and they both elected to stop the meds. My niece immediately began losing weight and soon returned to her pre-med state. However, my sister has struggled to lose any since that time.

Lastly, let me say that virtually ALL of my paternal-side female cousins are on antidepressants and I have watched every single one of them balloon up in weight shortly after beginning their meds. PLEASE don't make such statements to people who are already struggling with depression and being overweight. You certainly are NOT helping anyone by making such unfounded statements.

My advice, you don't have to take it or agree with it, try to change your life without taking these drugs unless you absolutely have to. This is one of those cure is worse than the disease situations.

I agree. I think taking it for a short time is ok, but try and get off it as soon as possible. Side affects are horrible. Good luck!

If you have ever been TRULY depressed, you wouldn't say things like "go off your meds" so lightly. For some people, not being on their meds is a death sentence! This really is an area where if you are not qualified and don't have their personal medical records in your hands, you probably should not being saying such things because "someone" out there may take your advice and end up dead. I wouldn't want that on my shoulders!

Is it usual to take antidepressants for a break-up? Am just curious .... I know breakups can cause real pain, but antidepressants seem a significant step ... to me??

No they aren't usually used for this, it is often the straw that breaks the camel's back. For me I suffered for years without really understanding what was going on. The breakup just threw me into a place I couldn't get out of alone. I came to the decision to start with my therapist...who I had been working with for a few months and my doctor.

Antidepressants aren't a happy pill they don't fix your problems. They allow you to deal with situations more normally. When I started on them it was seriously like waking up after 7 years and feeling like my old self. It was really mind blowing. Don't knock what you don't understand.

Antidepressants do have a lot of side effects and one of those is the potential for weight gain. Not everyone has this issue. They don't know why it affects weight. There are a lot of theories including increased craving for carbs, decreasing metabolism...really there isn't enough research.

In a year and a half of being on celexa I have tried to lose weight. I decreased calories and increased exercise. I measure, weighed etc etc. My eyes have nearly bled from all of the information I have read. During that "research" I found other people like myself who have been incapable of losing weight despite their best efforts. My doctor didn't agree with this and so I stayed on it. I developed some other side effects more recently and we decided to try and stop it. Now I guess I'll see if the drug had anything to do with it. YOU CAN LOSE WEIGHT on celexa...my co-worker is on it and has lost 40lbs...so who the heck knows what the issue is.

Oh I didn't mean you sorry, your question was legit lol! Just quite a few people have replied negatively...like just be happy you don't need meds. My own mom suggested that to me. It hurts because I tried so hard to "be happy" for 7 years.

I've been taking an antidepressant since January 2011. I was on a high dose- 60mg a day, now I am on 40mg a day.
I have chronic Body Dysmorphic Disorder and without medication, I am suicidal and unable to function. So, for me, medication is necessary.
I found that the first couple of months of being on Citalopram, I was indeed eating more, which caused some weight gain. I was also so sluggish that all I did was sleep. The 'zombie' like effect went on for months, but when I decided it was time to change my lifestyle; I just forced myself to workout and eat less. I decided to cut down to 40mg, because the sluggishness was interefering with my ability to workout for lengthy periods of time. At 40mg, I am nowhere near as tired as I used to be.
Through all of this, I have managed to lose 75 pounds.

I was on prozac for a brief time and I lost 10 pounds in two weeks. I had no desire to eat and fell into an even deeper depression. So, yes, weight loss and weight gain is a common side effect of taking an antidepressant.
I've had to work very hard to lose weight, but it's been worth it

Citalopram has an anti-anxiety agent in it, along with the antidepressant component. That's probably why you felt so sleepy on the higher dose. I'm glad to see your doc dropped the dose back to what works for you. You should feel calm and less anxious, but not about to fall asleep and so sluggish that it's hard to function!

Good for you too, for making the healthy lifestyle changes, I wish you all the best on your journey!

My advice, you don't have to take it or agree with it, try to change your life without taking these drugs unless you absolutely have to. This is one of those cure is worse than the disease situations.

I agree. I think taking it for a short time is ok, but try and get off it as soon as possible. Side affects are horrible. Good luck!

If you have ever been TRULY depressed, you wouldn't say things like "go off your meds" so lightly. For some people, not being on their meds is a death sentence! This really is an area where if you are not qualified and don't have their personal medical records in your hands, you probably should not being saying such things because "someone" out there may take your advice and end up dead. I wouldn't want that on my shoulders!

I agree with the above statement. There is still so much stigma attached to depression, and to all mental illnesses for that matter.
Depression is an ILLNESS, just like diabetes, or cancer, or lupus. Many people need medication to function, and this doesn't just magically go away...the diease is usually chronic and present for the duration of many people's adult lifetimes.
Why do people insist on resisting the idea that depression is a TREATABLE illness, and part of this treatment INCLUDES, but isn't limited to, medication!
Nobody asks for depression, or causes it...who would choose such a devestating illness? When someone is clinically depressed, it is a SERIOUS illness that is nobody's fault!