Anti-Depressants- How I Gained My Weight

Sometimes it is the medication and sometimes it is the depression/anxiety that makes you gain weight. Weight gain is listed as a side effect for many anti-depressants because it can slow down your metabolism.

My brother and my father both suffer from depression. My brother also suffers from anxiety, so he takes a lot of different medications. His symptoms are well managed with Zoloft but lately his doctor has been trying to tweak his meds to get them just right so he can concentrate better and such. For example he gain a some weight when he started taking abilify but he said it didn't make him feel any different, so a month and half later he was off it. Then he started taking zyprexa. Holy Crap. He gained about 35 pounds in 2 months. I didn't even recognize him. He had always been so fit and now he had a double chin!

Now my brother is young and super super active. He chops wood for fun- that kind of active. In those few months, he said he felt the same, no major life events happened to effect his depression and his diet and activity did not change one bit. But he probably gained a total of 50 pounds. And no joke, within 2 months of stopping the zyprexa all that weight was gone. Every pound. Now he's as fit as ever.

On the other hand my dad has taken zyprexa as well and didn't gain a pound while he was on it.

If you look into it, some antidepressants are have side effects of weight gain (like abilify and zyprexa). These drugs are often prescribed with metformin, which is a diabetes medication (which my brother took with both drugs) because it is known to cause weight gain that can lead to diabetes. On the other hand wellbutrin lists weight loss as a side effect.

It all depends on the person and there body chemistry and the way all that relates to the drug. That's why there are so many out there. Even though they are the same class of drug, they react differently with the body, and not just on the weight gain/loss level. Zoloft works like a charm for managing my brother's depression, but prozac made him hallucinate and landed him in the hospital.

What it comes down to is if you don't like what you are on, talk to your doctor. There are many options out there and your doctor should be able to work with you to find the best meds, or combination of meds, for you. Believe me, this is an ongoing battle in my home, trying to get it working just right for both my dad and brother. It can be done!

I'm just wondering about the natural anti-depressant drug known as exercise. Does that at all help? have any of you experienced feeling better through exercising?

I've never been chronically depressed but I imagine that getting up to exercise would be virtually impossible in the really chronic phases. But I'm just wondering about the effects of it when one isn't as depressed anymore. Is it a good way to start weening oneself off the drugs?

To be honest - this thread scares the crud out of me.

Please DON'T EVER stop your antidepressants without the help of a medical professional. Some need to be tapered off or cardiac or neurological "events" can occur. Yes, your heart can stop or you can start seizing, etc.

Do NOT take the advice of anyone on this thread to get off them without consulting with your medical professionals.

That being said....some medications do cause weight gain. No questions asked and it has nothing to do with lifestyle changes. Applies to all medications, not just anti-depressants either.

Please don't judge people who say they have gained weight from taking a medication, any medication. It can happen. For some meds - its a given it will happen. Some its just a chance and for some its a very rare side effect.

People who need to be on these meds are feeling bad enough and don't need to be judged when they say it caused them to gain weight.

Okay, stepping off my soap box now.

I'm just wondering about the natural anti-depressant drug known as exercise. Does that at all help? have any of you experienced feeling better through exercising?

I've never been chronically depressed but I imagine that getting up to exercise would be virtually impossible in the really chronic phases. But I'm just wondering about the effects of it when one isn't as depressed anymore. Is it a good way to start weening oneself off the drugs?

Speaking from experience and professionally, exercise is a HUGE antidepressant.

You are correct though, for somepeople who can't even get out of bed, speak, eat, or function in any way...exercise isn't going to happen.

The caveat is that depression largely affects motivation, so to get motivated enough to exercise is a huge hurdle for most.

Exercise inevitably helps someone with depression feel better because it increases the "feel-good" chemicals in the brain/bloodstream.

However, the medication issue is separate from the exercise. It doesn't work that way...you don't exercise, feel great, and then wean yourself off meds. It's much more complicated and individual than that. As I've stated before, medication is often needed long-term, even when someone is feeling well. They often feel well because of the medication, as well as other factors, such as therapy, diet, exercise...the list is different for each person.

Yup, I've been taking antidepressants for years and switching to paxil really messed me up, then when I switched to cymbalta, I didn't gain anymore, but I couldn't lose the weight, no matter how hard I tried. Once I tapered off, my weight slowly went down, 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. Good for you!

Curious about how you tapered off of Cymbalta. Ive taken it for 4 or 5 years and I get horrible withdrawal symptoms when I lower my dose. Did this happen to you?

To be honest - this thread scares the crud out of me.

Please DON'T EVER stop your antidepressants without the help of a medical professional. Some need to be tapered off or cardiac or neurological "events" can occur. Yes, your heart can stop or you can start seizing, etc.

Do NOT take the advice of anyone on this thread to get off them without consulting with your medical professionals.

That being said....some medications do cause weight gain. No questions asked and it has nothing to do with lifestyle changes. Applies to all medications, not just anti-depressants either.

Please don't judge people who say they have gained weight from taking a medication, any medication. It can happen. For some meds - its a given it will happen. Some its just a chance and for some its a very rare side effect.

People who need to be on these meds are feeling bad enough and don't need to be judged when they say it caused them to gain weight.

Okay, stepping off my soap box now.

THIS!!

Amen sister..people who've not experienced depression & these meds, don't have a clue.

You don't have a clue. Some pp. like myself need them to function or I'm a raving lunatic..no sleep, crazy ramblings...you have no idea what kind of hell a person like me or anyone else w/ mental illness goes through. You can't just suck it up, it's insensitive pp. like you that make people who are mentally ill feel stigmatized. Get some education and stop being so mean.

...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 beg to differ on #2. I'm currently taking Cymbalta and although the side effect may not be fatal, its feels pretty damn close. If I miss a does I get brain shocks, nausea, and extreme mood swings, like bad enough where I want to kill someone. So I consider that to be pretty fatal.

I also gained a good 20 pounds after taking cymbalta. It helped with my depression (suffered a heart attack) but am having a hard time weaning myself off of it and losing the weight. Now I am depressed because of the weight!! It's a vicious circle!!!