Anti-Depressants- How I Gained My Weight

Point taken and well said. I am perennially suspicious of big Pharma, the so many different meds and variations on dosage and effectiveness. That being said, I do understand that these medications have been helpful to many people. You are correct, the mind is not a bone, but it can often be healed in the same way, many but not all times, naturally. For those situations that this is not possible, we have medications that can, but do not always "work". My comments are not in any way an indictment on those that have to use anti depressants, but rather a comment on the quick pen of our medical establishment to prescribe. Case in point, I was in the doctor's office 6 months ago, he said my cholesterol is high. The next words were about stain drugs. I said stop. Not going to happen. I fixed that with diet and weight loss. Personal experience. Depression, not the same. Understood. Almost everyone has had bouts of depression caused by depressing events in their lives. Some can "deal" with it, some not. Again, understood. My point remains only that we (all of us) should continue to look outside of medications where we possibly can and look to natural healing processes where possible.

I understand that. Despite being on medication daily, I myself don't advocate drugs as the answer most of the time because I have felt firsthand how it can hurt you and I have seen how people can hurt themselves when using them wrongly. There's nothing wrong with promoting more natural answers as it can in the end save us money and chemical side effects, but I did want to express that it's not always possible. I wish it were, but it's not.

And you made a good point talking about your cholesterol visit. I had high cholesterol myself and the first thing my doctor suggested was a change in diet and weight loss before medication was brought up and even then it was my choice to take it or not as a supplement to the change I was making myself. Not all doctors are the same, believe the same things, or like the same treatments and so sometimes people are not given all the options they could be given. It's not so much a way to drag you to the pharmacy but merely what they've been taught mixing with natural human bias. In some cases it's always best to get second and third opinions or even do your own research and discuss it with your doctor as an option. So long as you're actively trying, that's a good sign. Even if you're stuck on medication for a while or until you die, as long as you try and you find the results you were looking for in the end, it's worth it.

Antidepressants are just a bandaid for the problem. All that crap is not good for you. Suck it up.

This is the most ignorant response I've read yet...
To the writer, read the posts! Hello!

Antidepressants don't make you fat. Over eating does.

this.

READ THE POSTS SISTER

Wow, when I scanned the 4 pages of posts I didn't see anyone on here with an MD after their name.
My only thought on this post is-
Take up your medical issues with a professional.

you're right. something happened to me, but i am not qualified to speak as to my personal experience, as i am not a doctor. now i will refrain from having opinions about anything, such as if my dinner is going to taste good, because i am not a master chef, or that i suppose it might rain, judging by the look of these clouds, being that i am not a meteorologist.

I AM A PROFESSIONAL HASN"T ANYONE READ MY POSTS???

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!

After my sister was murdered, it took a month to find the body. Afterwards I locked myself in the basement for a long time and used empty pop bottles to pee in, so believe me, I know what it's like to be truly depressed and I do not take it lightly.

I'm sorry about your sister.
I agree that antidepressants should be avoided. I can't believe doctors hand them out like candy and people take them like they are the missing piece of the puzzle. Depression and sadness are a NORMAL part of life. These drugs exist to make people money, not to make people feel better. I resent that they are being taken in such high numbers that they are found in our drinking water and are doing untold damage to marine life.

There is a difference between real depression and the depression you are obviously talking about. Depression as in feeling like you want to die every second of the day. With an imbalance in the brain. It is an illness like no other. Should they should giving chemo to cancer patients? No. So why should they stop giving antidepressants to people who legit NEED them. At one point in my life I was on them and although after I started exercising I became so much happier I was able to come off them, It is not that easy for some people.

Please read the article I posted. Nobody NEEDS antidepressants because they have not even proven to work better than placebo. I'm glad you feel better with exercise. Did you know studies have shown that exercise works better than antidepressants? Did you know that drug companies had knowledge that showed that antidepressants not only didn't work but also caused suicidal behaviors in young people and they tried to cover it up. I'm not saying that someone with depression doesn't need help, I am saying they don't need these pills.

Here is a snippet fro a 2004 news article:
GlaxoSmithKline PLC committed fraud by withholding negative information and misrepresenting data on prescribing its antidepressant Paxil to children, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer.
The lawsuit, filed in New York State Supreme Court, said Glaxo suppressed four studies that failed to demonstrate the drug was effective in treating children and adolescents and suggested an increase of suicidal thinking and acts.
It also said an internal 1999 Glaxo document showed that the company intended to “manage the dissemination of data in order to minimize any potential negative commercial impact.”

The youth that became suicidal on the antidepressants didn't NEED them to begin with, which is why the drug had an adverse affect.
I agree, that antidepressants, and drugs in general, are highly overprescribed. However, there IS such as thing as CLINICAL DEPRESSION and this is what is being referred to here in these posts. It is a LEGITIMATE ILLNESS that is treatable, but doesn't go away without treatment, and doesn't go away with just exercise. If this disease progresses, it can lead to a comatose state, or worse yet, suicide.

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.

^^ That may be true if you just need some therapy to deal with a difficult life situation, but it sounds like you've never had severe depression caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. Otherwise, I don't think you'd say the cure is worse than the disease.

Wow, when I scanned the 4 pages of posts I didn't see anyone on here with an MD after their name.
My only thought on this post is-
Take up your medical issues with a professional.

you're right. something happened to me, but i am not qualified to speak as to my personal experience, as i am not a doctor. now i will refrain from having opinions about anything, such as if my dinner is going to taste good, because i am not a master chef, or that i suppose it might rain, judging by the look of these clouds, being that i am not a meteorologist.

I AM A PROFESSIONAL HASN"T ANYONE READ MY POSTS???

Yes, but people only see what they want to see in order to provoke the response they've been wanting to give. Look at mine: "...unless you absolutely have to" got quoted as "go off your meds".

Wow, when I scanned the 4 pages of posts I didn't see anyone on here with an MD after their name.
My only thought on this post is-
Take up your medical issues with a professional.

you're right. something happened to me, but i am not qualified to speak as to my personal experience, as i am not a doctor. now i will refrain from having opinions about anything, such as if my dinner is going to taste good, because i am not a master chef, or that i suppose it might rain, judging by the look of these clouds, being that i am not a meteorologist.

I AM A PROFESSIONAL HASN"T ANYONE READ MY POSTS???

Yes, but people only see what they want to see in order to provoke the response they've been wanting to give. Look at mine: "...unless you absolutely have to" got quoted as "go off your meds".

Dude, I hear you and I share your pain. You are very correct!

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.

^^ That may be true if you just need some therapy to deal with a difficult life situation, but it sounds like you've never had severe depression caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. Otherwise, I don't think you'd say the cure is worse than the disease.

Situational or clinical, real or imagined, what's the difference? Either way, it still doesn't just go away. It's something that you have to deal with for the rest of your life.

@YummyTanya - I agree with you that clinical depression exists. My mother is clinically depressed, but the meds never seemed to help her much. It always seems like she is just pretending to be happy. Fortunately, I can still make her laugh once in awhile.

I'm sorry to hear that about your mom. Depression can be devestating to a life. I'm glad though to hear that you can still get a chuckle out of her. Good for you, and good for her!

Your mom is a good example of one point raised here-that everyone is SO different. What works for one person can have adverse, or no effects whasoever on the next person with the same illness.

There is still a loooooooong way to go in understanding depression, as well as most mental illnesses. We are really only in the infancy stage of understanding these illnesses and how to help those who are suffering.

There is always hope though, and while the drug companies are motivated by profit, they still do produce a product that has its place in some peoples' lives. This has to be assessed on an individual basis, and to generalise by stating something like, "Antidepressants make you fat, just exercise and get on with it!" seriously trivialises and undermines the experience most people have who live with mental illness.

I wish all the best to your mom, and to you!

Well, since it was ALL the medication's fault and had NOTHING to do with what you put in your mouth, then we should give anti-depressants to children in Africa and end world hunger for less than the cost of food!!!!!

WHAT THE ????
I don't think anyone was saying THIS and this thread is now going way off track!
We are saying antidepressants can potentially cause weight gain in some people, not that it's a substitute for food and nutrition.
Where you got this is beyond me, but this is how half-baked truths are born.
Nobody said it had nothing to do with what you put in your mouth, either. Of course, that is a factor, just like everything else!
I'm getting tired.

Maybe you misunderstood me. My point is, the anti-depressant in and of itself does not cause weight gain. We are all in control of what we put in our mouths and whether or not we gain weight. Period. Take accountability for your gains. Acceptance is the first step to losing the weight.

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.

^^ That may be true if you just need some therapy to deal with a difficult life situation, but it sounds like you've never had severe depression caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. Otherwise, I don't think you'd say the cure is worse than the disease.

Situational or clinical, real or imagined, what's the difference? Either way, it still doesn't just go away. It's something that you have to deal with for the rest of your life.

Weight gain makes your more depressed. Not that I buy the crap that the anti-depressants magically form fat on your cells with no change in your intake or physical activity. I'm on anti-depressants too.

My point is that there are other side effects to some of those medications that would make weight gain the least of your worries. They should be used as an absolute last resort.

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.

^^ That may be true if you just need some therapy to deal with a difficult life situation, but it sounds like you've never had severe depression caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. Otherwise, I don't think you'd say the cure is worse than the disease.

Situational or clinical, real or imagined, what's the difference? Either way, it still doesn't just go away. It's something that you have to deal with for the rest of your life.

^^ I don't understand what you mean. With proper treatment, depression can and does go into remission. I guess the cure could be worse than the disease if your disease is mild and your treatment side effects are bad. In that case, I wouldn't want the drugs either. But if your disease is extreme and severely restricts or threatens your life, and you don't suffer any noticeable side effects, or if the side effects are manageable, then how could the cure be worse than the disease?

I mean: how is clinical depression any worse than situational depression or vice versa?

And, if the side effects are not manageble, then what?

I was on Lexapro for 5 years. I gained weight for other reasons, but no matter what I did I could not lose the weight I had gained. I was following a website like this one and I exercised 5-6 times a week. I finally switched antidepressants and lost weight doing the same things I was doing before. My doctor told me that for some people, antidepressants do not only increase appetite, but also make your body hold onto weight.
I get really tired of people acting like all depression is imaginary or trying to be armchair psychiatrists. I have a strong family history of depression (including a mother who committed suicide) and have had severe depression since childhood. People who have not experienced clinical levels of depression have no idea what it is like. For someone with depression as serious as mine, antidepressants are literally lifesaving and correct a chemical imbalance. If it is a choice between being suicidal or not being able to take care of my kids and gaining some weight, I will take it.

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.

^^ That may be true if you just need some therapy to deal with a difficult life situation, but it sounds like you've never had severe depression caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. Otherwise, I don't think you'd say the cure is worse than the disease.

Situational or clinical, real or imagined, what's the difference? Either way, it still doesn't just go away. It's something that you have to deal with for the rest of your life.

^^ I don't understand what you mean. With proper treatment, depression can and does go into remission. I guess the cure could be worse than the disease if your disease is mild and your treatment side effects are bad. In that case, I wouldn't want the drugs either. But if your disease is extreme and severely restricts or threatens your life, and you don't suffer any noticeable side effects, or if the side effects are manageable, then how could the cure be worse than the disease?

I mean: how is clinical depression any worse than situational depression or vice versa?

^^ One is NOT worse than the other. There are different treatments for different kinds of problems. Situational depression generally has an identifiable trigger or underlying cause. Sometimes it's reassuring to know that there's a reason for your feelings and it helps to work through it. Chemical imbalance can happen seemingly randomly and for no reason. It's scary to experience emotions that are out of control and have no reason for why it's happening. Both types of people suffer, yes. Medication may or may not be the appropriate treatment for situational depression. Talk therapy alone may do nothing for a chemical imbalance. Please don't say that the cure is worse than the disease if you don't know what other people are going through.

A situation is an event, usually traumatic. Therapy alone doesn't cure situational depression if the depression is exasperated by post traumatic stress disorder.