Weight Loss & Battling Depression

I started taking AD's four years ago. I kept gaining weight steadily (47 lbs) until last year when I decided to get back into working out. It's hard to get back into it. REALLY hard. But if you stick with it for at least a month then working out actually feels like a necessary part of your day. Another great thing about it is it releases endorphins (helps fight depression!) and (for me at least) really helps with making you more self confident. I really struggled with adhering to my meds - all the side effects made me go off them and take them irregularly. In the end though I think it's really important to stick with them if they help you. It was hard to adjust to all the side effects and alter my lifestyle appropriately, but honestly I'm much happier (and much, much nicer to myself) now.
Good luck!

Bump

I am no doctor and no expert.
This is NOT advice. Our situations might be different.
I was put on anti-depressants years ago after a horrible accident and brain injury.
Once my head cleared and I realized what they were feeding me, I got off.

I weaned myself off these drugs SLOWLY .
And there was a season of withdrawal where I felt intense melancholy about life - even wondering if it was all worth it.
It passed.
And I punched through, remaining drug free to this day.

I never, ever would take any kind of anti-depressant medication again.
The pharmaceutical companies have totally corrupted the medical profession, and practitioners are all way too fast to dole out medication. Today, most people are on something to help cope.
Count me OUT!
I partly blame those medications for my weight gain.

NEVER AGAIN!

Depression is one of the reasons I never lost any weight after I packed it on. Even now it's difficult. Taking antidepressants didn't help. They DID help me a lot with the severe anxiety I was dealing with a couple years ago. I think a lot of people don't realize that that type of medication does NOT make most people feel happy, motivated or energized. One of my friends described it to me when I first thought about getting on medication - it made him just "not care" about things. After I got on them, I saw what he meant. I wasn't happier, I just didn't care as much about certain things. Which I guess isn't a terrible thing because the little things didn't get to me as much.

I've been off medication now for a while, and to be honest, there wasn't a big difference in my motivation levels between taking them and not. I'm still dealing with depression pretty badly, but at some point recently I must have gotten the kick in the butt I needed because now even when I'm having a terrible day, I just work out anyways and get it over with. That would be my advice. Just do it and get it done. I know it's so much easier said than done, but you CAN do it. After a while it becomes a habit and it will be something you just do every day without thinking much about it. Good luck!

I was on SSRI medication for several years. The primary reason I stopped taking it was because it made me completely apathetic. About school, about myself, sometimes about anything. I wasn't a robot, it just really removed any drive I had.

I switched to a medication that doesn't do that. It was a switch from an SSRI (prescribed for depression and anxiety) to an SRNI (which really helped with my ADD, but is also used as an anti-depressant). I think I know exactly what you're going through and if you are, in fact, taking SSRI medication, you're not going to find much luck in the SSRI world when it comes to getting rid of that side effect.

I have suffered from depression since I was 10 yrs old and my mother killed herself when I was 17....I have taken medication on and off for a long time. But I don't take any now. I get up every day and tell myself today is a good day no matter what and thank Jesus for allowing me another day. I am not a bible banger lol! I really wish you the best of luck because I know how hard it is. If you ever need to talk I am always more than willing!

Thank you....as are you and any of us that have suffered through and continue to suffer through it! Some people don't understand what its like. It is nice to see people on here there know and understand just how it feels!

Hey! I've been struggling with clinical depression and severe anxiety disorder for basically all of my twenties(I'm 28 now). I take up to five or six tablets of various medication per day. I weighed about 50kgs (110lbs) when I started my medication and was very active. I've gained 25kgs (55lbs) over the 9 years and was told consistantly that my medication had nothing to do with my weight gain. Every year or so I would go off the medication and lose weight without trying, sometimes up to 9kgs (almost 20lbs) in less than a month. Being off my medication isn't really an option for me, those periods didn't last for more than a few months before it became unbearable to live with my issues. So I searched around and finally found a psychiatrist who admitted to me that my medication was a contributing factor in my weight gain. She said a lot of these drugs cause weight gain because they make you crave carbohydrates, which are the easiest form of food for the body to convert into serotonin, a chemical that helps balance out your emotions etc. they can also have an effect on your metabolism, as well as slowing you down a little if you have anxiety. But I found if you do something a little bit every day, even if it's just a walk and watch your calories you can lose weight while on medication, it just happens A LOT slower than it should for most people. But the point is that it happens. I find that if I start my day with a quick 10 minute walk around the block, for some reason this makes me more active during the day. Hope this helps! Bec

I've had issues with depression most of my life. I've been on and off just about every AD there is, and it wasn't until recently that I found a drug cocktail that worked for me. I now have more energy, more motivation, and an overall decent mood, even when life isn't going the best. I'm not filled with self-loathing, hopelessness, and apathy. ADs worked for me, but it took a long time and a lot of experimentation before I found what worked best. I now actually have the motivation to work out and eat better and break my binge eating habit. I feel more confident in my ability to lose weight, and less focused on being perfect, a major derailer for efforts to lose weight in the past. When I was depressed, all I saw was how I was failing, and when all you see is how much of a failure you are, well, it doesn't necessarily do good things for your weight. I've had to break the habit of binge eating, that is why I came back to MFP, for the accountability. I'm determined that this time will be different from other attempts at weight loss, because I'm in a much better and much more realistic head space.

I just posted about this tonight. I take an AD and also an extra medicine to help boost the AD. That med makes it very hard for me to lose weight. I am STARVING all the time. In my case, depression is a physical problem with the chemicals in the brain. It runs in my family big-time.