Anti-depressants and weight gain

[mrgorth]

One of the few good things when I first got crushed by depression was that I dropped a ton of weight. Of course, this was not in a healthy manner. But in the 2 years I got on anti-depressants I shot up 20lbs to 240. Now, no matter how little I eat or how much I excercise I can't lose anything. Anyone else have this?

[Random_Australian]

1. As the old thingammy goes, if you eat to little, your metabolism will

adjust as if you were a caveman deprived of food, that is starving, minimising wieghtloss. Eat enough, excercise in a way you enjoy, and watch. I can't help with med advice though.

[Droopy]

2. One alternative is to try a different anti-depressant

if you are sure that the weight gain can be attributed to your current anti-depressant. Switching meds helped me when I was packing on the pounds due to an anti-psychotic that I had to take. The doc put me on a different anti-psychotic and the weight gain ceased. I don't know if that will work with anti-depressants or not, though. Discuss the weight gain with your shrink next time you see her/him.

[hedgehog]

3. I don't know about your anti-depressants but

whenever I try to cut back on my Buspar, I start craving food even if I'm not hungry, if that makes any sense. I always gain weight when my depression kicks in. The Buspar works on the dopamine system and I think that when I'm low on dopamine, my body craves carbohydrates. It is a fact that there are seratonin receptors in the gut although I don't know if anyone has figured out their function yet. In other words, I think weight gain/loss can be very closely tied to how well your meds are balanced with your system, but everyone's system is a little different. I just wish I could go back to my pre-depression weight.

[ThingsGottaChange]

4. Weight gain

is very common when taking anti-depressants. Especially SSRIs. If you check out some depression forums that is one of the main topics! I've packed on 20-30 lbs with different SSRIs, especially Prozac.

Figured it was better that killing myself, though.

[bling bling]

5. I gained weight on anti-depressents.

But I think it's because the meds made me crave sweet and starchy foods all the time. I also seemed to lose my voluntary control over whatever part of the brain it is that stops you from eating another pop-tart even when you've already had 4 that day. And I was on an anti-depressent that was "supposedly" weight neutral. I gained about 40 pounds in a year and a half.

Once I went off the drug I thought the weight would roll off, but it didn't. It took about a year for that to happen, and it was because I finally started getting some of my willpower back and stopped eating so much.

[stepnw1f]

6. I Gained a Little Weight

but I attributed that to quitting cigarettes.

[hedgehog]

7. RIght now, the entire study of weight is very primitive.

It's only now rally being studied as opposed to having people air their pet theory which are mostly variations on will power. I still wonder if anti-depressants cause weight gain or they mobilize the body well enough that it cries out for carbohydrates to finish supplying whatever is still missing. LOL I have a lot of pet theories myself.

[SCRUBDASHRUB]

8. Absolutely did. Happened when family doctor tried me on different SSRIs

(Effexor, Prozac, Lexapro). I happen to have anxiety disorder (and a guess some depression). Finally, he decided I should maybe go see a psychiatrist, and she put me on Wellbutrin, Xanax and Topamax (for weight loss). The Topamax did the trick. On the other meds, I gained 40-50 lbs. I was up to 200 and, like you, could not lose weight no matter how much I exercised. The Wellbutrin, I believe, isn't an SSRI and tends to not put on weight like the SSRIs.

[Sgent]

9. Weight gain

is one of those real pain in the asses.

When I'm in immediate trouble -- I don't care. But when it becomes chronic, its such a pain.

I went from 180 to 250 over a period of 24 months -- its not that I had any more or less control over what I ate -- its just that I was constantly hungry and had major cravings for sweets & starches.

I'm now off everything, and have lost 25lbs, but this won't last for long :(.

The funny thing is, I'm not particularly vain and never really cared that I was a little overweight (ideal weight for me is 165). But now I'm scared to death of things like diabetes and heart trouble (which runs in the family).

[blue neen]

10. I've had some luck with Wellbutrin in that respect.

It doesn't increase my appetite like some of the SSRI's.

The craving for sweets I had when I was taking Remeron was unreal. I stopped it after about 2 months, because it really wasn't that effective for my depression.

Remeron is given to chemotherapy patients who have lost their appetite.