Weight loss whilst taking antidepressants

L

Lilith1

New member
Just wondering if anyone has managed to lose weight whilst taking antidepressants?

I am currently taking a small dosage of Amitriptyline (15mg) and am on day 2 of my calorie controlled diet. Most of my weight gain has come from binge eating after a death in my family so I'm hopeful that I will naturally shed excess weight caused by the additional calories I was consuming.

Anyway, would love to hear people's stories on weight loss whilst taking antidepressants.
 
I don't know anything about your particular antidepressant but i take effexor and its no problem at all.

I"m just looking at yours on google. Its a tricyclic. I didn't think anyone took that kind any more very often at all. Did the others not work for you. One can't really be too surprised though. Its normal to be depressed if you are suffering from grief. Have you been on it long? And why did they give you this one?



Read this article. I can't vouch for the source but it would be interesting to experiment with his point about salt intake. He also lists the SSRI meds that are known to cause weight gain. I have never heard of this salt argument before i am glad i've read it, even though it doesn't apply to me.
 
My doctor prescribed it for insomnia July last year as drowsiness is a side effect of Trycyclics (*sp?). Initally I was prescribed the smallest dose of 10mg. I must say the benefits were amazing; no more problems falling asleep and I literally jumped out of bed in the morning raring to go. The only problem is the other side effects such as constipation, indigestion and I'm paranoid that it is slowing my metabolism down.

For these reasons I taken myself off and on it so many times but my doctor last week suggested that I need to go back on it and take 15mg due to the other stuff that is happening in my life (grief and now lots of family conflict). I must say it is working fantastic & I'm feeling more positive and stronger than I have in a while. But I'm still paranoid that it's slowing down my metabolism.

I have to admit that I didn't gain any weight for the first few months probably due to my good eating and exercise regime that I had in place (although I didn't lose any weight but wasn't really trying either). I've gained most of my weight by binge eating when I wasn't taking the medicine properly but it still bothers me that it could be messing with my metabolism.

So I guess the next 12 weeks will be a big test to see if I can lose weight or not. Logically I know that I'm better off taking something that is going to help me hold it all together during this crapola time but I'm that I am a lil bit OCD about my weight and it would make me feel so much better reading that other people have managed to lose weight whilst on antideps.
 
Logically I know that I'm better off taking something that is going to help me hold it all together during this crapola time
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I'm really glad you said this because this is the most important thing! Don't forget that.

I'm sorry to hear about your bereavement - it really must be a difficult time.

I know that you're looking for reassurance that other's have managed it but you've got to be careful about taking advice on medical matters from lay people.

I am aware that many of the drugs prescribed for mental health reasons have side effects of increased appetite and weight gain and that can be difficult to battle with but I'm sure it is possible. Either way, exercise and eating well can do wonders for your mental health with or without weight loss!
 
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Ah well if he prescribed it for insomnia then it makes a bit more sense i guess. My effexor is known to give some people insomnia so it wouldn't be prescribed for people who complain of it. I certainly never complained of insomnia even when i had it so my doc wouldn't have considered it when he prescribed it.

I get constipation as a side-effect of my meds. I take psyllium fibre for it and now that i am eating less food, i also have had to incorporate more legumes because the constipation is worse than usual. I talked about it with my gp. Definitely start off with the psyllium if you are not already doing it. If you have issues with it, ask me more. Its good stuff. We need to keep on top of this rather shitty problem.

About the indigestion, there's nothing i can say. I really don't know much about indigestion. I've rarely had it. I hardly even know what it is. Is it when you feel uncomfortable in the stomach because of gas? I have had bad gas on occasion. It really is awful. I think i would struggle to put up with that on a regular basis.

I really don't think its your metabolism slowing down. You've basically said as much through your account. With the antipsychotics when people put on weight its because they get a monstrous appetite. It doesn't slow down their metabolism. If this drug is known to interfere with metabolism there's bound to be documentation about it somewhere. Have you spoken to your doctor about it. I think its simply as you've described, you've taken to eating because of grief. Try to believe that the weight loss can work if you resume healthy moderate eating. It really seems like you have no reason to fear this aspect of the medication. All that you have said in your post points in the other direction ie, that's its induced from over eating.

Try to put that fear aside and give the meds the benefit of the doubt for a while.

I hope your family strife resolves soon. If you need a good depression site, i can recommend one. That is you want to rant about your family issues in a blog thingy and so on.

Don't worry mods, no one talks about weight loss over there.
 
Actually the side effects of TCA's are better documented than their mode of action, and it doesn't involve changes in the metabolism. The most common things are sexual dysfunction of various sorts (inability to orgasm, delayed orgasm, harder to get a hardon etc.) dry mouth and such. But as with all drugs the list of rare side effects is daunting, I mean look at the inlay in a pack of common NSAID, you'd think it was small vials of death you were eating to kill your headache.

If your brain chemistry is such that the TCAs help you, you should take them. I can certainly appreciate the fear but like, at least try them for a month and see if an effect takes place. Usually the positive effects show up a bit faster but after a month is a good time to look back and go "what has changed inside me", and keep in contact with your doctor, this is the most important part. Remember to ask all the questions you have to your doctor, thats partly why they're there. Internet advice on any drugs dealing with mental conditions is a notoriously bad bad thing.

Also, I'll add a little anectodal evidence here that should be no means be trusted since it is both from the internet and anecdotal. I've lost 40 pounds at a rate of about 1-2 pounds a week while living with a severe chronic depression, social anxiety disorder, type 1 diabetes, a lowered metabolism that I'm getting eltroxine for and eating a rather hefty dose of antidepressants (albeit of the SSRI type) the entire time :)
 
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hey there,

i am on antidepressnts and i have been for a long long time, i think it is a lot harder as i feel my brain works in a different way, i am more emotional and can get upset at the drop of a hat and not know why.

i am use to feeling this way and accepted i may never come off my pills but i am here if anyone wantes to talk and have some support :)

lynsey
 
I've been on anti-depressants since I was 12, so what I say may or may not be useful (I also have complicating factors). I don't know whether it's my genetics (not having the fast metabolism that other people my age have) or the antidepressants, both, or other factors, but at least since that time I've never been able to eat the way my peers do. They eat a lot of junk and it doesn't even touch them, it seems, whereas I can just look at some of the stuff they eat and put on a kilo. Keeping my weight healthy has always been a challenge for me. Appetite may be a factor in this- I can and do eat (volume wise) more than a lot of my peers (whether that's caused by the meds I'm not sure), although it's always been substantially more healthy than the stuff they generally eat.

That being said, I have lost weight while on antidepressants. I'm on an SSRI now and I've lost 2kg in the last two weeks (I'm fairly early into this). I also lost 40kg in the space of about 4 months around my 21st birthday (I was quite overweight then), although this was in part caused by the fact that I had a relatively serious case of glandular fever. I suspect if anything, appetite may play a role in weight gain/ prevented weight loss on psych meds.
 
I was on Fluoxetine (SSRI) for about 8 months and it did nothing for me whatsoever. I gained about 50 lbs during that time for the simple fact that I didn't give a damn about anything anymore, and calorie counting (or watching what I ate) was way too much work. I don't think it had any effect physically, it didn't cause me to gain weight, it caused me not to care if I did.

My doc wanted to keep me on them, but I eventually just stopped taking them, and within a few weeks felt miles better. Looking back, those tablets actually made the problem worse instead of better. I've sat down and educated myself through books and the internet and talking to professionals, and have a pretty good handle on things without the antidepressants now. Apart from the sex drive - that seems to have gone for good. Thanks, doc.

I do think however that if they help you, don't even consider stopping the antidepressants, or even changing them, just because of the weight issue. I don't think that any of the antidepressants will make you gain weight as such or alter your metabolism to the point that you can't lose weight, or even put it on.

Also, your mental health comes first. You need to feel alright within yourself before being able to take up the battle with your weight.
 
this is my personal experience of antidepressants- I took Fluoxetine following the death of a close family member to stop myself from going insane- and I lost 2 stone because I went to the gym alot and stopped binge eating. Then I felt great, and thought I didn't need them anymore and didn't taper off- big mistake- panic attacks ensued!! That was years ago, I'm sort of ok now, said I'd never take antidepressants again but was coming to the end of my tether last year with binge eating and rapid weight gain (and other stuff which has no place on a weight loss forum), on lexapro now, which many people say causes weight gain, but this hasn't happened to me. the drug suits me perfectly, and I am dealing with my weight now, I wasn't able to before. My being so obese is a symptom of the crippling depression I have been experiencing, which lexapro, which is said to cause weight gain, is alleviating. Since March 12 I have lost 17lbs of weight. Everyone is different I guess.
 
I take Cymbalta...gained 30 pounds fast after starting. It has helped me a LOT, along with Naproxen, and RLS meds. I was so depressed I seriously considered suicide. I have chronic pain & when I had to deal with the death of my beloved 7 month old puppy (she was very much like a child to me), it was all just too much. I sat in a bedroom holding a gun. That's how very bad it was.
Gaining weight vs. living with that depression was worth it. I know i can not go off these meds. It's supposedly a worse withdrawl than heroin. PLUS, who says I wouldn't wind up right back to that point? I sure don't want to find out.
BUT-
I HAVE lost weight this year.... 30 lbs. I just exercise (aquacise & weights) & am pretty strict about keeping to a low fat diet.
It CAN be done. it's harder than it was for me pre-medications & I never thought of WHy till now. Doesn't help that I'm 43 too. So there's the whole hormones thing too.
Just hang in there. It'll happen if you stick with it. The first 2 weeks are the hardest to me. You're hungry & mourning your old habits that must die....but in the long run you will FEEL so MUSH BETTER!!!!!!!!
I know I've hit 2 plateaus & seriously got depressed & considered quitting. but WHY? I'll just go back to where I was. I guess just 'cause it's easier? But really, ANY progress at all is an improvement.
GOOD LUCK! :)
 
Thanks everyone, your answers are very much appreciated. Although I hate taking medication, these do actually seem to agree with my brain chemistry (I've used SSRIs before for anxiety and they made me worse). My whole life seems to be consistent whilst on them so I agree it would be daft to stop taking them due to weight reasons.

I will read this post whenever doubt sneaks into my mind again!
 
Weight gain/difficulty losing is an unfortunate side effect of many psych meds. Track your food intake. Since often the cause of weigh gain is because the meds dramatically increase the appetite, make sure you haven't inadvertently began eating more. Be sure to satisfy the increase hunger with high water/low calorie content foods. Mix up your exercise routine as well.
 
A person close to me was taking zoloft and instead of losing weight (he tried) he gained more than 120 pounds, which made him more depressed and created a vicious circle.
 
I've been on Citalopram for a few years now, but I don't attribute my 25-30 lbs weight gain to it. I think it was a combination of being lazy and wanting to eat what I wanted all the time! I've been on and off my medication for years. I'd start to feel really great and think I didn't need it anymore. Each time, I ended up an emotional wreck. I now know I can't go off of it, ever. Plain and simple. This is a part of me, one I've grown to accept.
 
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