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I have yet to meet a thin person on anti ~ depressants. I was on the lowest dose of Prozac for exactly one year. I gained over 20 lbs , my cholesterol went up and my blood sugar went up. The doctor told me to cut back on eating. I had a very physical job at that time , I don't believe for one second that it was my eating habits. I stopped the Prozac cold turkey and never went back. I knew that the ssri would only lead to health issues and more meds , I believe that this is the goal , we end up taking more and more pharmaceuticals . I lost the weight , it took a few years . I do low carb , it works for me. The sad part is that I poisoned my body because I was married to a sociopath who convinced me that I had a problem ,this wont happen again.
I gained 60 pounds on Risperdal. Then I was switched to lamotrigine, which has been weight neutral for me, Latuda, and now Vraylar. Vraylar has been a godsend, and so far seems to be weight neutral for me too. I'm very overweight, but at least I'm not gaining on these meds.
Different meds affect different people in different ways. I never had any luck with antidepressants (I have MDD with psychotic features) but antipsychotics work, at least for the psychotic features. Vraylar has been wonderful for me because it treats the "negative symptoms" like apathy, low energy, etc., which no other medication was able to do and it has no "brain fog" or other cognitive side effects. I would just keep trying more meds until you find the one that works for you - I thought I would never find one that worked for me, but I did.
Also, metformin may be able to help with weight loss for people who are metabolically "stuck" because of antidepressants. I tried it, and it didn't work for me, but it might work for other people.
I also read somewhere a study that showed fat people have different gut bacteria than thin people, and that suggests that taking probiotics may help with weight loss. I have tried probiotic pills, but (and this may be TMI) they made me have to poop a lot...like 4x a day, and it was really annoying. Your mileage (and peristalsis) may vary.
I'm at the point where I don't really want to be on any more anti-depressants. I'm not ruling them out ever for the rest of my life, but I want to see if there's anyway for me to deal with these things without prescriptions. I was able to lose a few pounds by really like starving myself essentially.. but I don't know how far it will take me. I've been keeping a tracking journal of my weight and seeing what happens. I also read someone had success losing 30+ pounds of antidepressant weight by doing a juice cleanse (1 week) and doing a raw diet for 1-2 months. I'm considering trying that. They said no other diet or exercise really seemed to make a difference which is what I've experienced. Even with starvation and high intensity exercise 5-6 days a week and near constant movement/activity throughout the day, I'm only seeing a bit of results. I will most likely post any updates or results, and if I can find anything that works, I'll post that as well to help others out.
You can lose weight by starving yourself or doing a juice fast. But that is temporary and once you go back to eating normally, which you will, you will not only gain all the weight you lost back, but you will probably add on a few more pounds.
Find a way to eat that you can live with for the long run. Weight is not supposed to come off fast if you want to lose it for good. 1 to 2 pounds a week loss is healthy and sustainable. Track your food intake by either writing it down or inputting it on a weight loss site like Myfitnesspal or Sparkpeople.
I suggest reading my other posts so you have some more information. I was 97 lbs. steady before anti-depressants. I eat extremely clean with no junk food in my house ever. I exercise as well as live an active lifestyle where I am up a lot of the day. This does not come down to a lifestyle change, that is not why I put on the weight and others I have talked to who have had my issue with antidepressants are not gaining weight due to diet, exercise, or the like. I sleep well too and I do monitor my food and everything. I would agree that normally "dieting" like that does not work, but I have found from people that it was the only thing that worked for them after antidepressants changed their bodies. It helped their bodies "reset" back to normal.
I have read your other posts and I said nothing about antidepressants in this one. I never had a problem with antidepressants and weight. I took Prozac and Celexa. I am now on Elavil for my neuropathy - no problem with weight gain. Change your meds. I am sure you can find one that won't enable you to gain weight.
The post above is about how starving yourself and juice fasts are pointless. You lose weight and then you gain it all back and then some. I am going to stand by my statement that it is an unhealthy thing to do and that eating properly and exercising is a much better approach - it just takes longer, which is what I am guessing the problem is. Starving yourself will do more for harm for your metabolism, intermittent fasting might be a good solution for you however.
Personal experience here only. I have taken antidepressants for years; not very high doses, but steadily with a couple of different dosage levels at different times. As is common, I gained weight, most noticeably during the first couple of years. I also had some of the other common side effects including headache, some dizziness, etc. However, during that time also aged 20 years and went through menopause, things that affect your metabolism and, consequently, weight. When I reduced and finally stopped taking the meds those other side effects also stopped, but the weight is basically the same. Can't discount aging and hormonal change here. I have a very hard time believing that a medication you no longer use can continue to change in the way you metabolize or store fat all by itself.
Last edited by Parnassia; 12-31-2017 at 01:10 AM..
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