Anti-depressants and weight gain... Alternatives? Advice?

[rachelgraziano]

Hi! 

SOS...I'm very curious to see if anyone else has experienced major weight gain when taking anti-depressants. I've been all over the board with medications and switching to different ones even medication such as Wellbutrin that isn't supposed to cause weight gain, I gained like 20 lbs in less than a month when transitioning from Prozac to Wellbutrin. I am not a huge eater (I eat, just not excessively) and I'm pretty active every day so I know it's medication related.My doctors however, do not think this is the case. I try to explain that I have never had issues with weight gain in the past before this.

Has anyone else had similar issues or experiences? If so, what have you done to over come it and what alternatives or advice do you have for me? I am getting so frustrated because I do need the medicine, but it's also counteractive because gaining the weight when I'm doing everything right NOT to, is just making me more depressed. HELP!

[Dominique]

No personal experience, but I listened to a interesting podcast with Dr. Spencer Nadolsky on Medications & Weight Gain that was precisely on this issue. The take-away I got from it is you should talk to your doctor and see with them whether there would be some other medication for your condition without (or with less of) an impact on weight.  

[rachelgraziano]

Thank you that's interesting because most doctors want to believe i'm lying or that I really do not have healthy eating habits which isn't the case. I'll definitely look into it and also find a different doctor. I'm glad to know there are some out there that think this is a possibility!  

[Hollydog2]

Hi,

Do you keep any kind of journal? It might be worth documenting not only what and how much you eat but also your mood, motivation levels, energy levels, hunger levels and exercise, medications you are on and dose and amount of sleep you are getting.  This serves a couple purposes: something concrete you can show your Drs regarding your eating and life habits, also something where you can see if there are any patterns with your eating habits and the other factors I listed.

Most anti-depressants don't make you gain weight directly but what they can do is increase hunger levels and/or decrease your daily general activity levels (ie more time spent sleeping or sitting).  It can be subtle but enough to cause weight gain.

Not sure what your concentration levels are like (depression and/or anxiety is hard) to be able to keep a journal but it might be worth trying.

Goodluck 🙂

[Mukluk4 · Accepted solution]

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@rachelgraziano wrote:

Thank you that's interesting because most doctors want to believe i'm lying or that I really do not have healthy eating habits which isn't the case. I'll definitely look into it and also find a different doctor. I'm glad to know there are some out there that think this is a possibility!  

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Your doctor needs empirical data to make a correct diagnosis.  Using I think I still eat and have the same activity as you did pre-medication isn't going to assist him/her in anyway.  You need to keep a food and activity journal and show that to your doc (and be accurate even if you shoved a box of twinkies down your gullet)

[rachelgraziano]

Thank you so much for your reply. I actually do keep a food journal and I showed a different Doctor last night and she told me she doesn't doubt that it was the medication making me gain weight just because i am fairly active (I work out at least 5 times a week for over an hour and I track it on my fitbit) and I'm burning almost 2,500 calories each day and my daily intake is no where near that number consistently so I think we are going to try something different for me but also put me on a stricter diet and see what happens. Thanks again!

[rachelgraziano]

I have kept a clear, consistent, honest food and activity journal and I did show it to my Doctor and she said we will try something else for me and keep me on a stricter diet for now just until I get back to my normal weight. Once I showed her my food journal and my parents told her about my eating habits as well as my activity level, she agreed there was no possible way other than my medication that I would be gaining this weight. Also, I showed her the data from my fitbit (calories, steps, activity) and I don't eat nearly as many calories as I'm burning each day. 

[Hollydog2]

Sounds like you have a plan going forward, goodluck with it. Dealing with depression and being overweight is a hard combo and I wish you well with it.

[rachelgraziano]

Thank you so much ❤️