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Weight Loss Alternatives Community

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This patient support community is for discussions relating to weight loss alternatives, surgery, programs, and dietary supplements.
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Member Comments (636)

by saa73, Dec 08, 2007 10:35AM
14 months ago I tried Effexor and initially lost about 7 pounds, was a size 4, looked great and felt OK (not great, but it took an edge off my symptoms that appeared more anxiety than depression related).  After a month, not only did I not lose anymore weight, but I started gaining.  I gained back the 7 and added 4 to that.  So I tapered off the Effexor (not the hell some describe, but did have about 3 weeks of randomly feeling electrical impulses go through my body very frequently and the "brain zaps").  I called my doctor and inquired about Lexapro as it is also rated as less likely to cause weight gain.  Did not feel any improvement from general depression/anxiety symptoms and continued to gain weight.  After about 2 and a half months I stopped it cold turkey.  I did not have any withdrawal effects (after Effexor withdrawal, anything else is a walk in the park!).  I've continued gaining small, steady amounts.  In August of this year I went the Wellbutrin path.  Still, little improvement of symptoms and more weight gain.  I went to my doctor this week and over the last 14 months, from my low weight to my high weight, I had gained 23 pounds in a 14 month span with realistically NO change in average calories or activity.  Other than the obvious suggestion to make sure thyroid is OK (I am a thyroid patient and you will not be able to manage your weight if it's "off," which BTW mine is currently fine), you may want to re-evaluate why you went on antidepressants to begin with.  Particularly if you didn't have improvement or relief while taking them, perhaps you were treating the wrong illness.  After a great deal of research and looking at my personal history along with family history, my doctor and I have come to the conclusion that we were treating mild depression and anxiety when it was much more likely that I suffer ADD.  Now I'm on a stimulant medication that is being closely monitored and I have energy for the first time in nearly two years (but it is controlled, calm energy -- nothing manic) and I've actually lost 6 pounds.  A legitimate, common side-effect of my current med, Vyvance, is weight loss rather than gain.  It may not be a viable option or diagnosis for a lot of you going through this, but it may at least be worth discussing and researching.

by Meteors85, Dec 12, 2007 01:19AM
To: Everyone
Hey all.  To catch everyone up, I quit Lexapro almost 2 months ago and started taking 200mg of 5HTP daily instead.  It helped for a while and has definitely curbed my appetite, but the weight's not dropping, and I'm not happy at all.  I'm still very irritable and irrational.  I'm going to talk to my doctor on Friday about trying Wellbutrin.  I'm starting an internship next semester, so I can't afford to have all my screws loose.  So... wish me luck.

by aaagghh, Dec 12, 2007 02:56PM
To: All
After reading these posts some weeks ago, I tapered off of Lexapro, and changed to 150 mg of Welbutrin.   I've started going to a pyschotherapist, and also exercising.  A couple of weeks ago I began taking 5HTP in the evening, as well as the butrin in the mornings.  That seems to be working, but no weight loss.  I've actually gained 4 pounds in the past 3 weeks.  Hopefully that's because muscle weighs more than fat.  smile   My quetion to the women out there - do your symptoms change dramatically during your period?  My therapist even mention prementrual dysphoric disorder, and told me to increase my meds during my monthly struggles.  My depression changes from moderate to severe during those days, and I am struggling with emotions that scare me.  Then for a couple or three weeks, everything will be manageable, if not fine.  Any thoughts?

by abizane, Dec 15, 2007 10:55AM
To: Everyone
Good morning! I caught up on the posts...congrats to all who have found good meds that work for you, and to those who have dropped some weight! During Thanksgiving, I thought I was losing my mind. I was on Wellbutrin for several weeks (300mg) and I wanted to cry, not get up and thought my world was caving around me. By the grace of God, I kept focused that it was the medicine making me feel so badly and I weaned off. I am now taking nothing and will try the natural things listed here (5htp and primrose). My weight has remained at 160, at least I am not gaining, but would like to get back to my regualr 140. I am grateful that I am not feeling like death anymore, though. Traceyz, thank you for your input and help. And to all of you, I wish you the best of luck and life.

Please let me know if there is anything any of you have done to jump-starth the weight loss. I know 20 pounds does not seem like a lot, but this weight is making me feel very ugly. Thank you!!!! :)

by jkittie, Dec 17, 2007 02:27PM
To: aaagghh & all
Hi aaagghh, I read you last post. I can sympathize with you because I have had similar experiences
and problems. You can read my story form all of my past posts. Maybe you can get some insight as to what is happening with me lately. I will try and keep it brief. My normal weight was always 125/130 at 5'4, I am a 32 old woman. I took Sarafem (prozac) for a few years for bad PMS. Then I went on 20 mg of Lexapro for minor anxiety and depression. After gaining weight up to 155, having no sex drive, and being tired all time I decided enough is enough. My doctor slowly took me down to 5 mg of Lexapro and added 150 mg of Wellbutrin. Currently I am on 5 mg of Lexapro plus 300 mg of Wellbutrin. There were some annoying side effects at first but they subsided. It's been a few months. I am slowly losing weight, last time I checked I was 148..but may be less now b/c size 10 is getting big on me. Wellbutrin suppresses your appetite, so most likely you will lose weight. H/ever it can be slow after being on other drugs. So hang in there!  

by pennylane76, Dec 19, 2007 10:21AM
To: Everyone
I am a rep (not for an SSRI), and I think I finally figured out why some Drs don't think the drugs cause weight gain.  Most of the studies are only 12-week studies.  In most cases, it takes longer than 12 weeks to gain the significant amount of weight we're talking about here. And people may not have reported weight gain to drug companies  after the drugs were on the market as an adverse event.  That's how the system works.  That's how drugs get pulled from the marked (Vioxx.)  It's called post-marketing surveillance.  People have to report adverse events to doctors or the company directly in order for more data to be collected.  If the weight gain was never directly attributed to the SSRIs, then the companies never  publish data about that particular side effect.  "Oh, by the way doctor, Zoloft causes signifcant weight gain."  They just don't really know.  I've even asked other reps about it, and they're like, oh, you're a very unusual case to have gained that much   weight (15 lbs.)  ********.  There are several other factors to consider as well. Companies aren't going to study weight gain, because 1) the drug is not specifically used for the purposes of weight and 2) they don't really want to know that it causes weight gain - it wouldn't be financially beneficial to find that out, would it?  

All I can say is, I work in the industry, and I'm so sorry I didn't do more research on this damn drug before I started taking it and ruined my own metabolism.  But then again, the PI doesn't really tell you about weight gain, does it?  Good luck out there.

by rlcm, Dec 26, 2007 07:37PM
To: everyone
I take 300 mg Effexor XR, 20 mg Lexapro, 250 mg Lamictal, 600 mg Neurontin, 12.5 mg Cytomel.  My cocktail is tweaked from time to time, with less frequent additions or deletions of medications.  All these medications are to control my major depressive disorder, with its Axis II companion, OCD.  These are life-threatening conditions for me and my choices are limited:  1) hospital; 2) suicide; 3) drug management.  I'm fortunate that I've had excellent psychiatrists who specialize in psychopharmacology to work with;  so many people don't.  

Antidepressants and their off-label cousins are far too often prescribed for people who probably need a therapist to help them sort through events in their lives, someone who isn't emotionally involved.  This is immensely helpful and effective in and of itself, and far preferable to loading your body with a lot of chemicals.  If you had a scaly spot removed from your arm that had a few weird cells in it, would you blast yourself with chemotherapy for it?

However, if you truly need psychotropic medication, it can be a lifesaver.


That said, I have a couple of comments:

No matter the excellence of your relationship with your prescriber, ALWAYS research ALL your medications, before taking them if at all possible.  Next, look into the interactions between your medications, including tyrosine, 5-HTP, St. John's Wort, and anything else.  Pharmacists are an underutilized resource, and of course there's the internet.  Check more than one information source;  make your own decisions, or ask your physician questions about what you learn.  No one person or system, however well informed or designed, is guaranteed error-free.  It's your responsibility to take care of your health unless you're incapacitated.  Maybe your decision won't turn out the way you hoped, but at least it will be YOUR decision, based upon your reading and inquiries.

Lamictal and Cytomel both help my energy, libido, anorgasmia, and weight gain. No miracles, but improvement.  If you have someone who knows what he/she is doing with psycho drug combos, you might ask about these.  BUT.....look into the side effect profiles!  Lamictal is frightening for some people.  Cytomel is a T3 specific thyroid medication.  Other thyroid replacements won't have the same effect, and you may have to have a psychiatric specialist to prescribe it if your TSH is in the normal range.





by kas1013, Dec 30, 2007 11:44PM
To: All
Thank you so much for this website...I can't believe how relieved I feel after reading your blogs.  3 years ago I began to lose control of my life after my 2 year old son almost died  .  I spent a month living in a pediatric ICU watching a machine breathe for him and praying for his recovery.  When I finally brought him home, I was a wreck, couldn't eat, sleep, or function and life had to return to normal and somehow I had to move forward.  After 6 months I scheduled an appointment with my primary care physician and had a breakdown in her office.  She placed on 10 mg of lexapro, explaining that I would need to take it daily for 3 months to reboot my system, much like a computer hard drive needs to be rebooted from time to time.  Her advice made sense and I was desperate to be a normal wife and mom again so I filled the prescription and began taking the meds. About 3 months later, just as I was scheduled reboot was about to end, my husband was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer and life took another turn for the worst.   Upon discussion with my Doctor we upped the dose to 20mg.  It took the edge off and helped me survive my husband's cancer regimen and keep life at bay.  However, this summer, I decided it was time to stop hanging on to my "Crutch" and I asked my Doctor to help me get off it and she prescribed a tapering process.  I got down to 5 mg daily but then chickened out after I totalled my car.  I realized I was in a fog and couldn't even figure out how the accident had happened.  In addition, my mood swings were out of control.  I went back to my 20mg dose.  But over the past month, I realize things are out of wack with me.  My body is out of sorts.  My cloths are not fitting comfortably and none of my bras fit anymore.  I've tried to think of everything that could be making these changes manifest.  I've even taken pregnancy tests...nothing explains the subtle changes until I stumbled onto this blog tonight.  After reading the descriptions of others experiences I feel like a lightbulb went off in my head