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Mental Health (Expert Forum)
Depression and weight loss
Questions posted in the Mental Health forum are being answered by Dr. Roger L. Gould, author of the Mastering Stress and Depression program and affiliated with the UCLA. Department of Psychiatry. Topics covered include anger, attention deficit disorder (ADD), bipolar disorder, dementia, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), learning disabilities, memory, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic, personality disorders, phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), schizophrenia, stress, transitions, and work problems.
Depression and weight loss
by Angel, Nov 10, 1999 12:00AM
I am a 23 year old female who was recently in the hospital for depression. I lost about 20 lbs and being only 125lbs to start with, the doctors said I was anorexic. I started on Prozac and it seemed to help with every aspect of the depression, including appetite. Now I am starting to have a decreased appetite again and am not gaining any weight. I have recently read that prozac can cause anorexia or weight loss. Why would the psychiatrist start me on that knowing full well that I had lost so much weight, especially when there are other antidepressants that increase your appetite. IS it time to go off the prozac or switch to something else???
Doctor's Answer
by HFHS MD-JM, Nov 11, 1999 12:00AM
Angel,
Prozac and the other SSRI antidepressants are effective treatment adjuncts for anorexia nervosa. In general weight remains relatively stable with these medications. However, when the disorder(depression, anorexia nervosa) responds to these medications behavior changes(increased appetite with weight normalizing as a result).
I recommend that you continue your Prozac as you have experienced an initial response. Please discuss this concern with your treating psychiatrist. Hope this was helpful.
This information is intended for educational purposes only. Please consult your personal physician for specific health concerns. It may also be helpful to search this forums archives using anorexia as a keyword.
Sincerely,
HFHS MD-JM
Keywords: Anorexia, Prozac
Prozac and the other SSRI antidepressants are effective treatment adjuncts for anorexia nervosa. In general weight remains relatively stable with these medications. However, when the disorder(depression, anorexia nervosa) responds to these medications behavior changes(increased appetite with weight normalizing as a result).
I recommend that you continue your Prozac as you have experienced an initial response. Please discuss this concern with your treating psychiatrist. Hope this was helpful.
This information is intended for educational purposes only. Please consult your personal physician for specific health concerns. It may also be helpful to search this forums archives using anorexia as a keyword.
Sincerely,
HFHS MD-JM
Keywords: Anorexia, Prozac
I am severly depressed much of the time, but do not experience any sort of weight loss. However, I am not on any sort of antidepressant, aside from the odd St. John's Wort tablet. I have heard of incidents like your's, though, and hear that it is a somewhat common side-effect of Prozac.
depression, and the first 3 months I took it I lost 10 lbs (which
was great for me, I'm overweight by everyones description) however it didn't last, within several months I'd gained it back. Hang in there, Prozac has really helped in my life, and enabled me to accomplish a lot.