Back on Paxil and gaining weight

[Taybey]

Here we go again with the weight gain.  Is anyone else on generic paxil and gaining weight?  I thought last time i was on it i gained because i quit smoking at the same time but now its been two years since I quit i went back on paxil in january and i have gained 15 pounds and I AM NOT HAPPY with the weight gain but I am happy while taking paxil.  so what do I do get fat and be happy or get off it lose the weight and be depressed?  Nothing else works I have tried them all so dont bother telling me to switch.

taybey

[catzrcool]

I have notified my doctor of ringing in my ears, ear pain, weight gain, vertigo, naseau and i'm very lethargic.  Some days I cant even make it to work and in this economy, I cant afford to loose my job.  Instead of changing my meds, i've been sent to an ENT and went through many tests for vertigo and ear pain.  They've found nothing so far.  The ENT gave me valium to help with the vertigo.  It does nothing to help.  I need off of Paxil.  I havent thought of suicide but if the ringing doesnt stop...well, that's enough to drive someone crazy!!!!  I sleep with a fan on just to quiten the noise when I quit tossing and turning.  I've never been so messed up in my life.  I Went from 102lbs to 151.  I cant afford to by new clothes each month.

[Taybey]

Well i am going on 10 mg of paxil starting tonight i called my doctor i was on 20mg some nice girl on here told me she cut back to 10 mgs and lost 30 pounds but she had to add xanax for her anxiety, Im already on ativan so dont need that. I will keep you posted in a month from now to see if i lose anything.  It definately increases your appetitie i was never this muncy hungry all the time and im eating low fat no sugar and still gaining weight but the PAXIL works.  So........

[Paxiled]

As I said before, it didn't increase my urge to eat a bit, and I still gained over 50 pounds on it.  Weight gain, weight loss, just weird stuff.  But I've been on a lot of Paxil sites, and most everyone gained a lot of weight on it.  Personally, can't live without my exercise, not that it's done anything to help my anxiety.  It's just the way I've always been.

[amanda__nichole]

like i mentioned in another forum, what's funny is that on my medication guide for (Paroxetine) Paxil it says that a side effect is a LOSS of appetite. but then under the uses section it says that it may improve appetite. I think it has definitely improved my appetite, not that I was lacking one before this. haha So far I have been able to fight off the constant urge to eat. Hopefully I can keep it up.

[amanda__nichole]

I want to exercise more but I cant train myself to do it daily. I guess you can say I'm lazy. I just dont have the will power to make it a daily thing.
Especially with being on Paxil I REALLY want to exercise right now so I can keep at this weight I am at.

[Paxiled]

As I said, start slowly and work your way up.  If you have physical ailments, a doctor's advice might be useful, and a physical therapist's even more useful since doctors are idiots when it comes to diet and exercise.  If you can walk, you can exercise, by just walking more.  if you can pace the floor, that's exercise.  If you're just way way out of shape from not exercising, then a therapeutic yoga class can be very helpful.  They'll work with you slowly.  Once you get going, it gets easier and easier, but never easy, and it wouldn't be fun if it was easy -- it's the working yourself that is fun about exercise, since we're all masochists at bottom, right?  Otherwise nobody would work at all the dumb jobs we've created just to create paychecks.  I think you  can do it if there's no physical ailment preventing you.  I used to think I couldn't do certain things, but that turned out to be the influence of my older brother, who suffered from asthma and I just projected that onto me.  When I got older I discovered I could do a lot of things, not well, but I could do them, and it's fun.  Now, I can't go without exercising.  Now, this didn't help me lose any weight on Paxil because I was already so active, but when you're not active, it makes it easy to lose weight and add muscle by just moving.  Even fat people can be very fit, look at offensive linemen, they're huge and fat, but they can run faster than I can.  On the other hand, they take steroids.  So, is it that you can't do it, or is it the avoidance built into all of us who suffer from depression and/or anxiety?

[Taybey]

i just cant exercise.  if i get down on the floor i cant get up. and im not fat.

[Paxiled]

There's only one way to lose weight:  eat less, exercise more.  I don't know if you can lose weight on Paxil, I really don't, I wasn't able to, but tell us:  why can't you exercise?  Anyone with depression or anxiety should have a pretty good exercise routine if only to keep the body strong despite the negative thinking.  I'm 56, and exercise seven days a week despite a pretty damaged body from high impact sports and an auto accident.  there are so many kinds of exercise, and if you don't exercise, that makes it easier to lose than for people who already exercise regularly.  Please, is there a physical reason you can't exercise?  Can't do yoga?  Pilates?  Jog or walk?  Bicycle?  Do an elliptical machine at the gym?  Lift light weights?  There are just so many ways, and I think it will do you good, though you need to start slowly and work your way up slowly if you haven't exercised regularly.  

[Taybey]

Thanks i need to cut 20 pounds i really do.  im on 20 mgs but i am also on ativan 3 mgs one tablet in the morning and two before bed.  My stomach is where the weight is going and im 53 and its not easy for me to exersise any suggestions?  HELP.

[marymagdeline]

If you take a good multi vitman/mineral supplement, it has vitamin E in it.  Women only need to take a multi vitamin/mineral, (in capsule, powder or liquid - not tablet), and either fish oil OR flax oil, and an extra supplement that has these 3 things in it because women can't get enough of these 3 things in their multi...Calcium/Magnesuim?Vitamin D3.

I know that the Paxil makes you want to eat.  Drink lots of water, keep it in your car, at your desk, and in your purse.  And munch on pop corn.  It has very little calories and lots of fiber.

[remar]

What dose are you on? I took it years ago and gained 60 lbs so I quit taking it even though it really helped my depression and anxiety. I decided to start taking it again about 4 years ago but at half the dose. My Dr. added an antianxiety med and I'm doing well on the combo. I even lost weight. I totally understand about the cravings. It seemed like I could'nt get enough to eat!

[Taybey]

I take fish oil but not vitimiin E what would that do to help me lose weight? i take a multi vitimiin.

[Taybey]

Thanks guys!  the paxil does increase my appetite. Does anyone know of any appitite supressants that are not perscription and work?  I hate that I eat and eat and eat.  I am hungry though thats why and I KNOW its the paxil but I cannot go off it I just cant I cry constantly and feel like dying.  So if anyone knows of an appetite supressant non perscription that works, please let me know.

taybey

[Paxiled]

There's a book by Hedaya about living with antidepressants' side effects.  He has a diet in there.  I don't agree with a lot in it, but it might give you some ideas.  I was on Paxil for years and gained 50 pounds, but I also exercised a lot, I always have.  I quit because of the side effects, but not the weight gain (quitting Paxil has killed me, though).  If the drug works for you, deal with the weight gain by increasing exercise and diet by eating right, but my guess is you'll still gain weight on it, at least some, but I agree with the above, if it makes you feel better and it's the only thing that makes you feel better, what the hell?  Anyway, I think the book is called the antidepressant survival guide, but I'm not sure.  Take a look.  

[marymagdeline]

Hi, I'm a nutritionist.  I am also on Paxil.  I gained about 45 pounds on it.  And personally,  I would rather be fat than depressed.  Think about it, if you and your significant other were the only two people on the earth, would you rather be on the paxil, free of depression, and have a little weight gain, or would you rather be thin and depressed?  If you said you would rather have a little extra weight on and be free of depression, then your only reason for wanting to get off the Paxil and lose weight is because your concerned about what other people think.  It also means that you know your significant other loves you regardless.  Most people are conditioned to believe that being thin = being beautiful.  Not true.  Anyway, I lost 30 of those 45 pounds and I never switched drugs or lowered my dosage.  That was 2 years ago and I haven't gained it back.  Here's how I lost 2 pounds a week over 15 week...I did a brisk 30 minute walk every morning.  After about 6 weeks, my speed had improved to the point where I was able to do 2 miles within that 30 mintues.  That is the ONLY excercise I did.  I did that 6 days a week.  I also stopped eating between meals.  That means, no snacks and no desserts.  No one, and I mean NO ONE needs more than 3 meals a day.  I had 1 or two cups of coffee in the morning, but for the rest of the day I only drank water.  (Did you know that drinking water boosts your metabolism and helps you burn more calories?  It also helps keep you full in between meals.)  I also took supplements every day.  In the form of a drink.  (This was part of my breakfast).  In 8 ounces of unsweetened soymilk, I mixed 1/2 cup of fresh or frozen blueberrys, and powdered and liquid nutritional supplements (If you want to know which ones, just ask).  One of those supplements was Flax Oil.  Good oils, like flax oil and fish oil remove the bad fats (from eating saturated fat) from your body.  They also help with depression.  Because of this drink, by the end of the 15 weeks, when the 30 pounds were off, my skin looked gorgeous.  Please don't get off the Paxil.  Just eat right, take nutritonal supplements, and exercise, and you WILL lose the weight.  Good luck!

[amanda__nichole]

a side effect of paxil is weight gain.  I gained almost 20 plus pounds when I was on it. It worked perfectly for my anxiety and panic attacks but I had to stop taking it cause of the weight gain. I have just started taking it again. I've only been on it for 2 days but I am sure I will start getting the undeniable urges to eat. My doctor said she can put me on welbutrin?  i think. maybe yo should check into that. I know there are appetite suppressants out there that your doctor can put you on to help with that. Maybe you could talk to them about that.

[dai3symae]

Have you tried taking fish oil and vitamin E supplements along with the Paxil?