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antidepressants

Which ones do not make you gain weight? And being on seroquel (spell?) counter reacted with my requip, which I take for restless leg syndrom.My depression is bad, but gets worse with weigh gain, so I stop it.And believe me, I would much rather suffer with depression than have my requip not work. Then I'm up all night walking.  HELP!!!
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Avatar universal
From 10 years of antidepressant use i can say now coming off them they are not worth it especially long term. It is well known amongst certain informed researchers most of the improvement is placebo and what improvement there is often is not of clinical significance even when statistically significant. For clinical significance to hold you need a 3 point improvement out of 50 i believe on the hamilton scale and they rarely achieve this. 3 points out of 50 is rubbish in my book anyway.
In my experience the placebo is often responsible for alot of improvement even if only in hindsight. There is nothing better than the promise of a cure in a pill or hope in a pill.
And yes many ssris made me put 5kgs or so on only the stimulating ones like effexor made me lose it but at a cost to great.
you would do well to do thorough research including Robert whitaker or Joseph Glenmullen or Peter Breggin or David Healey for unbiased science based research not funded by big pharma.
It took me 10 long years to face up to the science of antidepressants it does not stack up and after all medicine is suppose to be about science.
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Avatar universal
Agree with Funwithsharpes and the Celexa weight gain.  But myself & an acquaintance gained 30+lbs within 3 mos.  The company site denies weight gain but it is used for individuals with anorexia & bulimia.  It is almost impossible to lose.  I have found most antidepressents to be sedative; which causes inactivity; leads to weight gain.  I started a new diet & Pritiq at the same time; finally losing weight.  I can't say which has more effect.  More energy from the med but the diet limited a lot of unhealthy stuff.  Each medication acts differently with someone's metabolism.  You will read this on any forum.  One person loses/loves & the other gains/want to die.  It is a chance or trial & error.  Keep researching as that it your best option.  Good luck.    TO FUN: The weight gain & fog are an accurate description but I really liked Celexa in dealing with the depression.  I am on the Paleoithis diet & like it. (I am not a purist though)  It was a life style choice & I will probably be on it a long time.  Weight drops off & seems healthy.  If you have any tips I would love to hear them.  I could not believe how difficult it is to lose the Celexa weight.  
Good luck to both.
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Avatar universal
My research has shown that quite a few people gain weight on SSRIs.  Before I started taking Celexa, I read only information given on the medical sites.  I believed the literature given out with the drug and started taking it.  I wish I never started.

Their clinical trials only show that short term use doesn't seem to cause weight gain.  However, it seems that long term use has a rather high occurrence of weight gain.  After being on Celexa for 1 year and 4 months I gained over 60lbs (my dose was 20mg a day).  I was a fit ballet dancer who was at the lowest healthy weight for my height before I started.  I am now overweight for my height.  I am a vegetarian who has always been on a strict healthy diet.  I never had any weight control issues before starting medication.  While I was on Celexa, I did not over eat-in fact, I ate less than before because the drug robbed me of my appetite.  The worst thing about the situation was that Celexa kept me in an apathetic fog where I could see the weight creeping up-but had no power to do anything about it(like stop taking it before it was too late!).  My head was high while my body deteriorated.  Coming out of that fog was like awaking from a coma only to find that you are no longer in your body.  It is like waking up as someone else-and not in a good way.

I am at the 3 month mark after weening myself from Celexa.  I struggle every day with weight loss.  I measure everything I put into my mouth.  I exercise every day.  I have only lost 4 pounds.  I now realize how horrible Celexa made me feel.   I was completely exhausted all of the time...didn't have the ability to care about anything.  I feel so alive without the drug but my sex drive still hasn't come back.  I don't like being in public anymore due to my weight.  I seem to be worse off after taking the Celexa than I was before it.  

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1416835 tn?1295811283
Woops, when I said "definitely not" in that first sentence, that was meant to mean "definitely don't usually make you gain weight", that is, they do so in very few people.  Looked a little different to how I imagined it.  Sorry!  
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1416835 tn?1295811283
Antidepressants don't usually make people gain weight, and definitely not the ones that people will prescribe you as your first few antidepressants.  (Some people don't respond to some antidepressants, and have to try several).  Weight gain is on the list of possible symptoms of pretty much every psychiatric medication out there, but then so is suicidal thoughts, and that doesn't happen to lots of people who take the drugs otherwise they wouldn't be called antidepressants.  Really, the only way you'll find out is to try each one and see.  They start you on the least dangerous ones first, and those are usually the ones that are least likely to make you gain weight.  
Mood stabilisers are used to augment the effect of anti-depressants.  They are much more likely to make you gain weight.  But then that's still different for each individual.  I've been on six psychiatric drugs - including 2 anti-depressants, one antipsychotic 3 mood stabilisers.  I only gained weight on one of the mood stabilisers, but weight gain was listed as a possible side effect of all of them.  
Remember, the weight gain is totally reversible, and gradual.  Just try what your doctor prescribes, see what happens, and ask them for another if you can't handle the side effects of one, until you find one you like.  But also keep in mind that they will prescribe the least dangerous drugs first.  
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Avatar universal
Google Antidepressants and receive all the info you need.Use repratable sites only.All the best.
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