Stopping the medication is not an option, although oftentimes weight is lost quite rapidly when medication is no longer required. The weight-loss advice given in medical articles and physician offices is no different than advice given to anyone who has to lose weight regardless of what caused it to be gained: Stop eating junk food, eat more vegetables and fish, eat less red meat, drink water, and exercise.
My therapist gave me a diet sheet that looked like something his mother might have followed 40 years ago. He started to mumble something about weighing my food and cutting out butter and chocolate, and not cleaning my plate. I told him that I know how to follow a healthy diet because, until I started on my meds, I was thin, athletic, and never ate junk food.
What I need to know now, I told him, was how to turn off that voice in my head, which pushes me toward chips, candy, cookies, and ice cream. But he had no answer. Even though weight gain is now seen as an almost inevitable side effect of many antidepressants and mood stabilizers, strategies for preventing or undoing the overeating that cause it are lacking. Although there are hundreds of diet plans and many weight-loss support groups available for people who gain weight the traditional way, almost nothing is available for the formerly thin individual whose weight gain is entirely due to his or her medication.
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As another client told me, "I may look like any other fat person, but I never had a problem with emotional overeating or using food to reward myself or dealing with stress. In fact, I have never been on a diet in my life because I never had a problem controlling my eating.
So when I go to these meetings and hear people talk about food being their best friend or using food to relieve boredom or anxiety, I don't know what they are talking about. I overeat because I have a persistent feeling of needing to. It is like being thirsty all the time, despite how much water you drink. And I cannot turn off that feeling. The ideal solution is to develop drugs that address the mood disorders without altering food intake or energy levels.
Because let me be clear: I am very vain.
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I obsess about my looks as much as anyone. Suddenly my brain was filled with one of my oldest friends: self-hate. So at a certain point, I broke. I avoided my reflection and internally yelled at myself for looking disgusting. A week or so after the Post-it, I went back to my psychiatrist and asked to change medications. She put me on a newer drug, Trintellix, which has fewer side effects, and paired it with Wellbutrin, which is known to combat weight gain.
My Antidepressants Made Me Gain 20 Pounds—And I Was Shamed For It
I slowly started to wean off Zoloft under her supervision. I had multiple brain zaps and felt off for weeks. Full disclosure: I went off caffeine at the exact same time, due to bad judgement and possible masochism. Mental health should, without a doubt, always be a priority. But then, all the external pressure created even more stress, so with the help of a doctor, I looked for a new option that would take everything into account.
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And despite the rollercoaster of side effects, I am still a huge proponent of medication. I urge everyone suffering from anxiety, depression, OCD, or any other type of mental illness to seek professional help and treat their symptoms the same way they would treat a physical ailment: with proper care and medication.
How to Lose the Antidepressant Weight Gain
Do not let the fear of side effects get in the way of getting help. Because I can assure you, even when I was feeling my lowest about my body it was nowhere near as low as I felt the day my ex left me. As for me now?
But I can definitely live well with that. If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can call the U. United States. Type keyword s to search. Today's Top Stories. Listen to Black Women.
Antidepressants and weight gain: What causes it? - Mayo Clinic
Many others try these medications but stop taking them, often because of side effects such as weight gain. A study from a Harvard-based team shows that the amount gained is usually small, and that it differs little from one antidepressant to another.
Earlier studies linking antidepressant use to weight gain were usually small and short. Using electronic health records, the researchers identified men and women who took an antidepressant for at least three months. Medications used included amitriptyline Elavil , bupropion Wellbutrin , citalopram Celexa , duloxetine Cymbalta , escitalopram Lexapro , fluoxetine Prozac , mirtazapine Remeron , nortriptyline Pamelor , paroxetine Paxil , venlafaxine Effexor , or sertraline Zoloft.
They also identified another 3, people who took some other type of medication for a non-depression ailment. In this study, the weight gain experienced by people taking citalopram averaged one to two pounds. Compared to citalopram, the weight gain linked to other antidepressants was small. Bupropion was associated with the least amount of weight gain, close to none.
Two others that also appeared to have less weight gain were amitriptyline and nortriptyline. Amitriptyline and nortriptyline are older drugs. At the other end of the spectrum, citalopram caused the most weight gain. Even so, the differences between the drugs were small.