# prescription causing wt gain



## ihedrick (May 15, 2005)

I've been sitting in the corner watching this thread and wishing I could do something about my weight. I've been dealing with depressio/anxiety/panic/
PTSD and the meds the VA has me on has helped me pack on pounds! Anyone else taking meds that make you gain? How are you dealing with it? I've been to a dietician and have followed a very healthy diet with plenty of exercise. After spending 15years in the Marine Corps, I've gotten thoroughly disgussed with my body.


----------



## caroline00 (Nov 10, 2002)

if you can figure out why you are gaining weight....does it cause increased appetite or cravings or what? they can give a med to counteract that

My son is taking a med that causes weight gain... he was gaining too much...went from size 4 toddler to size 8 boy in 3 months... last month, they prescribed meds for something else..but its side effect is loss of appetite. She is hoping that the 2 side effects will counteract each other... we'll see. this month, he is still wearing size 8 so it is looking a bit better.


----------



## southrngardngal (Oct 18, 2005)

I was taking meds for depression. My doctor moved away so I had to find another doc to take over my treatment. One of the first things the doc told me is "You got to lose some weight" Then he looked at my chart and saw the med I was taking for depression, leaned back in his chair and announced. "Well, I guess you know that ____ med will make you fat". Welllllll....no i didn't know that. I quit taking the medicine after three years and I am doing all right at the moment. When my son and grandson were deployed I almost had a nervous breakdown worrying about them while I was on the medicine. I am now off and handling their deployment better than while on the medicine. And now I am losing weight. 

I am not saying for any of you to stop your medication. What I am trying to get across is doctors sometime put you on medication that the side effects are the last thing you need. But they fail to tell you what the side effects are.

At one time I had a lung disease and was on steroids. I gained twelve pounds in three weeks. I didn't know what was going on. I talked to the doctor about this and told him that I never got full. That I would eat a full meal and then be back ready to eat again in an hour. He then explained that one of the side effects of the steroids was increased appetite. It sure would have help me understand what was going on in my body if he had told me that to begin with.


----------



## Wolf mom (Mar 8, 2005)

The newer meds for depression, etc. don't have all the side effects that the older ones have IE: weight gain. Some, just not as much.

The problem is that they cost an arm & a leg. Sme insurance companies don't want to pay for them, so don't put them on their formulary list.

Get your Doc. to get samples from the drug rep. If it seems to work, your Doc can petition the insurance co. to give you the drug, but the cost to you may be more. You may have to push him/her if he/she's not a psychiatrist, cause these meds are pretty specialized.

Poopy catch 22 situation. :viking: 

Been there, done that - my soon to be DH was a psychiatrist.


----------



## BeeFree (Feb 23, 2004)

Tell me it wasn't Lexapro you were taking? 

What are some of the newer antidepression drugs that will not make you gain weight?


----------



## Hovey Hollow (Apr 25, 2005)

I think Lexapro is one of the better ones for not gaining weight. I was on it for a while, prescribed by the same doctor that is helping me lose weight. He chose it because it was less likely to cause weight gain. Due to insurance reasons he switched me to Celexa, which is a similar drug but was covered by my insurance. I have lost weight while on it. I am also taking a prescription appetite supressant, so I can't say that the Celexa has helped lose weight, just hasn't hurt. I'm an emotional eater, so the antidepressants do help with that.


----------



## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

Wellbutrin is not bad for gaining weight, but you will not loose weight while you are on it.


----------



## tinda (Jun 11, 2005)

Your druggist will be able to tell you the side-effects of any prescription you are taking. Sometimes they know more about it than the doctor.

tinda


----------



## Wolf mom (Mar 8, 2005)

I was on Effexor XR. Gained about 15 pounds. According to the brochure, youre not suppose to gain weight. :nono: Wrongo!

I think it has a lot to do with your metabolism. I just slowed down mentally & physically while on it.  

Wellbutirn is known as a med that you will not gain weight on, but then....everyone's unique.


----------



## Grandmotherbear (May 15, 2002)

Weight gain is mainly problematic with the old tri cyclic antidepressants, which are frequently used in chronic pain situations. They do better for pain control than the newer anti depressants.
I used to take fibre before meals. Guess I'll start doing it again.


----------



## sisterpine (May 9, 2004)

Personally i think effexor should come with a giant warning label about discontinuation side effects ! i am taking wellbutrin for the past year, quit smoking a year ago and am up 20 pounds. saw the doc yesterday and now he would like me to add lexapro to the wellbutrin...i am thinking i will never be thin nor have a sex drive again LOL. so the doc says fat and happy or thin and depressed...he was shocked when i chose thin and depressed cause fat makes me depressed !


----------



## Wolf mom (Mar 8, 2005)

Definately agree about the side effects of trying to discontinue effexor! Screaming nightmares. Plus I now smell imaginary smells - usually the same sent. 
After being hit in the head I had an MRI and it was normal, so I don't think it was that. Only have major medical, so can't have it redone yet. Oh, well.


----------



## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

I think Celexa and Lexapro can cause either an increase or decrease in appetite depending on the person. Some of our elderly residents in the assisted living center I used to work at were actually put on Celexa to help them GAIN weight. 

For myself, I'm on Celexa, nortriptyline, and Adderal. You'd think somewhere in that mess, I'd have at least a breakeven, but I have gained over the last year. I'm still having a hard time even with exercising a bit more and trying to eat a bit better. I'm just HUNGRIER than I used to be. Since I'm on the nortriptyline (and Inderal) to help with my migraines, I'm hoping that in a few more weeks when I have my surgery and the ovaries are gone, my hormonal migraines will go with them and I can get rid of at least those 2 meds. It may not be a total solution, but I'll take anything that helps!


----------



## COUNTRY WISHES (Nov 27, 2004)

I have a lot of issues with sinus and allergy conditions an I find that when I am on a decongestant that my appetite really increases.


----------



## mommagoose_99 (Jan 25, 2005)

HI . 
I am on Zyprexa and have been for almost 4 years. Zyprexa is known to cause weight gain and diabeties. I have early diabeties but had it before I went on Zyprexa. I fully believe that I would not be alive if I had not gone on Zyprexa and I will stay on it as long as I can because for me it has worked very well.
Since I have been on Zyprexa I went on Atkins and lost 53 pounds . My sugar stayed in normal range, sugar 107 cholesterol 197 ,until I cheated on the Atkins diet. Now my sugar is around 117 cholesterol is 136 and I gained over 25 pounds. My doctor is threatening me.
From my experience with Zoloft and Depakote, both which made me gain a lot in a short amount of time, Doctors should prescribe a low carb diet along with the medications. These meds cause a craving for carbs similar to the ones we experience with PMS. Since doctors won't do the obvious we have to take things into our own hands. If Atkins is too radical for you , try the CURVES or South Beach diets. Just lower your carb intake and you will not gain as much weight. The cravings have to be controlled by own persistance. Take resposibilty for your actions. Its not easy I cheated now I have to make it right again. I started MOnday.
Good Luck
Linda


----------

