I had my son almost 3 years ago and gained 45 pounds with him(he was 9 pounds and I am 5'2 lol) and after I had him I lost the weight very fast. I was smaller than before I got pregnant. I starting taking cymbalta for anxiety and chronic pain and 4 months in I gained 40 pounds very fast. All in my hips and stomach. I was eating such big portions. I stopped taking it about 4 months ago and haven't lost any weight. I have been going to the gym 3 times a week and eating healthy and cutting my portion size. After I had my son I did nothing to loose weight it just came off. So I know it has to with the medication. My anxiety is very bad and my pain so they want me to go back on something but I do not want to go back on an antidepressant. I am hoping the weight will come off soon!
I stopped taking 20g of celexa 2 weeks ago cold turkey. I gained 20 lbs since being on it. I was always a size 0 or 1 now I'm 4 or 6, it's also all around my belly. I thought the weight was from my hashimotos. But I'm thinking it was the celexa. I started the celexa 2.5yrs ago, my doc put me on it bc I was feeling terrible physically and mentally. After being admitted to the er they discovered I had a thyroid issue. I went on synthroid and the docs have been baffled add to why I keep gaining weight. Also my cholesterol is 280 ,I'm only 30! I eat super healthy and not to much. I swear I hope getting off of this celexa will do it. My withdrawal symptoms are not to bad but the strange tingling dizzy feeling that radiates through my body is awful.
This is ME! I had the exact same experience. Did you ever lose the weight again?
SAME EXACT thing happened to me! That's why I'm here! Just a few months ago I was 115lbs now, I'm 140. I'm 40 years old and have battled anorexia throughout my 20's and given birth to 3 children. I left the hospital weighing only 112 lbs with my last child and never gained weight with the others either. THIS IS RIDICULOUS! MY EATING HAS NOT CHANGED ONE BIT yet, BOOM, there's 20 lbs OUT OF NOWHERE! And your right, doctor's are idiots. I quit talking to him when he told me just to quit eating. A$$.
Hi I'm exactly in same boat off two weeks. Exercising, cutting calories down. Weight not going down, upsetting
I was on Citalopram (similar to Celexa) for 2 years and put on around 25lbs. I stopped 9 months ago after weaning down gradually - no withdrawal symptoms but I just couldn't stop the weight. Suddenly out of the blue, I've lost 10lbs in the last 2 weeks - doing nothing new so I was quite surprised when I jumped on the scales. I read somewhere that it can take up to a year before the true effects of the drug wear off and you start to lose any gained weight. Hope that makes you feel better. :)
Hi - thank you so much for your post above. I came off Cit about 8 months ago after being on it for four and a half years. I put on 40 pounds. I have managed to lose twenty pounds in the last eight months by doing gentle exercise and watching what I eat. Exactly as you said the weight has suddenly dropped. When I was taking Cit, I was constantly hungry and craving carbs, chocolate and fried food. I don't feel as hungry now and am careful with my carb intake. It's incredibly frustrating to have doctors talk to me about my significant weight gain. This tablet causes weight gain!!
Reading everyone's accounts is very comforting. My experiences are so similar. I was on Citalopram for just over 4 years and took my last dose a week ago. The first year, I gained about 25lbs, and then another 10 since then. I'm the largest I've ever been and it's very difficult. I've tried everything from completely clean eating, to cutting carbs, dairy, gluten, you name it. Most I was able to lose was 5 lbs for a while and plateaued so quickly. Since coming off the med, I've felt very short tempered/angry and have had bouts of crying to release what I can't relax from/control. I'm only a week off but I'm praying my weight starts dropping. My neurologist recommended putting me on Topamax but I don't think the risk of mood swings and hair and vision loss are worth it. The way I see it, my weight is the price I pay for being mentally healthy. Still though, I hope my anxiety and depression are controlled and my weight can start regulating. Please continue posting- reading everyone accounts is helpful :)
It took an entire year to lose the weight? Wow. Depressing.
The way you are weaning is causing these withdrawals. You need to go very slowly by taking the medication EVERY DAY in gradually decreasing increments. I started weaning at 40 mg a day and went to 38 mg a day (by using a pill splitter). I stayed on the 38 for six weeks, and then went down to 35. Then stayed on that for six weeks etc. it takes a long time to wean like this but is the only way to minimize withdrawals. Trust me, this method works. Don't listen to any doctor who tells you to alternate days you take the medication. Most docs are shockingly ignorant about how to wean patients off SSDIs.
I had been on Celexa to for about two years and got off of it. I gained around ten pounds while on it. I did lose all of the weight within a year, but had to start back on it again due to anxiety and took it for a year and a half and gained 15 pounds. The weight is too much, so I just switched to Lexapro a month ago to see if that helps me lose weight. Overall I do like Lexapro better. I feel better on it and recommend it over Celexa if you can afford it. Still waiting to see if I lose weight though.
Hi. Not sure if you'll read this as you posted over a year ago. But I wanted to tell you that I went off Celexa 6 months ago (after about 5 years on it) and am just losing weight now. I gained 15 lbs on the drug, despite leading a very active and healthy lifestyle (gym every day and healthy eating). Do not give up! It will come off, it just takes time.
I started coming off 40mg about 2 months ago because my husband and I enter to start a family soon. I did whole pill one day and half another, alternating for about 2 weeks. The withdrawal was bad but not terrible. Now I have been on half a pill for about a month....going to start a quarter tomorrow and hopefully within a month be off it completely. I have noticed I have more energy and have lost weight. I want to eat better now and just don't feel like eating as much as I used to.
I have been completely off Celexa for 4 1/2 months. I was on 20mg for about 5 years and gained over 40lbs. Ugh!! My hunger has diminished considerably now and I'm slowly dropping a few pounds. My energy is definitely back to normal now. Not so sluggish and tired anymore. I'm hoping with working out and not eating as much the weight will continue to come off. I wish I knew then what I know now about Celexa. It did help me and it did what it was supposed to do, however I feel that I shouldn't have stayed on it that long.
I am SO glad that I found this posting. I've been 120 lbs since I was 14 years old. Celexa worked wonders for me the first several years but I was also taking Adderall in a high dosage. I quit taking the Adderall a few months ago because it's an AWFUL drug for me and caused severe depression and almost ruined my life. After I quit the Adderall and continued taking 40mg of celexa, I quickly gained 50 lbs! I weigh as much now as I did when I was 9 months pregnant. I eat healthy, I am active and constantly running around with my 3 year old, no changes in eating habits at all. I don't even go out with friends anymore because I'm so ashamed of the way I look. Now I'll attempt to taper down on the celexa and hope for the best. Any tips?