how long after stopping celexa will i lose weight

I had panic attacks for years .meds never did help..I leaned on God and memorized fear scriptures in the Bible..and everytime I felt one coming on I would start reciting the verse and it would go away ...This went on for some time..But I had faith to know Gods word cannot return void it had to stop the fear and it did ..the panic attacks went away the same as they started I never even realized they were gone just one day I thought wow no panic attacks ..I was not on any medication at all..try this and you will see I am right it is complete and total fear ..God does not want us to fear ..I pray this helps you

Hey Guys, I was on citalopram for 7 years at 50mg. After weaning of them from feb last year I have now been of them completely for 8 months. Within the 7 years I was on them I gained approx 20kg, I was however 21 and wieghed only 45kg which is skinny but that's how I had always been. I have now lost over 10kg and am wondering if it was the meds or because i have been eating and exercising more. This is something I have asked my doctor and they too are unsure. I guess the most important thing is if the meds help stay on them. I would rather live a life of quality even if that means i'm on meds. I understand the weight gain and all that goes along with being on medication can be hard, but if it makes you stable it might just be worth it. I never thought I would get of my meds, but with a good doctor, psych and family and friends to support i have achieved it and it is a great feeling. Just keep the faith and know that it is possible.

Celexa may help some people with depression and anxiety, but it did not help me. For the roughly 18 months I was on it, I gained close to 40 pounds! It was horrible and incredibly distressing because my doctor kept insisting that it couldnt be the celexa. I was running up to 5 miles 3 times a week and my weight just kept going up and up. I am 5'4" and started celexa at 135lbs (3 months post partum). By the time I stopped taking taking celexa my weight had balooned to 176lbs.  I haven't gained a pound since 6 weeks off the medicine but now 9 months later I still tip the scales at 170lbs.  Have been to three endocrinologists but have "perfect" bloodwork.  Still exercising in hopes that some day my body will recover. 

How are you doing now? I have been off the drug for a couple months, but I'm still 20 lbs over what I was before. And yes, it happened overnight (well, over a few months). None of my clothes fit. Does it ever get better?

How is the weight issue coming along for you? I took celexa for 6 months and gained 20. It makes me sick, I refuse to buy new clothes. I eat healthy and exercise. I am coming up on 6 months of being off the celexa. Will the weight ever go away?? In place of the klonopin I take a half of a benedryl. When I have attacks I try and lay down in a calming area, breathe, and put a cold compress of peas wrapped up in a cloth dinner napkin. These things have helped me very much. I hope they might work for you. I just don't know what to think about this weight not coming off!!!

Yes i too was placed on celexa and the food cravings were constant never could stop eating I knew it was the drug doing this and said before its too late Im quiting this c**p. Started to wean my self off, miserable feeling right bow it feels like your having a heart attach, heartburn too. Nasuated quit a bit but I know this will pass. I know i have put on weight just havent weighed my self. Dont wont too be shocked. Although I was only on iy for 2 months at the most I knew I had to get off or i would soon be stepping through my door side ways to get in.

I have been on Celexa for 6 mos and gained 20 lbs... I am a personal trainer and a triathlete!! I did NOT increase my calorie intake nor slack on my exercise. I counsel people for a living on nutrition and exercise, Im pretty sure I would be aware if there were a change. I am going off of celexa ASAP! Im terrified for the withdrawal symptoms but ANYTHING has to be better than this extra bulge... Good luck everyone!  

I'm in the same boat as many of you with the weight gain. I started celexa when I weighed right around 145-150 lbs. A year and half later, I'm up over 40 lbs. I went through a divorce during this time, so knew that going off the meds wasn't an option. The anxiety and depression were almost too much to bear even with the pharmacological intervention. I'm on a low dosage--20 mg--so I am hoping that reducing to 10 mg for a few weeks to a month before quitting altogether will work. I know that with me, the weight gain has come from a complete lack of motivation. I've had no desire to work out/eat right even though I'm a former marathon runner, yogi and foodie vegetarian. Because I've been on the celexa, I haven't even cared that I didn't have the motivation. I just quit working out and started eating whatever I wanted with out a care in the world. Not smart...and almost 50 lbs. later, this must stop! I'm hopeful that the weight gain will cease and that going off the meds will give me the energy and passion to work out/eat right again. 

Thanks for posting. I was semi-thrilled to see this post in particular ... I, too, am an avid athlete, hoping to do my first sprint triathlon this summer, watch calories like a hawk, put on 20+ pounds in about six months. Cut carbs from 120g/day down to 80g/day, nothing. Tracked calories, cut them down to 1200/day, still nothing. I'm six months in, had bloowork, just heard from dr. today how marvelously perfect my blood work in, so I'm horribly depressed that there wasn't a thyroid magic potion to fix this. I am two weeks totally off celexa, w/drawal symptoms haven't been too bad. Weird shakey/fever feeling, a little bit of a shoter fuse than I'd like, but, hey, life is stressful. Anyone found any tricks to get metabolism back up 'n running?

Going on celexa was the worst decision I have ever made in my life. I was going through a rough time...coming out of an abusive relationship, moving, starting nursing school,working full time, being a single mom....I started seeing a counselor who I feel pushed me into going on the meds. I felt like my sessions with her were helpful and if I kept going regularly probably could have gotten through the stressful time just fine but she thought otherwise. I was seeing her for anxiety which I'm pretty sure anyone would experience having all that on their plate at one time...i wanted to learn coping methods, not be putbon meds. she said I was also depressed. I trusted her judgement and saw the psychiatrist who prescribed me celexa. Now, nearly two years later I have had enough. I have gained almost forty pounds since starting it. I don't think I have ever been depressed until I realized how fat I was since starting celexa. This drug is seriously messed up. I believe the drug company knows this will happen to make the person believe they're still depressed/anxious so I must still need it. I have been withdrawing from this med for a week and a half. Forget tapering...while I'm sure better than going cold turkey there is absolutely NO good way to come off this. I am even tapering myself slower that my GP recommended and I still feel as though I'm failing. I'm irritable and I have never been so angry in my life. I want to literally yell at everyone who looks at me funny and Lord help you if you say something out of line to me right now. I have never been an angry person. I have never been a fat person. Celexa has completely changed me to the point I don't even know who I am anymore. I refuse to go back on it full dose and quit the taper. I refuse to let this drug rule me. As for other withdraw effects...the headaches are awful, no amount of caffiene, sleep or pain meds can ease the pain. I feel shaky and sick to my stomach. I go from feeling fine, to angry and wanting to punch you, to crying for feeling so out of control with my emotions all in one conversation. I feel paranoid. I know people must know this isn't ME but I feel like I'm pushing everyone away and ill be alone. I've had palpitations to the point that I felt like my heart could explode. I feel so helpless. I feel like I can't talk to anyone because they won't understand. I feel like the purpose of the drug is to make you feel like you NEED it, I'm not in control of my life...this drug is. I don't even know how it is legal. I just want to feel normal again. I don't remember what that's like...

i never gained weight while on the celexa, though, accompanied by my adderall. since stopping the celexa due to forgetfulness ive already gaindd 5lbs in about a week and half. reading about this paradoxical weight thing is stressing me out more. ive stopped celexa before and didnt have any issues. the anger returned in about 4 months with a vengence so i started the meds again. i hate this pill. it was prescribed by my family doctor who made me do a simple test online for a diagnosis. i hate the anger, the moodyness the lack of energy. i hate fearing what others think of me now that im emotionally unstable. i hate me without celexa. i hate what celexa did to me when i stopped it too. i hope to shed my weight or halt it before it goes any higher. i was already trying to diet and lose weight for a vacation coming up. i feel like i just want to become bulimic

I have a daughter that has suffered from Anorexia Nervosa and has been hospitalized for almost 2 years...various medications...mass therapy...and home for a year...still continued depression..anxiety...ocd...and now has gained alot of weight she went from bones to overweight...dr has her on 40 mg of celexa (citalopram) she still has all symtoms and now hates herself even more because all the weight gain!!!! HELP!!!!! I personally think the physc's just push meds and have no clue...everyone of them has 100 different side effects and for the reasons you are taking them can actually cause the same problems if not worse!?!? Whats the point? Any advice????

I am SO happy I decided to look up if anyone else had issues with Celexa. I was on it for 6 months, and gained 20 pounds within the last 3 months, even though I work out 3 times a week. Here I thought it was my thyroid, but my doctor said it could be the celexa. I also developed uncontrollable eating habits, even if I knew I should stop. I have now been on Zoloft for a week, so I'm really hoping it helps!

I have been on Celexa for 2 years (25 mg) I have put on 10 lbs in those 2 years and I am miserable. I am weaning myself now and wondering the same thing. I really can't get any good answers !!

Yes, this happened to me too. I was fine on Celexa for a few years, but near the end everything got crazy. I was drinking in excess, smoking cigarettes in excess and eating in excess.

I tried to exercise, using a bodybugg arm band to track my exercise and I ran my heart out at the gym, I monitored my calories about still I only lost about 4-5 lbs, over the span of 3 months, the bodybugg program even said, I should be doing better in my weight loss!!!

It was so aggravating, I was even on Concerta, an add medicine for part of that time, which for quite some time helped to even out the issues with my appetite.

 

But when, I moved to Texas, and they would not prescribe Concerta to me, until I had been retested for ADHD, my weight sky rocketed up.

 

Since quitting all medications, AND quitting smoking. I am able to run more effectively at the gym, have self-control about eating and drinking. And I have naturally lost two more pounds in about 1.5 weeks for returning to exercise.

 

And I only exercise now, for about 45-60 minutes 5 days a week, where as before when I was on meds, I was exercising at times 5 days a week for about 3-4 hours a day!!!

 

I really do think this effects a person's metabolism, and it can then cause depression in and of itself. Getting off celexa was hard. I had a dr switch me to prozac which I was able to stop effortlessly. That is the only way I have been able t wean off this drug. Celexa did help me through some really hard times, but it was a pain in the butt to wean of, until I learned about switching to an SSRI that doesn't have as bad withdrawal, and then stopping SSRI's while on Prozac.

 

Good luck friends. I am finally starting to see some looseness in my jeans, surely, I have to push myself... running for 45 minutes on a number two inclines at a speed of 5.5

 

But damn, it feels great to try to focus on what my new body will look like and feel like, drug free and happy.