how to lose weight gained from antidepressants

see my below post. I went through the same thing. Just on a side note, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy worked wonders for me once I finally got off Prozac. You can make changes without this medication, so if you've already gone off the meds, seek this type of specialist if you think it might help. Work hard to get the weight off - they are stubborn, stubborn pounds - unfortunately!! Good Luck!!

That's encouraging to hear you ave been able to get your weight off. Unfortunately my body has always been stubborn to lose weight and the 30 pnds still hasn't budged at all and it is now 3 1/2 months, but not giving up.
On the positive, the doctor is seeing how much I work out (rowed 250,000 meters in January for a challenge that month) so he is working with me to find something to help. Nothing yet, but still keeping positive...your encouraging post helps to know you had the same struggles, thanks for sharing!

Its fortunate that your doctor is watching your exercise program, that should be a great benefit to you. Stay strong!!

an athlete here also who went from a borderline 6 pack to flabby on the stomach with love handles . i tried lexapro prozac zoloft and luvox for anxiety. they all caused weight gain . and after stopping prozac i continued to gain for 4 months . the luvox worked wonders for me and i enjoyed life so as much as i hate weight i will take the luvox again and say a prayer that this time it doesn't effect weight or maybe after gaining, my body will adjust to it and i will come off. i am tempted to try cymbalta cause its an snri. my luck ill put on even more weight. p.s. to get this into your docs head , tell them what i did. doc i gained 25 pounds while training for a half marathon

continue my.post .... instead of jumping from one ssri to another if i stood with luvox which was the 2nd one i tried , by now maybe i would just be able to come off. instead i have to back to square one.

I have been on Lexapro for around 5 years or so now.  I love its affect on my mood and anxiety.  I decided around a month or so to stop cold turkey only because I suffer from Seasonal Deffective Disorder and with the summer months coming I wanted to try.  All I can say is WOW.  I have lost 5 pounds this week and have not really changed my diet all that much.  They can tell me until they are blue in the face that it doesn't cause weight gain.  I thought my weight gain was just me getting older and not dieting like I should.  I am sure that is the main reasons for it but I do now believe Lexapro causes weight gain.  I'm interested to see where I am one month from now.  Perhaps everything will change and I'll be back to having a huge gut but for right now I feel great.

Did you experience any negative side effects when you went off "cold turkey" and what dose were you on when you stopped.

I've been weaning off, from 20 mg. to 10 mg. and ready to go to 5 mg. No side effects except for restless legs when going from 20 to 10, but that has stopped.

I am positive the Cipralex (Lexapro) caused me to regain the 40# I had worked so hard to get off. It took a year to get it off and about a year to regain after starting the anti-depressant meds.

An impossible situation caused the depression for me and now that I've adjusted to the situation I feel ready to kick the meds.

Please share your withdrawal side effects if any.
Thanks.

Hi there, I too (along with everyone else on this site) have had a devestating experience with antidepressants causing extreme weight gain. I have been on it for 1.5 years and went from being toned with curves at a happy 155 lbs (5 foot 7) to a mindblowing 215 lbs. My family is extremely judgemental and seems to think that I'm sitting at home (I live in a different provice than them so everytime they see me I've gotten noticeably bigger. It's MORTIFYING.) stuffing my face with cheetos and slugging down beer and burgers. In reality, noone except my boyfriend (who lives with me so sees me eat healthy small portions and work out like a dog 5 days a week) would be able to believe its possible that I have gained this amount of weight from a pill. I am on cipralex (also known as lexapro with the exception of a miniscule difference in minor non-active ingredients) and have been for this entire duration. I have never tried any other SSRI's. For the first 6 months I was on 10mg daily and then moved up to 20mg for this past year. I had been prescribed this drug/dosage to control my generalized anxiety disorder and severe obsessive intrusive thoughts. I must admit, I was so incredibly disturbed mentally that I would stay this heavy for the rest of my life if it meant keeping those thoughts at bay. Cipralex managed to allow me to get my mind under control and for that I am eternally grateful. However, it is bittersweet because after trying every diet under the sun (weight watchers, lose-it, u-weightloss, personal trainers, green tea pills, CLA, hydroxycut, fat melt-down stacked with raspberry ketones, etc.) I have come to the point where my weight is almost as distressing as my former issues. It continuously makes me pull away from my friends, embarassed, angry, insecure, jealous, and lash out because I know people are thinking are thinking it and alluding to it much of the time. It puts strain on my relationships with my family and my boyfriend who is gorgeous and in awesome physical shape. The point that I'm getting at is that I took myself off cipralex 3 weeks ago. Not quite cold turkey, I began taking my 20mg pill every 2nd day instead of every day. I did this for about 2 weeks and now I've been completely off of it for a week. I'm writing you this post to share my withdrawl side effects and trust me, it isn't pretty. Also a side note, I'm on no other medications, not even a multi-vitamin. I took myself off birth control months ago to see if it was contributing to my weight gain (it wasn't.) Here we go. The negatives: Extreme exhaustion, lightheaded, dizzy, brain zaps, nausea, headaches, hot flashes, uneasy thoughts, adrenaline rushes, anxiety, irritation, mood swings. The positives: Weight-loss (5 pounds in 1 week without changing diet, which is already quite healthy, AT ALL!) sped up metabolism (used to have bowel movements once or twice a week, now am almost daily.) That is about it for the positives, I'm still fighting the withdrawl symptoms badly every day. Hope this helped in some way. Please feel free to ask any questions or advice :)

Hello Amroot,

I too am excited to come off Cipralex so I can drop the 40# I've gained over the past 22 month.

I was too scared to go off it rapidly and you confirmed those fears with your list of negatives.

So last November 2012, 6 months ago, I cut back from 20 mg. to 10 mg. daily. For the past 2 months I've dropped back to approx. 7 mg. (hard to tell when trying to cut a half tablet in two with a razor blade.) But I figure I am averaging between 5 and 7 mg. daily.

Now I feel nearly ready to stop and go cold turkey albeit not cold turkey like stopping 20 mg would be, but am still nervous about side effects. I have had only a mild case of restless leg syndrome in the evenings and that's about it with the gradual tapering over these 6 months. However, I've heard the side effects can appear after the final tiny dose has been taken.

Good to chat with you and maybe we can stay in touch as we reclaim our formerly lighter bodies. I was never slim so the extra 40# has been rather devastating.

By the way my depression/anxiety was caused by a very difficult family situation that less than 1% of the population ever has to deal with. My doc was very understanding and quickly wrote the prescription due to my circumstances. Now that I have learned to cope and can live with what life has dealt my family, I am ready to kick the meds for good.

Diane

I have been on cipralex coming on 3 years now. It has helped with the depression, but the live saver has been therapy. Cipralex gets me out of bed in the morning. I completely understand the complaints for weight gain, and screw everyone who says otherwise. I have put on 40lbs over the course of 3 yrs and it will not budge, no matter what. I eat very healthy, do yoga and hike several times a week but nothing will make it come off. If anything, it's slowly climbing. It's a viscous cycle with the depression, I am depressed because I am overweight and I am overweight because of the medication for my depression. Some days it is so frustrating I just want to chuck the little white pills down the toilet. 

Hello....I really feel for you because I gained over 40# in just 18 months, and this was after successfully losing it 2 years prior to that. My depression was situational ... a horror story with one of my kids, but I have adjusted to the changes and now the weight gain is my biggest worry.

So last November I started tapering off from 20 mg. daily down to where I am today....alternating between 5 mg. and 2. 5 mg. daily. Weight hasn't budged, but that may be my own fault for not focusing on dieting the way I should. Trying to get that underway while I drop the little white pills altogether. Depression is horrible to be sure, but being 50# overweight is just as bad and likely worse for our physical health than depression.

I wish you luck whatever you decide to do. Oh, and by the way I've had not a single bad side effect by tapering down so slowly.

Diane

Ive been on lexapro for a year and have gained 9 lbs! I havent changed anything with diet or exercise. Its helped my anxiety alot but I dont want to keep gaining in exchange for it. I was on 20mg but just started going down to 10. Part of me wishes I never touched it because now Im scared of how it will effect me not having it. Ive read alot about withdrawls and it all seems bad. Im worried Im worse off then when I started.

I also have gained lots of weight since taking Cipralex, I have just decided to go off of it because of this. I was hungry 100% of the time & I would never ever get that full feeling no matter how much I ate!!! It has been a huge source of anxiety, it's not worth spending all my nights awake & up because of constant hunger!

Hey I just read your post about antidepressants and weight gain. How long did it take for you to start loosing weight after you stopped taking your antidepressants? I am in a similar boat as you. I have been on them for about 2 years. I was 160lbs but am now 200lbs and I want to go back to my original weight.

Exactly the same thing happened to me. I've been on Cipralex almost 2 years and gained 20 lbs. I'm 37 now, and never before had trouble with weight. The med was a lifesaver for me too, but this extra weight is becoming a cause for depression itself! I have not taken it now for about a week and am really hoping I can lose the weight quickly. My appetite has definitely decreased drastically, so I'm hoping it works.