I am so glad I was forwarded this site.. I like all of you was put on Lexapro. First 10mg and then 20mg. I have put on about 20lbs in the past 3 months and now the weight is becoming a problem with myself.. I am thinking about getting off of it all together and just continue to exercise and get my normal self back.
Thank you for all your posts as it makes a lot of us realize a lot about the medication we are on.
Thank you for all your posts as it makes a lot of us realize a lot about the medication we are on.
I am 18 and have been on lexapro for probably 5 months or so now. As soon as i started taking it, i started putting on weight. I talked to my mom, who is a therapist, and I told her I thought there was something wrong with me! Each day, I would put on more and more weight. She said I was just eating poorly, but it really felt like something else. I'm actually glad to hear other people put on weight with this drug. I too, found that lexapro helped greatly with my anxiety issued. it's just hard to tell which is more important...my physical well being, or my mental well being.
It's pretty redundant for me to say it but I too am glad to know that I'm not crazy. I have been on Lexapro for about 2.5 years and I also take Wellbutrin and just started with Abilify. I have gained 45-50lbs in the past 2.5 years. I eat fairly healthy and workout off and on but it is so hard to lose any more than 5lbs. This is the heaviest that I've been in my entire life but I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. The drugs make life worth living and I'm able to function. Unfortunately, getting off of them is not an option for me because I know the ramifications. The positives outweigh the negatives (no pun intended) but it is still extremely frustrating.
Thanks for sharing your stories.
Thanks for sharing your stories.
OMG!!!!
i feel so stupid. i have been on 10mg for 7 mo. and gained 30 pounds. i am being weaned off now and today it dawned on me i gained all this weight while on lexapro so i found this site and am so glad i did. i can't believe it took me this long to figure it out and that my doctor didn't even tell me that the lexapro caused it.
thanks to all for sharing your stories. now i have to get the weight off!!!
i feel so stupid. i have been on 10mg for 7 mo. and gained 30 pounds. i am being weaned off now and today it dawned on me i gained all this weight while on lexapro so i found this site and am so glad i did. i can't believe it took me this long to figure it out and that my doctor didn't even tell me that the lexapro caused it.
thanks to all for sharing your stories. now i have to get the weight off!!!
I have been given lexapro by my doctor for severe depression and anxiety but I already have gained so much weight due to the depression I am afraid to go on it after reading all the side affects dizziness and weight gain I dont need that my health is already being affected by my wieght any suggestions?
I have also gained a considerable amount of weight since being on Lexapro (10mg) for the last two years. Almost 50 pounds! I was an in shape normal sized person before this. I am so bummed and sickened by it, so I have gotten off the drug. It has been 4 weeks, and I have to tell you, I miss it. I am moodier, though exercise helps. I hate my job more often than not. But I am just not willing at this point to go back on it ever again. The only side effect of getting off (and I did it gradually) was a sharp pain in the head! Anybody else have that? Lexapro is a miracle drug with one terrible side effect. WEIGHT GAIN. Beware..................
I came into work today and immediately logged on to search for Lexapro weight gain. I weighed myself last night for the first time in many months to find I've gone from a healthy, muscular 155 pounds to a whopping 194 pounds!!! This has happened over a period of about 6 months. I knew I'd gained some weight by the way my clothes were fitting (or weren't as it is) but had no idea it was this substantial. I feel like a huge cow and it adds to the depression. I'm 37 years old, 5'7" and extremely active in sports, backpacking and hiking. I can't even climb the two flights of stairs at work without being out of breath. I have never been this heavy, aside from right before I gave birth to my son. I am making an appointment with my doctor today to get off this drug. I take 20 mg of Lexapro every morning and it's made a huge difference in my depression, but I do not want to gain one more ounce! I'm really glad I found this site and can see that I'm not alone with the abnormal weight gain from this drug. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with me. I have not changed eating habits at all, so this is just bizarre. I read in an earlier post that Wellbutrin worked in place of Lexapro for depression symptoms. Has anybody else switched to something different with good results? Any suggestions would be appreciated. I WILL drop this weight!
Hi Everyone
I am so glad I found this website. I have been on Lexapro for a number of years and have gained an enormous amount of weight. I was told it was because of my age-47- and that Lexapro usually causes weightloss. However, it is apparent that I am in that 5 percent group that gains weight. I have net been able to lose the weight. I am going off the lexapro with the assistance of prayer and exercise. The pharmacuitical companies make a lot of money off of courting the doctors to prescribe these drugs. It is a win-win situation for them but not for the patients. We must be proactive as far as our health is concerned
I am so glad I found this website. I have been on Lexapro for a number of years and have gained an enormous amount of weight. I was told it was because of my age-47- and that Lexapro usually causes weightloss. However, it is apparent that I am in that 5 percent group that gains weight. I have net been able to lose the weight. I am going off the lexapro with the assistance of prayer and exercise. The pharmacuitical companies make a lot of money off of courting the doctors to prescribe these drugs. It is a win-win situation for them but not for the patients. We must be proactive as far as our health is concerned
So if my thyroid test comes back as normal my doc wants to put me on Lexapro. Since I already have issues with my weight it sounds like Lexapro may not be the best for me. What other similar anti-depressants are out there? They were asking me in the office if I had any preference as to what I wanted, so I'm wondering if I were to suggest something else due to Lexapro's weight gain possibilities, if they would put me on something else.
I have been on 40 mgs of lexapro for the last year. I have struggled with and eating disorder and depression for many years. When I started gaining weight while on lexapro, I had a hard time figuring out why. It was frustrating because I am an avid runner and haven't increased my calorie intake...I finally started experiencing other side effects from lexapro and then finally figured it out. I don't know for sure how many pounds I have gained because I have vowed to myself not to step on a scale again. However, my jeans no longer fit and I am truly struggling minute by minute to not resort to restricting and over excersizing as I have in the past. This drug has been nothing but a burden and I feel way more depressed and worse off before I started it.
I am so glad to know that I am not alone in the weight subject. I am on the back side of 40 and I have gained about 150 pounds in the last 6 years. That is about how long I have been on Lexapro. I Have a hypothyroid problem which I am taking medicine for, but it still does not help to know that I still keep gaining weight. I have been on every diet from Jenny Craig to Weight watchers and so forth. I was so depressed when I would go to a meeting and every one else was commenting on how they had lossed 10 pounds when I actually had gained 10 pounds. I am still taking Lexapro because it is the only thing that I have found that works, but it does not help the fact that I am morbidly obese. What is a person to do?
I have been on Lexapro 10 mg for about 2 years, having been switched from Effexor. On Effexor, I gained about 30 lbs--from 107 to 138 at max. I was told by my doctor that Lexapro would not have any effect on my weight and that it would be a good drug for me to take for my anxiety disorder. When I stopped the Effexor, I got back down to about 118. Now, after 2 years on Lexapro I am up again to about 131 lbs (I am 5-ft tall). I went from a size 8 to size 14. During the past year I also developed a constant ringing in my ears. My doctor attributed the weight gain to my age (51) and my being in menopause. He said that weight gain was not a side effect from Lexapro and that I should exercise more and watch what I eat. With all of the salads and 100 calorie stuff that I have been eating in hopes of losing weight, I should have taken off something, but instead I am gaining again. I found this site over the weekend and was shocked at the number of people who have written in about their weight gain on Lexapro. Also googled "Lexapro and ringing in the ears"--BINGO. Saw my doctor yesterday and am now on a weaning off schedule. Hope to be done with this stuff in about 3 weeks. Hope I will be ok. I'm scared. God bless all of you and my thoughts and prayers are with you in your daily struggles.
I am so glad I came across this website..I to am on lexapro 10mg. for about 19 months now. I had a difficult baby girl and could not cope with her.. Did not think much about it but I have put on about 10 pounds i can not get rid of.. I have been exercising and no change in eating habits. Then 6 months ago I decided to get rid of the baby fat after 2 kids and chose to do the smart lipo. Only to find my surgeon said I need to be off the lexapro for about 1 week before the procedure. I at first was horrified to stop it, however I did cold turkey. I was dizzy but it did go away. The next week I went for my procedure and amazingly lost 7 pounds.. I did not even think about that until I read these posts. After the procedure I started the lexapro again and I am back up 7 pounds and have been wondring why it is back now I think I have it figured out.. I am stopping the lexapro again.. My llittle girl is now 20 months and I think I am just used to taking it so I don't reallly think I need it..I definatly don't need the extra weight! Thanks to all who have posted their experiences...
I am 52 years old, started on Lexapro a little over a year ago and have gained 24 pounds. I was already 20 pounds overweight, so now I'm over 200 pounds. I cannot believe how big I have gotten. I've always been a size 8, 10, or at the most, a 12. I went shopping last week and size 16 pants were too small!!!! I am going off the Lexapro on a 3-week stepdown program. Does anyone have any experience with losing the weight once you go off the Lexapro? Does it come off, or is this it???? Also, I have sweated so profusely while on Lexapro, sometimes I have to dry my hair 3 times before I leave the house. Even mild exertion like folding laundry or running the vacuum makes we actually drip with sweat. This weight gain and sweating has caused me more anxiety than I had before Lexapro. For me, it's not worth it!!
Anita
Anita
i've been on Lexapro for over 2 years and have gained 55 pounds. I was an avid walker, but the weight crept on. I just recently injured myself and have bad disc neck and back injury. I COULDN'T TAKE A NSAID BECAUSE OF lexapro. Now I am in horrible pain. I had panic attacks before. Lexapro controlled them Any alternatives?