I am 5'5". Been on lexapro for 3 years for anxiety. Went from weighing 125 lbs to now almost 180 lbs!!! I have tried extreme exercising and dieting throughout the years, but NOTHING works. I look so fat in my stomach now that people ask me if I'm pregnant!! I NEVER used to gain weight in my stomach. My family and friends, and numerous doctors have all judged me for my weight gain, but NOBODY understands how hard I have tried to lose it. I hate myself and don't want to live this way. I dont even want to be seen in public, let alone date, work, and socialize like a normal person. After researching the correlation between weight gain and Lexapro, I have weened myself off over the course of 4 months. I thought that that was gradual enough, but I still have withdrawal side effects. Who cares about the withdrawal side effects... I am still FAT!!!! I work out very hard for 1 hour every day, switching it up with cardio and strength training. I eat healthy, and I just dont know what else to do!! Someone PLEASE help me!!!
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I just started Lexipro and I am already overweight to begin with. I am not sure that I will be able to handle it if I gain weight too while being on this medication. My doctor prescribed it to me saying that we have to focus on the depression first before we can focus ont he weight loss. I will begin to track my food and and exercise, because she said that I will be feeling better and in turn will feel like exercising which i haven't in 6 months. I am not happy after reading all the posts here.
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I just began 10mg lexapro & I began to feel "normal" and Great instantly, Now I have wonder all these comments stating weight gain. Are you just eating cause the pill makes you hungry, are you exercising, or just allowing the side affect get the best of you. Im not trying to sound rude or ugly, trust me! I apologize in advance if I come on too strong. But these pills have made me feel good and I began going to the gym, I got @ least 3 x a week. I hate cardio so I do the very minimum but I dont leave the gym til I at least to 200-300 situps and some other free weights and "girly" machines, But I mean.. I just have to wonder alot of you are saying you've gained weight but NObody has mentioned that they were consistant with a diet or exercise plan. I try to remember that Lexapro is to make me feel better its NOT a diet pill! So we have to do our part and eat better, healthier, exercise. we cant just pop a pill and expect it to do all the work for us, dont get me wrong I wish it did lol...c'mon guys we can do this!
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i am so glad i found this thread. i am in the middle of a freak-out about gaining ANOTHER 10 lbs in the past 6 months, a pattern that has been going on for years. i am taking 40 mg of lexapro per day and i've gained 60 lbs. i'm 5'9" and 190. i was 130 or less. i looked fantastic. now i look like a cow. the problem is, i am non-functional if i'm not taking something as you can see by the dosage...i was on celexa for 4 years before starting lexapro in early 2005, and that made me so tired i couldn't even drive a car, but i was thin. i can't keep going like this, in 6 more months i'll be 200, 210 in a year, and on and on. i can't afford to replace my wardrobe every year and i can't bear the mental picture of myself in the future. i'm only 26.
has anyone weaned themself off without horrible withdrawal? i feel terrible if i miss even one dose.
has anyone weaned themself off without horrible withdrawal? i feel terrible if i miss even one dose.
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and FYI, i eat extremely well and work out 2-4 times a week, and i've still gained 60 lbs. i haven't been to mcdonalds in years, no fried foods, nothing. i don't overeat; the pill doesn't make me hungry. in fact, i didn't make the connection till recently.
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I passed out and had been having daily headaches. When I went to the doctor he said I had migraines and put me on Zoloft. I felt terrible on it and gained some weight. I went back and he put me on Lexapro. I feel normal. I have no headaches at all. The downside is I have went from 126 lbs. to 164 lbs. and I am only 5' 4". I am HUGE!! I was smaller than this the day I gave birth to my son. I wore a bikini last summer and this summer I will be in a sheet. I have had to buy all new clothes and thank God it is cold weather so I can cover up the rolls. I KNOW it is the medicine. That is the only difference. I have been small my entire life until now. I am going back to the doctor to try another medicine. It has not even been a year and I have gained 38 pounds. I can't handle another year and another 38 pounds.
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I have taken lexapro for a year now.. and was completely unaware of the side affects such as gaining weight. Though lexapro (10mg) cured my depression, it has caused me to gain 30 pounds, all of which just came on within the past few months. It was so quick I hadn't even realized a change until the stretch marks appeared, and other people began to realize! It was so awful! I myself slowly began to get off lexapro, and am now taking 5mg every couple of days, until i will soon be completely done with it! I am a firm believer in using anti-depressants, and believe that they help! but, i do not like the fact that it made me gain so much weight! I am now working diligently (working out EVERY day) to gain back my old body, and as far as these damn stretch marks, i'm trying very hard to get rid of them! their embarrassing! thankfully getting off lexapro, i am still happy and depressed FREE! so don't be afraid to tell your doctor that you are ready to start SLOWLY getting off of the drug, and looking for another non-drug related way to fight depression... to be honest, working out and exercising has made me feel so much better, and helps to eliminate my stress!
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I've been on 10-20 mg of lexapro for about 4 months now. I was shocked when the nurse weighed me at 185. I asked her to look at my weight of my first appointment and it was 166. I have had the same eating and exercising habits. I am 6' tall and have always been thin... the nurse told me I must have just filled out but I think 30 years old is a little late to "just fill out".
This drug scares me and lists burning as a possible withdrawl side effect. Has anyone experienced a burning feeling while on this drug. I've mentioned it to my doctor but I think he doubts me and says how rare side effects are with this drug. If anyone wants to talk about it _[removed]_
This drug scares me and lists burning as a possible withdrawl side effect. Has anyone experienced a burning feeling while on this drug. I've mentioned it to my doctor but I think he doubts me and says how rare side effects are with this drug. If anyone wants to talk about it _[removed]_
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I have gained 15 pounds in 2 months of being on Lexapro...Now Im more upset with myself than before taking it....I hope its not as hard to take off as people are saying after stopping it.
It was a great mild antidepressant...so I was hoping that side effect would skip me...
If you can stand to gain a few pounds...its a great drug...
It was a great mild antidepressant...so I was hoping that side effect would skip me...
If you can stand to gain a few pounds...its a great drug...
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I've always been conscious of my weight. However, when I started taking Lexapro rather than Celexa I began to eat more and gained 60 pounds over a two year period. I also felt tired and had less energy. When I decided to lose weight I began to run every day for 30 minutes at least and DID NOT lose ANY weight while still taking Lexapro!!! I was very dissapointed. I decided to go off Lexapro completely in December 08 after tapering my dosage. I had SEVERE side effects for 3 weeks. The worst were "brain zaps"- not kidding; wherein my head would literally feel like it was being jerked and zapped multiple times and throughout the day. HORRIBLE side effect!! I am now completely off Lexapro as of today. It has been a month and I have lost 20 lbs so far by exercising. My appetite has decreased significantly which I attribute to going off Lexapro and I also feel myself getting full when eating and stop eating. I believe this has to do w/ not taking Lexapro!! I am very dissapointed in the effect Lexapro has on weight, metabolism, and eating habits. I hope I can lose the additional 45 pounds needed for me to get healthy! Also, my depression and anxiety is manageable at this point. I feel alot more feelings however I use meditation and prayer and exercise to combat the depression. I also take 100mg Wellbutrin which was ADDED to the Lexapro I had been taking.
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I gained about 10 lbs on Lexapro - I'm a slim active woman. However, since most of this thread focuses on the negative I also wanted to add that Lexapro has helped me immensely. My panic, anxiety and depression were a million times better after starting Lexapro.
I think most SSRIs cause some weight gain and some of them are more dangerous than Lexapro in other ways. I'm not saying Lexapro is right for everyone but for me an extra 10 pounds is a small price to pay for a much better life. I hope they can find a way to minimize the weight gain in the future but don't be scared off Lexapro and onto a stronger antidepressant just because of the weight gain.
I think most SSRIs cause some weight gain and some of them are more dangerous than Lexapro in other ways. I'm not saying Lexapro is right for everyone but for me an extra 10 pounds is a small price to pay for a much better life. I hope they can find a way to minimize the weight gain in the future but don't be scared off Lexapro and onto a stronger antidepressant just because of the weight gain.
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I am so gald to hear about everyone weight gain as I am experiencing it also. I have never had a major weight problem in my life but since taking lexapro I have put on 30 lbs. in three years. I thought maybe it was less exercise and post menopause but after reading these posts I am wondering. I am not eating any more than normal. I asked my Dr. and the pharmaceutic but they said no. It does work for me as I had severe anxiety. I don't know what to do. I tried going of it and the anxiety returned in less than a week.
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I was put on Lexapro for post partum depression in fall of 2007, after about 10 months on it, I felt I could stop taking it. I weaned off for about 2 wks. BIG MISTAKE!!!! I has horrible withdrawls. Brain zaps, confusion, suicidal thoughts. So I went to Dr. And she said it sounded like I was still depressed and needed to go back on the Lexapro. I felt better immediatley after taking my first pill. Well about 60mos have passed and I have gained about 25-30lbs. I have not changed any eating habits to warrant such a weight gain. I have even been exercising. i kept a food journal for a month, and i was doing very well, but still HUGE!!! Hmmmm...............must be this darn Lexapro. So again I decided enough is enough!!!!! I want my old life back, and I am going to get off this stuff. So I have been weaning since Christmas. Was on 20mg, then did 10mg for a month, then 5mg for a few wks, now 5mg every other day, down to 5mg every couple days. So anyone that wants off of this stuff, do it slowly. I have had no withdrawl symptoms this way. Now all I have to do is lose about 30 lbs. I am joining Weight watchers today, so we shall see.
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Well, here I am reading everyone's posts about how they gained weight, just like me. I started taking lexapro last summer and I have had to buy all new pants! I am 41 and have been the same weight for the past 10 years. I do not exercise regularly and never have but I am always careful about what I eat and my eating habits have not changed. Luckily I don't own a scale, so I don't know how much I weigh, but I have gone up at least one size, and approaching 2 sizes. The hard part is that I take the drug for anxiety and severe PMS symptoms and since taking it my symptoms have all but disappeared! I love how I feel, I just don't like being chubby!! I guess this is a classic case of wishing you could have it all.
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I am nineteen years old, and incredibly active-I am on the swim team at my college and also a health freak who eats well, but I put on 20 pounds with Lexapro. I am now weening off of it and hoping to lose the weight I gained.
Good luck to all of you. I think Lexapro is a GREAT drug-it made my anxiety nothing and helped me through some of the hardest times of my life. It's just the weight gain that was so frustrating.
Good luck to all of you. I think Lexapro is a GREAT drug-it made my anxiety nothing and helped me through some of the hardest times of my life. It's just the weight gain that was so frustrating.
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