Stopped prozac - how long before weight comes off/metabolism

Hahaha- I don't get the humor? Give yourself some time sweetie. Ten pounds overnight is a lot, so my guess is there is more weight gain to come.

As for the previous post, I've been off Prozac since last August and I'm still within the same 5 pound range despite trying very hard to lose weight. I'm still 30-35 pounds heavier than before starting Prozac. Nine months off Prozac and still no weight loss.

I've been reading many of the stories here about the very real weight gain that Prozac (Fluoxetine) causes and I'd like to add mine. In 2007 I went on Effexor XR 75 mg. and remained on it for around a year; when I began I was 180 pounds. I noticed the weight was piling on, so I made an effort to eat less and walk more. Unfortunately, I am disabled with two failed back surgeries, leaving me unable to do any serious exercise. Because of that, I was, and am now, very mindful of any extra weight gain. I was eating less and gaining more, finally reaching 207 pounds; the day I saw that number on the digital scale, I started weaning off the Effexor. As many of you may know, the half life of Effexor is totally different from Prozac, making it the most difficult (and dangerous) SSRI to quit, according to the doctors. When I was finally able to be totally off the drug, I was unable to lose even a pound for months. It took almost a full year before the weight started coming off, and I was eventually able to get down to 183 (after much effort); I stayed at that weight and even managed to lose a couple of more pounds.  Then, in December of 2010, my beloved  mother passed away; we were extremely close and I couldn't cope. The doctor put me back on an SSRI--this time Fluoxetine. At that point I really wasn't thinking about the previous weight gain. I was just trying not to lose my mind. After being on the 20 mg. dose for several months, I found myself back up to 204 pounds. As other people have said, this gives you a whole new problem by making your self-image plummet. I've been off the Fluoxetine for almost five months now, and still can't lose a pound. Everyone knows their own body, and this one is a stranger to me. I hate the bloated way I look and feel now. Hopefully, my (and all of our) metabolisms will level out and return to what is normal for us. The doctors never seem to mention the weight gain as a side effect until after people have gained it. I'd like to wish you all good luck with this. I'll post again if the weight starts coming off. Thanks for "listening."

I have been on Prozac for 7 years. I took the minimum dose of 20mg for the first 5 years. It has been increased to the max. of 60mg in the last year and a half and I have gained 40lbs!!! I exercise regularly, I maintain a healthy, clean diet. I'm 5' 3" and I usually weight 120, and 135 after having children. Now I weigh 175! UNBELIEVABLE! I have stopped taking all of my depression and anxiety medications, it has only been 2 weeks and although I'm constantly crying and upset, I am losing the bloated fatty body I have accumulated since upping my prozac dose. I know it is not safe to stop the medications, but I will be consulting my doctor and starting a rigorous counseling regime and hopefully finding a new medication. I may end up admitted to a psych ward but things will be much worse if I continue to gain weight. We're all crazy on here i suppose, no shame in my game. 

I have struggled with weight gain from anti depressants for years. The first being prozac. I gained thirty pounds on that.  I don't remember how long after stopping I was able to get the weight off but I did lose it.

About 5 years ago I gained 25 pounds from another anti-depressant. I don't even remember which one but for me it doesn't matter, they all make me gain weight.  That time it definitely took about 5 months before the weight started to come off but with exercise and eating right, I lost that 25 pounds.  

It is now the third time I am in this situation. This time the culprit was Pristiq. I was on it for a year.  When I started I was 5'5" 145 I am now 168.  The entire time I was on it, I watched what I ate and exercised but as usual it doesn't matter with these meds.  I am now 2 months off and have been working hard to lose weight.  I think maybe I have lost 2 lbs and that is eating 1200 calories a day and exercising 5 days a week.  This is typical though.  As this is the third time this is happening, I am guessing it will take about 5-6 months before the weight really starts coming off and matches my calorie/exercise efforts. 

It is very frustrating but for people on here who are maybe going through this the first time, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.  I am not saying don't do anything for 5-6 months but understand that the return may be minimal. For me, trying in those months right afterwards meant I was not gaining more weight in the meantime. From my own experience, it takes 5-6 months for your metabolism to return but it will return. 

Very interesting reading about everyon's weight issues whilst on Prozac.

I've been on Prozac for several years. I was taking 60mg but have - over more than a year - reduced it to0 20mg which I am currentlly weaning myself off.

I put on loads of weight - went from around 180lbs - which wasn't light at 5'7"!! - up to over 250lbs. As many of you have said - this does nothing to help the feelings of depression.

I decided I could only deal with one thing at a time and that my 'head' was the more important. So I worked hard to put thoughts of my weight gain to one side.

As time went on and I was feeling better, I got to a time where I thought I could work on my weight.

I dabbled at dieting and lost around 8lbs. I then joined Slimming World - amazing!!! I am not back to around 180lbs and looking to lose the next 15 or so to get down to a much happier, healthier me.

My advise would be to choose one thing to deal with at a time and then, when you're feeling better able to take on another challenge, check out Slimming World.

All the best, Elly

 

Hi Everyone,

I have been on Prozac 20mg for about six months.  During this last month and a half my weight has shot up 10lbs.  I workout out hard with weights 3 times a week, run about 3 miles once a week and do hill sprints for 40 minutes once a week as well.  My eating habits are fairly consistent.  As a result of the weight gain I have taken myself off of wheat and dairy thinking I was having a hard time digesting these foods all of a sudden because I was looking very bloated all over.  I have recently decided to take myself off of the Prozac to see if this helps with the weight.  I really think it has slowed down my metabolism considerably.  Even my personal trainer doesn't know what has been going on and I keep a food journal so my food intake has not changed.  After reading these posts I am sure that the Prozac is the cause of this sudden weight gain.   

This is my story in relation to anti-ds and weight loss/gain. I was on effexor from when I was 17 to help with social anxiety/depression and then changed to fluoxetine when I was 23. I'm not sure if the effexor changed my weight any, I was too busy getting on with uni at that time of my life to care. When I was 23 and depressed one spring the doc changed me onto 20 mg of fluoxetine which seemed to work well. I did notice losing my appetite for the first week or so but then I went back to normal. So, being relatively (I say relatively!) content on fluox I remained on it for the next four years, and then I had a phase when I had a break up from a long term relationship, and then from a rebound relationship! and felt really down. The doc doubled my dose from 20 to 40 mg, and guess what I felt worse! Just weepy all the time, so I decided to go off them cold turkey without many problems, and then for a while, I felt great, it was like the black cloud had moved away and I felt alive again. So I managed to remain off them for about six months, during which I got on the scale and was amazed to see I had dropped from my usual weight of around 10 st to around 9st. I hadn't been that skinny since my early teens. (I'm 5 feet 8 btw). It's hard to tell if this had anything to do with the medication as I was running a lot and on a healthy vegan diet, but my lifestyle had really not changed that much, I had already been vegan for 2 years and always been a keen runner. However I had a relapse around xmas 2011 due to another relationship failure and felt suicidal so went back on the pills. I initially lost weight, going under 9st, but this was again due to the initial appetite loss, then what happened over the next year and a half was that my weight seemed to creep up again. I now weigh around 10st. I was complaining about my weight gain to my friend and they said perhaps the meds were to blame. This was the first time I had ever thought of this! So I'm trying to come off them now, (the 20mg) and so far feeling OK. It will be interesting to see what happens with my weight. If I lose again, I will be able to see if there is a correlation between these meds and weight loss/gain. If I remember I will post back and let you know!

HI. I think we both have the same problem. I have high blood pressure too. I have been taking prozac for the last 20 days and I can feel in my body i lost around 10 pounds. I know the medications works differently on everybody my question is how long u have been taken Prozac? Are u still losing weight ?

Thanks

Hello,  I am 47 year old male.  I have been on medication for ADHD for about 10 years.   I started on Prozac. From there I changed doctors and medications numerous times with bad  doctors and side effects.  I always try to workout 3 times a week.  The prozac has made been gain a lot of weight (steady 20lbs overweight).   Even though I workout and watch what I eat I still cant lose the weight.  I was against taking the medicine from the start.  The doctors and therapists were helpful.  However,  I feel like I wastes a lot of time and money on them.

They gave me a pill for everything I had problem with.  I think a lot of them are not accountable for their prescriptions.  They give out a quick fix of pills for your problems without really testing you and collecting information about you.  Especially,  If it is a busy office.  My advice is to be careful with the doctors.  Make sure they are great doctors, test you and get to know you first.  Control the appointment with facts and information.  Otherwise , they will just give you a bunch of prescriptions you dont need.    I would try God, Church, family and friends first with a disciplined lifestyle of diet and excercise.  If that does not work maybe meds.   I can tell you that at some doctors I felt like a number and I improved more from the therapist then the medication. Hope my experience helps you. 

OMG! The same thing's happened to me- I look pregnant! Which is very sad considering I had two miscarriages before starting Prozac ....just feel like a fat Buddha , I wasn't this big when I was pregnant with my son :( I just hope that now I've recently weaned myself off my metabolism will return to normal - apart from exercise and diet anyone got any further helpful tips???

After close to 10 years on Prozac I gained over 30 lbs. Now, after being off of the stuff for about 13 years, nothing - and I mean nothing - has been able to help me reduce the weight. This drug, somehow, someway - seriously and seemingly permently altered my metabolism. There have been no major changes in diet - and despite significant increases in exercise, weight does not come off. This drug, while helpful at the time, seems to have altered something.

I was first prescribed Adderall, now I take Vyvanse, to augment my antidepressant, not for ADD.  Funny, or not, thing about it was after taking it a few days had the more productive days in years.  We learned I was ADD, just not the typical hyperactive type.  Truly Prozac is supposed to be weight neutral -- some gain, others lose, some stay the same.  Reading a lot of these entries I feel like myself it seems to be dose related.  A lot of us started on a low dose years ago and even lost weight at first.  After ending up at 40 or even 60mg, that bloated thing seems to be everywhere.

 

6kidscrazymom

My doctor prescribed me prozac to "take the edge off of my pms".. Not for depression. Weight gain has been gradual in the last few years, but I was never able to lose it and I exercised excessively... Then I started to get really fatigued and I stopped exercising... So the 30 pounds of additional, gradual weight gain turned into now 60. Plus I look 9 months pregnant... Can't breath... I look swelled.. Not just fat... My face and body look disproportionate now... This really blows me away.... Now, it turns out that Prozac (which is floride), hardends arteries ... So, I couldn't lose weight for the life of me... How messed up is that??? Well, since now I believe that my issue has turned into heart failure, I decided to follow a diet for hear failure... Which is not anything like a regular diet. I started taking Sarapeptase first thing in the morning on an empty stomach... I take water pills and potassium pills and the big thing is REDUSE water intake because the heart cannot regulate fluids anymore....so it just backs up... So, my recommendation is to google and follow a diet for heart failure... Try to clean out your arteries and veins... VERY important: Limit water and sodium intake... When you exercise (1st thing I the morning before you eat), just go up and down steps to get your heart pumping... And gradually add to it - since your heart may be blocked with calcium plaque, you should not over do it because your arteries needs to be cleaned out to be able to function to capacity... vERY important: your body makes coq 10 and Alpha Lipoic Acid... But I would take a guess that if you have excessive swelling, that you are very deficient in both and Niacin... You may want to add these supplements... See what happens :). Unfortunately these things take time, but I bet that you will notice a 5 to 10 pound drop in weight within the first few days... I am not a doctor, and I do not advise.... But, it took me a long time to figure out that Prozac causes heart failure and to lose weight from the initial weight gsin, you have to not drink much water because your body can't take it and the weight is from backed up fluid... So, I am in your situation too...and wanted to share... After the original weight drop from excess water, my weight is going down slowly, but is going down... And when I have my periods, it shoots up again... But don't be discouraged, it is temporary... But just imagine... You are now able to lose weight and in a year or so, you should be back to normal if you clean your arteries and keep water and sodium extremely down... And fiber high :). I hope this helps you!

I have been on and off Prozac for 18 years. I have now been off it for 8 months and have good days and bad. I have panic disorder in my sleep which sucks because I wake up with panic attacks. My weight has been up and down. since I stopped taking Prozac I have gained 10 lbs. I have mood swings, depression, panic attacks and now weight gain so I am thinking of going back on it or something else.

Doctors don't always listen to their patients. If it's not in the book, it just isn't so.