Stopped prozac - how long before weight comes off/metabolism

Thank you, gives me hope too!! I just took my last Prozac/fluoxetine 20 mg tab last week, hoping for some positive changes after 5 years of a bloated face and 40 extra lbs!
Sandy

I have always been a slim woman but in 2014 I began taking 20mg Prozac daily. I stopped in June of this year and noticed I put on around a stone in weight on the meds. I wasn't too bothered as I've always been labelled 'too thin'. In fact I could actually begin to enjoy buying clothes for the first time!
Now, since June, and more noticeably in the last month I've literally lost all the weight! To the point where I'm thinner than ever!! It's awful and actually worrying me. Has this happened to anyone else????

Yep. I was on Cipralex and slowly gained and gained and gained. Then I got pregnant (went off if the ssri) and gained about 50 pounds on top of the 25 I had already gained. After having my daughter I had terrible ppd, so went back on an SSRI six months after having her. We tried a bunch of different combinations. The weight would not come off... In fact I gained another nine pounds from taking an antipsychotic as a booster.
A year ago I asked my Dr. If I could try wellbutrin. It works on my depression, but not as well on my anxiety, but I can live with the amount of anxiety I have. Once I changed to that medication, I also hired a trainer. A year later I have lost almost 60 pounds. I did a lot of hard work to achieve that, but the medication played a role without a doubt. The other thing that really helped me was giving up gluten. I find that wheat stimulates my appetite like nobody's business.

No, you are not crazy! Your story is like mine exactly, only I gained about 17 pounds - on a frame similar to yours. I also feel that my face looks different from the bloating. Now, about 3 or 4 months off I am working my backside off but I've only lost 3 pounds. I'd love to hear from you again - a followup? Did you eventually get the extra weight off?

Okay so they've done studies and it's common for people to lose weight initially when starting an antidepressant but then after the first few months almost everyone gains it back and then some. Then there are the people who just flat out gain massive amounts of weight on them. It's been confirmed by science but most drs don't like to talk about it when they're trying to prescribe them. Anyways, some drs came up with a diet for people to lose weight on antidepressants it's called: the "serotonin power diet." They made it into a book, and i haven't tried it but it sounds promising because it sounds like it goes against basically EVERYTHING current diet advice tells you (which is that you should eat less carbs and more fat and protein). It's probably the only thing most people haven't tried and the science behind it DOES make sense. However, if you're quitting your antidepressant you can take an amino acid like 5-HTP or L-tryptophan to increase your serotonin levels.

That post was from 9 yrs ago, so i doubt they'll answer. What kind of exercise are you doing? Have you tried HITT? Try doing 20 minutes of HITT daily but don't do the same routine like do jump roping one day, then weight lifting, upper body, lower body etc just make sure you do it HITT style. If that doesn't work then i'd consider going back on but also going on the "serotonin power diet" to prevent more weight gain while on it (hopefully it'll give you that initial loss you experienced the first time). It's not an ideal solution but if you're desperate it's worth trying...

Oh you could also consider going on wellbutrin, which is known to help people lose weight.

Omg! Please get a 2nd opinion. There is no "cure" it will come and go. I've never heard of a doc saying just stop the meds and do Adkins. Be careful!

The same thing happened to me I told my doctor I didn't want to go on anything that would make me gain weight because over the years I've tried SO hard to lose 60 pounds and any weight gain makes me go crazy and I was on 10mg and then 20mg of Prozac and I have gained 20 pounds. I go to the gym every single day for an hour and a half and eat all organic and healthy no fast food or prosecced food or bad starches or anything and I gained 20 pounds and can't lose it. I went off the Prozac last week because I couldn't take it gaining more weight but I haven't seen a change yet hopefully soon.

Oh my gosh... I hope this happens to me. Never in my life - up to age about 48 - did I have a weight issue. I weighed 119 lbs 9 months pregnant with my 1st, 124 9 months with my second. I am 5'5" and usually weight about 103-108. Went on Prozac at about age 48; boom gained my first 10 lbs., then my 2nd. I am now 54 and can't lose an ounce, not eating, running 3 miles a day, etc. Hoping going off the Prozac helps.

I was on Prozac (and briefly Effexor) for about 6 years off and on....mostly on. I went on them after having my third child when I began to have severe depression and anxiety. It helped tremendously, but after my kids have grown up a bit, I felt the need to go off them. I am a naturally small framed person and before having children I was around 125 lbs give or take. While on Prozac, I hovered more around the 140's and even upward of 158 lbs at my heaviest and that was after being changed briefly to Effexor....I gained 15 lbs in a month on that drug. Worst weight gain ever. And the withdrawal from Effexor was horrible. Dizziness, nausea, fatigue.....I felt drunk. Long story short, I went back on Prozac which I knew worked and then tapered off. I have been off antidepressants for about 2 years now and within the last year, the weight just started to melt off. It took a solid year or so for that to even begin happening. I have always worked out and ate relatively healthy, so I wondered where the extra weight was from. I am now around 118 lbs and I have literally not changed much except maybe being a little more consistent with workouts. I feel great mental healthwise, so it is possible to go off these meds. It isn't easy, but Prozac is at least one of the easiest to taper off of since it has such a long half life.

Give it time. I believe the drugs change your whole metabolism and mine had been slowed so much by the drugs over the period I was on them. I was shocked that I went from 158 down to 118 without much effort, but it makes sense in retrospect. I even went to the doctor to make sure my weight loss wasn't from a health problem because everyone was asking me how I lost so much weight. I really didn't have an answer for them! I think if you were a small person to begin with and much of the weight gain was from the drugs, you will eventually go back to a more baseline weight with time. It could take months or years, but just be patient. Exercise is always good for a variety of reasons and it helped me with the weaning process. So even if you don't see any change at first, don't give up. Keep eating healthy and keep moving. It will pay off.

Lexapro is much better and you won't gain

Did you stop taking Prozac cold turkey?
I have been on it for 9 months and although I love how I feel on medication, my stomach and face have become so bloated . I feel the need to stop , but not sure How to go about it . Thanks ,judy

No, I tapered off with my docs supervision. No doubt prozac causes weight gain. Just consult your doctor.

Thanks for sharing...this is exactly what I've been going through! Before taking prozac I was scary thin, so I welcomed some weight gain at first to get back to my "normal" weight. It got out of control after a few more months and I began dieting and exercising like crazy! No real results...and it honestly sucks because I've never put so much effort into fitness and diet only to continue GAINING weight. I'm finally being weened off so hopefully I can get back to my old weight.