WEIGHT GAIN ON ZOLOFT

Hi, just curious 9 months after this post if you have lost the weight that you put on? Also, how long were you on Zoloft and at what milligram?

I have been on 13.5 zoloft for the initial first 2 months then increased it to 25 mg. I have been taking this just short of 3 months.  I am testimony to zoloft causing weight gain...I spent my whole life trying to gain weight.  I have 6 children and gained only when i was pregnant which then only brought me to my ideal weight!  At start of zolft i weighed 88 pounds 5'2'' .   I could and tried to eat anything that would give me just a few pounds.  I was severly depressed and have been living with severe anxiety all my adult life. I am 47 y/o. After 8 weeks the positive effects kicked in as i felt much better.  But the real miracle here is I gained 7 pounds in 10 weeks!  Zoloft seems to be just what i needed, I'm so proud of myself for finally recogonizing the fact I needed help. Thanks for listening and any feedback would be appreciated!

True or not, pointing out a sweetener as the culprit of some peoples weight gain in this forum, completely dismisses a very real problem with the folks who have gained only after having started Zoloft. It doesn't apply here. I have had 35+ extra pounds on me since starting this drug. I am Vegan and do not eat fast food or junk. They gave it to me while in treatment for anorexia and now I am my own living nightmare. You have come off looking extremely insensitive here and honestly, pretty foolish.

I have gained 100 lbs in 5 months due to Zoloft. Now I'm very depressed over my weight gain and I will be talking to my Dr for a different one cause I have panic attack and social anxiety so I have to. Take something plus my abdomin is bloated its sticks out and won't lay flat I look 9 mons pregnant thank u Zoloft

me tooo!! I feel the exact same way, starting tapering off today, I will take the anxiety over the extra weight I have put on. I only wish I had known this to begin with and I wouldn't have to go through the withdrawal symptoms listed.

I have been on Zoloft for a number of years, and have noticed more and more weight gain with each passing year that I’ve been on the medication. Each doctor I’ve been to has assured me that weight gain isn’t a side effect of this kind of medication, which has been very frustrating for me. I know that the medication has been the reason for the weight gain, because I've experienced a direct cause and effect relationship when I’ve gone off of the medication and then back on it again: When I’ve gone off of it, I’ve lost weight. When I’ve gone back on it, I’ve gained weight. Over the years, I’ve tried many different things, including the most obvious things – like diet and exercise – and have found little relief. As I’ve researched this online, I’ve found lots of articles telling about how medications like this slow the metabolism, leading to metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, and even pre-diabetes. Some sites even suggest that patients be put on the diabetes medication, Metformin, to combat the drug-induced weight gain. I’ve purchased supplements from various websites, which were marketed to combat this drug-induced weight gain, but none of these products have worked for me. But recently, I heard about a product called Plexus Slim. I was skeptical at first. After all of the things I had tried, I wasn't sure if this product could really be all that different. But, I gave it a try and was pleasantly surprised. I started with a very small dose of the Plexus Slim each day, and noticed right away that I had more energy. I hadn’t expected to actually feel better, but I noticed that I wasn’t as fatigued as usual. And, for the first time in many years, I am starting shedding some pounds. It has been several weeks since I started the Slim, and I’ve lost about 7 pounds so far. I don't know if Plexus is the answer for everyone, but it seems to be working well for me. 

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So glad I found this. I have been on Sertraline for 2 years, and have gained 50 pounds. My doctor kept giving me heck everytime I went in, saying what are you eating; keep a food diary; you have gained again... Yea, no kidding! Every pill I have ever been prescribed besides Prozac, has made me gain weight.. even Wellbutrin, which supposedly helps people lose weight. Anyway, fast forward to last week, I decided to quit cold turkey. I have never had withdrawal before, but on these I have had, nausea, extreme dizziness, eyes dart, extreme temp changes, severe sweating, and diarrhea. However, in the past 8 days, I have lost 9 pounds. I am so happy for this. I couldn't stand the weight gain. It was so upsetting. So, I just wanted to let ya'll know there is hope once getting off this terrible drug. And even if your dr says it's something you are doing... It's not. I was eating right, exercising when I wasn't too exhausted from the stupid stuff. (and I am one of those weirdos that likes to exercise and it was hard for me to convince myself to do it, but I did).. and yet I still gained.

Omg I am SO relieved!! My doctor put me on 200 mg of Zoloft and told me that it was not a weight gainer. I am 56 and weighed 126 pounds two years ago. I have gained over 50 pounds last year since my doctor put me on 200 mg of Zoloft and told me that it was not a weight gainer. I am 56 and weighed 126 pounds two years ago. I have gained over 50 pounds last year since I began taking it. I'm so frustrated because my abdomen sticks out like I was some malnourished toddler and I am having trouble breathing because my stomach is so distended! I am so disgusted that is just made me progressively more and more depressed. This is been going on, and all the while I am eating healthier than I ever have in addition to getting a fit bit and walking anywhere between 15,000 and 20,000 steps a day! It has got to be the Zoloft! And judging from everybody else was posted thus far, it seems as though I am on a ridiculously high dose. I am tapering effective IMMEDIATELY.

I started Zoloft a year ago. I am 26 years old and have gained 30 pounds. I went from a size 6 to a size 12 in that time. I run 40-50 miles a week. Two days a week I also work with a trainer for an hour on top of running in the evening. I suffered with anorexia from the age of 6 to 19 and now control the illness by maintaining an extremely "clean" diet. I do drink a glass or two of wine once a week and I find it really interesting that someone on this post says that alcohol and SSRIs are a terrible combination. I can't even begin to describe the pain this weight gain has caused me. If I had known that this physical reaction was a possibility before I started taking the drug, I would have NEVER EVER IN A MILLION YEARS put this junk in my body. I totally understand why people would be skeptical about those saying they've gained weight BECAUSE of Zoloft. People around the world come up with crazy excuses as to why they are gaining weight everyday and those excuses are usually ridiculous. Well. I can tell you that my weight gain has been bizarre, sudden, uncontrollable, and impossible to stop. I am weaning off of the drug now and am going to focus on the blessings I do have and try to stop thinking about the weight gain. I will continue my healthy lifestyle and the anorexic in me will have to power through the mental pain until I eventually (hopefully) feel more in control of my weight once again. I feel betrayed by my doctor who knew of my history with eating disorders and furious that she did not listen to me until a year later that the weight gains I was reporting might be due to something other than a trash diet and sedentary lifestyle.

Should also mention that the majority of the weight has been clinging to my stomach and upper hips in an extremely strange way (like those malnourished kids you see on TV). My stomach is distended and bloated looking. I can't say ALL of the weight is on my stomach, but even those close to me have admitted I have been carrying a lot of excess weight in my abdomen.

Everything you wrote above... Same here. Quit cold turkey. Terrible withdrawal symptoms, but I don't care. I'm so done with this drug.

That is so interesting because prior to going on zoloft i had natural hunger and fullness signals, i ate what i wanted but my brain and body naturally balanced it out so I wouldn't eat more than I needed to. I never perseverated on weight. But about two months into 25 mgs of Zoloft, despite no change in weight, I began hating my apperance. I thought I looked so chunky and it made me extremely upset. Unfortunately I soon upped my dose to 50 (i'm a petite girl and young so I did not require alot to make me feel better) and found myself craving sugary foods daily with less ability to control them. On top of this I was obsessive and critical of my body, so the two problems together were a nightmare and only made each other worse. After a little over a year I had gained about 10 pounds (this is alot for me as I said i am petite) and this confused me because I danced three nights a week and did insane workouts on the weekends. The body image obsession i believe was caused by the zoloft drove me to workout hard, and I was so concerned I did my best to avoid muscle building exercises (dance already gave me muscle) and went on a low carb diet. Somehow I was able to stay with a rigorous low carb plan, yet my weight did not budge. The intensity of my messed up body image and self hatred and food obsession/cravings was consuming my life but I didn't even correlate it to the medication. I was honestly happy that I had all this sh*t to deal with instead of anxiety. But i did not want to become dependent on medication and once i began feeling like i didn't seriously need it i decided to begin cutting back (so 18 months of the medication). I went from 50 to 37.5, and then 37.5 to 25, and at the time I was in a school play, with practices every day after school until 5-6 and then i would go to dance 7-9, so I had no access to food like the entire day unless I packed it so under those conditions I was able to control entirely what I ate and i had no time to perseverate so i dropped weight. *** I believe that on a lower dose and a very controlled environment I could lose weight on the drug, but the environment had to be unrealistically controlled to a point where I had no time to get food and almost no access to it. And at that time if i did have access i would not be able to control myself, like if a cast member brought donuts. Whatever my mom packed me I aggressively ate all of it, she just didn't pack much and it was healthy so i was able to avoid struggling with carbs for the meantime ***
Still I did feel somewhat out of control when it came to carbs and 7 months later I went back up at the advisory of my therapist. She told me, which made no sense, that zoloft HELPS control OCD, which is what we believed was my problem with food. At this point (2 years of Zoloft) I had gained, lost, and regained the weight and was mentally in ruins from the longer use of the drug. For me the longer the use the worse all side effects got. It definitely depends on the person different people can have different reactions. Things got so bad the weeks I upped my dose this July that I have decided to come off of it completely for me the anxiety has resolved so the drug was doing more harm than good and I'm looking forward to being completely myself again now that I'm off. Been off for over a week and no signs of anxiety and I'm not so obsessive about food!! God bless all my zoloft friends

I want on Zoloft at the age of 46. I have always been extremely fit and eat carefully. And also have suffered from depression and anxiety. I was 6 feet tall and weighed 173 when I started the drug. I went off the drug 14 months later at 193 pounds. None of my clothes fit me anymore, I went up two suit sizes and from a 32 waist to a 36 waist. I stopped taking the drug a month ago and have been dieting and exercising rigorously, but still weight 189 pounds and have not really dented the fat on my stomach and back. It's been very challenging and upsetting, particularly because I have a bad back and the extra weight has irritated the herniated discs. It's a frustrating side effect, and one that the doctors seem to think is not real. Judging from how many people share this story, it's clearly not just me going through this.

I took Zoloft for two years and gained 25 pounds!!! I quit Zoloft cold turkey in July. Its now October and I am just starting to shed the pounds without changing any other factors. I would not recommend this drug.

I lost the 15 lbs I gained within a month by switching from Sertraline to Buproprion. I'm a 31 year old male and was on Sertraline about a year. The weight gain creeped up slowly. From my own experience and what everyone else is saying, it's most likely you're going to gain weight on Zoloft.