Weight Loss and SSRIs

Good Morning,

I could really use some help.  About a few years ago I've been diagnosed with multiple anxiety disorders and have gone thru many SSRIs like Paxil.  I gained weight like crazy, from 150 or so to 225 which I am now.  (5'7 height, 27 male)

I went to a personal trainer thinking I'm just getting old and my metabolism is slowing down, ate right, and for 6 months so no results.  I have tried getting off the anxiety meds in the past, but the side effects and withdrawl symptoms were terrible and I eventually had to get back on the meds.

I wanted to know if anyone else has gone thru this?  Serious about weight loss but hampered by meds due to other health issues?  I'm looking for advice from anyone who has experienced this and hopefully even get some tips.   Do these SSRIs disrupt your metabolism, despite the assurances from the drug companies websites that they do not?  (I'm currently on Lexapro, 20mg).

Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

-Vince

I have been there but no help unfortunately. They put me on SSRIs two different times for panic disorder (which it turns out I don't have, long story). Anyway, both times I gained 30-40lbs within a couple of months. Some people just can't tolerate them.

Have you spoken to your doctor? There are a lot of different meds out there. I told my Dr that I can't tolerate an SSRI for that reason and we've been working around it

Thanks for your quick response, and sorry to hear you are having problems too. 

My doctor has changed my meds about 3-4 times, first it was Paxil, then wellbutrin, then Buspar, now Lexapro.  I am also taking ativan as needed, which is for my panic attacks.  Before I was on them, my mood swings were terrible.  I was very short fused and worried constantly about stupid things.  I'm afraid to go off the meds for fear of returning to that state, but all of my attempts to lose the weight I've gained has failed.

My doctor put me on extended release Xanax which I take everyday. It helps with all those feelings you're talking about which I have, too (I'm bipolar, by the way)

Original Post by vmp0514:

Thanks for your quick response, and sorry to hear you are having problems too. 

My doctor has changed my meds about 3-4 times, first it was Paxil, then wellbutrin, then Buspar, now Lexapro.  I am also taking ativan as needed, which is for my panic attacks.  Before I was on them, my mood swings were terrible.  I was very short fused and worried constantly about stupid things.  I'm afraid to go off the meds for fear of returning to that state, but all of my attempts to lose the weight I've gained has failed.

 

 

 Yep that's me!  But I got off Paxil with almost no symptoms all by myself!  Well, my doctor knew I was weaning off but I did it MY way.

I lost over 100 lbs while on Paxil so it CAN be managed!

~H~

I had a really hard time with Prozac and the prozac-type family. But then I was switched to wellbutrin, and I don't have any weight issues with it. IN fact, when I first started taking it after giving it time to work (so about a month and half), I noticed a decrease in appetite, and I lost a few lbs!

Thank you for all your responses, it's all rather frustrating.  Medication has different effects on everyone due to their body chemistry, so most of the time doctor's rely on trial and error. 

Spiro, sorry to hear about the bi-polar, I know someone like that and I imagine it's not easy for you.  I never thought about Xanax, I'll have to do some research and ask my doc about it.

Haley/Vicki, I'm glad to hear you're both managing fine.  I know wellbutrin targets different inhibitors in the brain than the others, the side effects seemed to be opposite though of the others.  Where Paxil, Zoloft, and Lexapro calmed you down, Wellbutrin I read sped some people up, which is the LAST thing I need...LOL. 

It would be nice if one day medicine developed a way to cure people without giving them 15 other possible side effects.  Sure I can cure a headache, but not without stomach pains, loss of vision, palpatations, loss of hair, etc etc etc.

hey: SSRI's DO make people gain weight, but it's NOT impossible to lose the weight even if you're on them.  Eat right, exercise 1 hour a day, and it'll come off. And the exercise will help w/your mood as well (65 minutes - 75 minutes seems to be the magic number for depression).

Ativan is basically the same thing as Xanax, so stick with ativan if it's working for you.

If you're mental health is off, forget about your physical health! So keep taking your meds.  Just give it extra time for the weight loss.

V.

Hey! Totally know what youre going through. My body handles SSRIs pretty poorly and so I finally switched off that whole category of drugs. I switched over to antipsychotics, which are used to treat anxiety as well as Bipolar. I was on seroquel for awhile but having to take 400 mgs a day throughout the day for my anxiety made me pretty tired & sluggish. I then switched to Abilify which worked great and I actually lost weight, but the pills are so damn expensive.. $1600 for one month w/o insurance & around $800 w/ insurance. I was even on a low dose! Anyways, I had to switch from those bc I didnt have enough money, plus the pills started to make me pretty antsy, which defeated the whole point of me taking them. Eventually I just switched over to Inderal (the blood pressure med) which blocks adrenaline rushes which are whta gave me panic attacks. That combined with the Strattera I take for ADHD seems to be working pretty well, except I still have slight anxiety. My experience is that most meds seem to give me a thousand side effects that are actually worse than the anxiety itself lol. Its also pretty difficult because I had a drug problem for a lot of years so I ask all my doctors to put me on non-addictive meds (no xanax etc.) which tend to not work as well. I wish you luck, hope some of my rambling helped!

V- Thanks for the input, I'll try stepping up the workouts and see if I notice any difference.  When I had my personal trainer help about a year ago, he was dumbstruck at how I wasn't losing weight.

Cait, not to worry, it's not rambling.  :)  Every bit helps.

That is ridiculous though that some medication is that expensive.   I live in Pittsburgh and while I consider to have a job that pays fairly well, I would not be able to afford that either. 

My doc just told me a few minutes ago on the phone that I need to see a specialist now, I've moved beyond his expertise.  And go figure, specialists don't have a nice easy copay but instead are under the deductable rule of my medical insurance so I have to drop 500 before any of it is covered...what a messed up society...

If any of you want to email me to talk about your experiences feel free to, I check that moreso than this forum.  (vmp0514@msn.com)

Hi Vince.  I know exactly how you feel.  I had panic attacks and depression hit me when I was 25.  They put me on Paxil and Xanax.  The xanax was great to get me through the short-term until the Paxil kicked in.  I felt like my former happy-go-lucky self on the Paxil, but then quickly gained 40 pounds in 3 months....enough to cause depression again!  My doc switched me to Zoloft, which I have successfully continued for the last 13 years.  It has worked great for me, and I know several other people that take it successfully, too.  I do, however, have friends that have tried it unsuccessfully.  It made them more anxious.  So, it really is trial and error.  Also, I agree with "V".  Exercise is huge in the battle against anxiety and depression, and I do feel much better when I work up a really good sweat, as opposed to a light workout.

Good luck!  I truly feel for you and hope that you find the medication that is perfect for you!

Beth

Hi again!  Forgot to answer your original question!  When I was actually working out regularly and counting calories, I lost 12 pounds without too much sacrifice, so I feel confident that it can be done while taking Zoloft.

Take care!

Beth

Thanks Happy.   Before I worked out 3 times a week for about an hour each, doing mostly eliptical and then some weights.  It sounds like I have to step that up to an every day thing. 

Original Post by vanexxag:

hey: SSRI's DO make people gain weight, but it's NOT impossible to lose the weight even if you're on them.  Eat right, exercise 1 hour a day, and it'll come off. And the exercise will help w/your mood as well (65 minutes - 75 minutes seems to be the magic number for depression).

Ativan is basically the same thing as Xanax, so stick with ativan if it's working for you.

If you're mental health is off, forget about your physical health! So keep taking your meds.  Just give it extra time for the weight loss.

V.

 

 I just re-read mypost and I think I need to be more clear.  I gained ALOT of weight on Paxil but it really improved my panic attacks 100%.  I lost 100+ lbs while onPaxil.  I weaned myself off about 2 years ago but had a traumatic event occur so I decided it was best to resume treatment.

So, my advice, stay on your meds and know that you CAN lose weight successfully while on SSRI's.

~H~

Original Post by vmp0514:

Spiro, sorry to hear about the bi-polar, I know someone like that and I imagine it's not easy for you.  I never thought about Xanax, I'll have to do some research and ask my doc about it.

No sorries needed here! Since I found the right doctor I'm 100% better. My biggest problem was (and still is) an overabundance of energy and I CAN NOT SHUT MY MIND OFF. It's really frustrating when you're so overwhelmed with random crap on your mind that you can't even concentrate enough to watch a 30 minute sit-com. I would drive my family crazy with getting up and down off the couch and in out of bed 24 hours a day.

One would think I'd weigh 100lbs like that, but luckily for me I love self-medicating with food. The meds helped with that, too.

Seriously though for me, screw those SSRIs. I know they are a God send for a lot of people but they made me a manic, fat disaster.

Thats another dilemma I have.  If I go off the meds, there's a very good chance I'll revert back to my high anxiety state which will affect my job and everything else.  I prefer to be med free personally, I never liked taking pills, I always believed in mind over matter to solve those problems but I finally realized that it's a condition, not something I can fix on my own.  On pills, I'm still anxious, but not as anti-social or paranoid.

I read something about EMDR, a treatment for those with anxiety disorders.  It's supposed to be like a counseling session that involved eye movement but its not hypnosis.  My goal is to get off these pills so I can get my body to revert back to its normal state, choosing between mental and physical health is a pain.  :)

Thanks for all the input, it's much appreciated.

I did the EMDR treatment sessions.....Paxil is the only thing that has helped me.

~H~

Did the EMDR treatment help with any of the anxiety?  Its supposed to "unlock" buried fears and such that cause anxiety in the first place, repressed memories and such. 

it helped with my fear of flying, however, did not stop the panic attacks in general.  Only meds help me for that.

~H~

Original Post by vmp0514:

Thats another dilemma I have.  If I go off the meds, there's a very good chance I'll revert back to my high anxiety state which will affect my job and everything else.  I prefer to be med free personally, I never liked taking pills, I always believed in mind over matter to solve those problems but I finally realized that it's a condition, not something I can fix on my own.  On pills, I'm still anxious, but not as anti-social or paranoid.

I've been in and out of therapy since I was 15. I was diagnosed with depression in high school and took Zoloft for a little over a year. When it finally did kick in it helped a LOT. Then again I also met my current boyfriend right around that time, and I've always credited him for helping me pull out of that tough time. I weened myself off when I got to college. Which, thinking back now, is when my mind started messing with me again (if that makes sense).

These days the only meds I take are for allergies. I see my therapist once a week, though lately I've been considering stepping it up to twice a week. I'm depression free, but I've got some SERIOUS anxiety issues. My therapist suggested that I talk to my primary care doctor about possibly getting back on Zoloft again.

I'm terrified that I will get a bad side effect. Or that I will gain back the 25 pounds I've worked so hard to lose. Or that my boyfriend will finally realize just how crazy I am. Or that my mom will get mad at me and take me off her insurance again and I won't be able to afford the meds on my own and then I'll have a tough withdrawl.

But then again, I have issues. My boyfriend said yesterday he'd think I'm crazy if I DON'T try it as he knows how much my thoughts of doom and gloom and catastrophies wiegh me down. And my therapist says I shouldn't like my anxiety keep me from trying something that could potentially subdue it.

So.. I guess I'll make an appointment with my primary care doctor next week and see what she says.

I know what you mean.  Before I took SSRIs I was on prednisone for a low platelet count issue, and the side effects were awful, so I was hesitant to do SSRIs.  Choosing the lesser of the two evils, being depressed all the time and what not versus whatever physical harm comes from taking those pills.

Motivation is another big problem, now that I'm a bit zoned out on Lexapro, I have no energy (desire yes, energy no) to workout.  Wake up at 6 for work, home at 5, and by then I'm so tired from work I don't feel like doing anything except sitting.