Perhaps you don't realize how you come across to other people. ::shrug::

Let me just say, I am fairly new here, and reading this thread has been imensely helpful and interesting to read. I was on Effexor for 2 years and I put on 20lbs. My other major side effect was insomnia, which I had to take sleeping pills for. And then I went on birth control and gained another 20lbs.

Anyway...going off Effexor was horrible... an emotional roller coaster to say the least. So Tmajic....I hope coming off it goes smoothly for you, keep us posted

i was on welbutrin for 1half years now i have seizers [now not sure[ its from the welbutrin or not but i did lose weight on it..

I took Effexor for many years, until it stopped working for me. I am not currently taking any antidepressants, but a number of other medications I must take are on "the list." I learned that I must count calories, as well as carbs, in order to lose weight. It's not an easy thing to do, because most low-carb foods are high in calories, and most low-calorie foods are high in carbs. But you can do it if you're willing to put a lot of work into balancing everything.

I try to keep my carbs at 30 grams or less per day, and my calories between 1,000 and 1,200 per day. However, I'm quite inactive due to my disabilities. (I had been walking, but one of my doctors really hit the ceiling when I told him about it!) Depending on your build, height, etc., and if you're physically able to get a lot of exercise every day, you could probably eat a lot more calories every day than I can allow myself.

If you want to try this technique, you will have to develop a personal "library" of books that list calorie and carb counts. I have several that just list calories, several others that just list carb grams, and a few that list both.

It can be done, but it definitely requires a lot of effort. I also keep a detailed food diary, in which I list everything I eat each day. As I said, it requires a lot of work, and can become very tedious at times, but it has been worth it to me.

I sincerely wish you the very best of luck! I'm proof that it can be done. Over the past 25 months, I have lost 135 pounds, and I have no plans to ever give up.

Wow, Kisal, congratulations on your progress! You're smart to count calories, that is the only way it works for me as well. Good luck!

Kisal-135 pounds!! That is worth writing down everything you SAY as well as eat!!! GOOD FOR YOU!! I just want to update everyone on the Effexor detox....I have to say it really hasn't been bad..I am wondering if it is because my doctor told me that I can only call him if I 1) wanted to hurt myself - God forbid...or 2) I couldn't get out of bed ...Have I been moody...of course, but I have to say Effexor didn't much help my moods anyway!! So this is me take me or leave me..I guess...It has only been a few weeks so I will keep you posted if I have any changes..as far as the weight thing I can't really comment since I have been eating since Thanksgiving...I feel like I gained about 5 pounds and plan on low carbing as of tomorrow morning...as long as I dont gain anymore between now and Xmas I wont beat myself up too much and of course the new year will bring on the willpower, it always does!!!

Well my good friends, I thought I should at least let you know what's happened since going off of the anti-depressant...I have to say I never had any side effect..but I also want to say this....I was told that the imbalance would be corrected when starting the product and if you could ween yourself off and still feel the same then the meds worked as prescribed and the imbalance has been corrected!! Let's hope this is the case as I really feel fine mentally and will tell you all that YES you can come off of these meds...now some people will require the meds for the rest of their lives and I totally get that and everyone has to do what is right for them and believe me my husband and I held our breath for the first month!!! So with that being said lets get to the diet......not so good I am sorry to report....I have only been on atkins/pp for two weeks and have managed to lose a whole big fat pound!! LOL....I know I have to give it more time etc...but golly gee people throw me a bone!!! I am so disgusted with it all..So this morning I said to myself I would have another good week...(lc food excersice) and it would show on the scale next week..I HOPE I AM RIGHT....but if anyone can give me some idea of when I can expect this thing to kick in I would really appreciate the boost....I weigh 180lbs 5"5" so I am looking at 40 pounds realistically..but to tell you the truth my comfort zone is 160, i am really fine with that at 43 years old and I can pull it off for some reason so 20 pounds and this chick is happy....OK I dont want to go on and on...so I welcome you all back (the site has been empty) and lets help each other have a great 2007!!!! I await your pointers and support...

I have been taking Cymbalta for about 9 months. It has helped me immensely. I am losing weight too now and have only been back low carbing since the end of December. Weight loss is slow but it is happening and I figure the slowness has more to do with my lack of exercise than the antidepressant I am taking.

I think the antidepressants help in regerds to weight since I don't drink all of the time like I do when I'm off of them

I take Lexapro for anxiety and must continue. Went off it briefly when I was pregnant with my third child and it was like I hit a brick wall. Awful. I had to go back on while I was pregnant. Anyway my Doctor said Lexapro has the least side effects of any anti depressant. I am not having any problems on induction yet and intend to stay on for a while.

Stay on your mental health contributes to your tolerance of new eating habits...good luck

tmajic - it's great that you were able to go off of yours! I have tried a few times because for some reason I just don't like the idea that I am dependant of a pill for my sanity! But I've learned that that's just how it is for me!
Please make sure you monitor your moods, I've gone off mine for long periods of time in the past and would start going downhill slowly. Each time I would hit a low point where I decided I needed to start taking it again. Because it takes anti-depressants about a month to kick in, I'd have to live in a very low/depressed state for a while, and you probably know, that's not fun. If you start feeling down, and it lasts for a while, think about going back on an anti-depressant before it gets bad.
Good-luck to you! I'm sure that your lc plan will work, you may just be holding onto the weight until you have a big whoosh!
Lori

I just wanted to say that I have been on and off anti-depressents from effexor to zoloft and a homicidal month of wellbutrin. I also almost lost my mind going off Paxil. But, What someone in the thread said is true. Alot of people don't need ssri for life the route is supposed to only be temporary 8 months to a year then a "drug holiday" to see if the uptake of seratonin has modified itself. However if you have found yourself back in the trenches and gone the route about 4 times to return to meds, it's likely that you (like me) are someone who needs it permenantly. No shame.
It's so important to see a counselor, therapist whatever even though the antidepressents make life easier. Depression is an intertwining result of biology, AND life history.
NO SHAME in feeling good.

Birdalini...thanks for the advice about watching for the signs of depression even though I have been off of them for about 2 months or so...I totally agree there is nothing wrong with staying on them if you need them to function...I also had a terrible experience with Wellbutrin!! Why do they continue to prescribe this medication when I haven't heard from anyone who "took" to it...is there anyone out there?? I am just curious..

I have to say that I have been on PP (low carb) for about 4 weeks and have managed to still have only dropped one pound...last week I actually put the pound back on for a day or two.!!!! Still waiting for the "whoosh:" and I am hanging in there ..I bought some protein powder from GNC and I really believe one of my biggest problems is that I don't like to eat a lot of protein..even eating meat I can get a little sick to my stomach trying to eat the 34 grams per meal...any other ways of getting the protein??? I would like to know if others have a similar problem.............I make the shakes to get the protein but I have to say that after about an hour I am hungry and my stomach starts to rumble!!!

I took Wellbutrin for awhile when I was trying to quit smoking. It made me feel very... um... happy. All the time. Constantly. Not a good time to be single, but perhaps better for the safety of the male population. I ended up going off of it because, first of all, the unrelenting, extreme level of "enthusiasm" got really old quickly, and secondly, the combination of that and another med I took at the time caused me to break out in hives.

After I managed to quit smoking, I was put on Lexapro for depression (quitting smoking really did mess with my body chemistry in a million ways), but I gained 20 pounds I did not need to gain, and felt very... wrapped in cotton, if that makes sense. Kind of flatlined, emotionally.

Oh, and can I just say that the withdrawl from Lexapro was one of the worst experiences of my life. I was in absolute hell for about 4 weeks (migraines, dizziness, hot flashes...), and I was only on the drug for 3 months. In researching, I found that was fairly common.

I am all for anti-depressants. What I think doctors don't do enough of is patient education. Even if I had known up front the possibility of the withdrawl being that bad, I probably would have still chosen to take it, because it really did help me through a time when I needed help, and on paper, it looked like it was a good fit with me. It turned out not to be, but every body is different, and each body is even different at different points in life.