I was on antidepressants after the loss of a family member. I gained weight no matter what I did. I tried LC, Nutrisystem, LA weight loss, Hiring a personal trainer. I spent a fortune and still nothing. My doctor said it had nothing to do with the medication and tested me for everything under the sun. He found nothing wrong with me.

I went on the computer and was amazed when I found other chat rooms and people were all having the same problem. I stopped the meds and although I am no longer gaining, it's really hard for me to lose. I did find a doctor who said it takes a long time for the side affects to go away.

Has any one at the same problem? How long does it take to clear your system?

Hey Lisa, from Northeast Texas! I am 48 yrs. old and was on some antidepressants the end of March until this last Aug. '06. I put on 20 solid lbs. and I mean solid!! I worked off the meds and tried working off the 20 extra and it just wasn't happening for me! Finally I went to the Dr.'s the 1st week of Dec. and I was trying to pass up 20 to even more weight gain. He put me on Adipex for 1 month to start my off. Then I was looking around at different places on the computer about weight loss and found this forum. I have been LC in Ketosis for about 3 weeks and I'm VERY THANKFUL to report that I am 15lbs. down and holding on strong!! I have been working on the treadmill as often as I can get to the gym but LC and ketosis is the answer for me and man, am I ever glad to see the #'s start coming back into range!!

The med.'s really slows your system and keeps your brain at a mild state without peaks or valley's of emotions. Along with the brain's effect is also the body's response to the same med.'s and it really seemed to slow down.

I will say this....being LC and eating right with the added excersise sure helps me process events that brought about my need for the medicaiton!! Life is hard and often seems to hit all at the same time but I found that keeping my body healthy and moving sure makes a big difference!

Thank you for sharing about your situation.....I definitely understand!
Mimi2

Thanks for asking this question. i was actually wondering the same thing. Also, what sorts of experiences have others had with different types of anti-depressants? Do MAOIs factor in as a difference? I know Lexapro is supposed to be a milder anti-depressant, but if it's going to cause a weight loss problem, or worse, a weight GAIN problem, I want no part of it.

I took Lexapro for 9 months and about 3 months after stopping started Atkins. I lost 32 pounds in about 4 months. Good luck!

Lisa,

I've been on several different ones and I too gained weight but once I went on wellbuterin I was able to loose. Matter of fact many people will loose 5% of their weight when they first start taking wellbuterin. It's used for other things besides depression as well. I just wanted you to realize that if you find you still need meds. you might ask your doctor to let you try wellbuterin. I totally understand where you are coming from in this. I too went on the meds. after loosing a love one. I've came off them before and went back into the same depression only to have to go back and start again. I will say though that when I went on LC a few years back my dose went down tremendously and I might have been fine had I gotten off them at that time. Later on I am planning to try and come completly off the wellbuterin once my system gets more adjusted on LC. One step at a time...

Best wishes to you and I'm sorry for your loss and the depression it brought on you.

Hugs,

Cissie

I was put on Paxil for a looooooong time due to postpartuum depression. And, thus began my battle with the weight. Paxil was a nightmare for me...and I am still trying to fight my way back. I finally switched from my general practioner who was admant that Paxil was not the problem....then next doc kept changing me from one med to another. Wellbutrin XL was the only anti-depressant that did not cause me to gain weight. I wish you the best! I am not giving up!

Sorry for such a slow reply. I was on vacation. MIMI, how does Adipex work? I am desperate to take off the pounds. I did see the other comments about Wellbutrin. I started on Wellbutrin and the doctor changed my meds because of the weight gain. It was much slower than the Lexapro but still there. I am sticking to a low carb diet but that just keeps me from gaining even if I am in Ketosis.
The frustrating thing is that I asked the doctor if weight gain would happen and he assured me it would not. He said it even caused weight loss. Every one I know who has gone on anti depressants have gained yet the doctor tells me it had nothing to do with the medication. I am so angry!! Ok I feel better. Just needed to vent.

You need to find a new doctor! My doctor told me the truth - antidepressants bring your metabolism to a near-hault. I gained 25 lbs on Zoloft and an additional 10 lbs on Lexapro when my doctor switched brands... Luckily, I was able to wean myself off of them recently because I no longer need them. But if I needed them for life, I just would have had to stick with the weight because nothing I tried worked. I even did 1200 cals per day (low-carb) and worked out 5 days a week for 45 minutes. I actually GAINED 10 lbs while doing this. My body basically gave me the middle finger. Not everyone has this reaction to antideppresants, but we don't seem to be so lucky.

Your doctor doesn't seem very knowledgable with depression/anxiety and antidepressants - I suggest you seek out a new one. Either that, or he was purposely witholding information from you so that he could run a bunch of unnecessary and expensive tests on you... You never know these days.

Hi all, I'm on Elavil, my doctor told me that besides an anti-depressant medication it is also used for migraine headache, which I have every single day since as long as I can remember. I don't think that it is working, because still have headaches everyday. Do you think that Elavil, generic name Amitriptyline, could be stopping my weight loss. I have 10 or so more lbs to go before I hit my goal, and have been stalled for a few months. I am currently doing the M&E diet to try to break my stall (3rd day of M&E is today and no weight loss yet).