Antidepressant Weight Gain

I took Citalopram for years, didn't gin weight on it. I then swapped to Mirtazapine and gained a couple of stone quite quickly. I'm too fat (but trying to lose weight) but would rather have that than ever feel so depressed again. I'm currently on a high dose of steroids for 4 months and trying hard not to gain weight (the hospital said they cause weight increase and increase in appetite)

didn't GAIN weight.......

MissOops has been on them for some years, still as slim as ever.

I have been on Escitalopram for about 18 years,hasnt made any difference to my weight.

Many MH meds do make you put on weight. I've been on a bewildering array for a number of years and met others on different MH drugs and discussed this very thing.

OK: not everyone is affected, and some drugs more so than others, but anything that is basically sedative is likely to slow down your systems inside. A very small number of drugs make you feel hungry. Not general anti-depressants, btw, more serious psychiatric meds.

Its cost benefit time: many of us have no choice.

My personal path initially was to carry on exercising a lot as I always did, but cannot do this much now. Reasonably vigorous exercise as it were makes the digestion work better as well as calorie loss.

So now I practice a very strict diet indeed and I have managed to maintain my weight. It's not a miserable path, I've a far greater appreciation of the foods I do eat and never have fatty or sweet food except on exceptional occasions.

Sorry not to have magic answers!

HowVeryDareYou2

I took Citalopram for years, didn't gin weight on it. I then swapped to Mirtazapine and gained a couple of stone quite quickly. I'm too fat (but trying to lose weight) but would rather have that than ever feel so depressed again. I'm currently on a high dose of steroids for 4 months and trying hard not to gain weight (the hospital said they cause weight increase and increase in appetite)

Mirtazapine is well known for increasing appetite resulting in weight gain. Our very elderly cat was tried on the feline equivalent to improve her appetite but she didn't tolerate it well and so was started on steroids with much better effect. I hope you can find a way back to your happy place HVDY2

I've gained a lot of weight on mirtazapine, but it's better than the alternative...

I wonder if it’s because anything with a sedative effect makes you feel tired and I know that when I’m tired ( which I am now…not sleeping well) I can’t stop eating.

I agree it's certainly better than the alternative.

I did lose a bit of the weight I gained but nothing like I was pre antidepressants.

I was prescribed the old antidepressant Amitriptyline a few years ago to help me sleep & relax with severe back pain & sciatica. I gained a lot of weight quite quickly and even though I stopped taking it some time ago I am still struggling to lose the extra weight. I hit the menopause around the same time so it was probably a double whammy but I did seem to be constantly hungry and ate a lot of extra carbs while taking it.

Calipso Thank you.

The doctor put me on prozac for about 3 year's didn't agree with me at all no weight gain though, seen different GP and he stopped meds for Mirtazepine and it's far better but as for weight and I use gym twice a week and walk since 2018 to now I've put on 7st or 42kgs it's definitely the medication 💊 If I don't lose by next month the GP is contemplating putting me on Wegovy or Ozempic lots of pro's but weight gain a big con..

Mirtazapine is a nightmare in that it is a shocker to come off without horrible side effects. I've been on it for about two years and it has helped my mental health inordinately- I feel 'normal' on it - but went from a size 10 to a 14/16 swiftly and am now pre-diabetic. I have tried reducing the dosage to half a tablet daily but now have night sweats and horrible dreams (known side effects) and am anxious about everything! My GP has put me on the Second Nature schedule which is to help with weight loss and have upped my daily exercise but nothing is working yet. I wish I'd never started them but others mentioned above didn't work for me as they sent me into depression rather than lifting it. If it wasn't for the pre diabetes issue, I'd rather be a bit larger and feel normal than not. I'm currently caught in a Catch 22 situation

I was on Citalopram, a high dose for about 5 years and put on a lot of weight which reduced after I stopped taking them. I’ve recently gone on to Amatriptiline, one a night, to help with migraine and poor sleep. The weight is starting to creep back on. It’s not helped by bruised ribs which have curtailed my usual exercise routine.

Yes Mirtazapine made me gain weight but was miraculous for my anxiety and depression. Managed to lose it successfully when I stopped taking it but some weight has crept back on! Losing again now but I think recent gain due to lockdown and increasing age!

Ps I'll just say also I didn't experience any side effects when coming off Mirtazapine - sorry for those who have - but I did it VERY slowly...

I also was switched from prozac to mirtazepine and it works with depression brilliantly but since 2018 I've put on 7st or 42kgs and I go to the gym for hard 2 hour workouts twice a week and just started Mtn cycling on forestry tracks paths again with better weather like every summer and I can't shift it, it's come to an head where if I'm not losing by middle of next month the GP reluctantly might put me on Wegovy or Ozempic jab as I'm not eating anymore or less than prior to mirtazepine, I feel fitter but the scales hardly shifting, but they've helped me feel normal for sure and go about my daily duties, it's just an awful medication for huge weight gain.

Some drugs are notorious for causing weight gain but it’s tends to be though associated with mood stabilisers like quetiapine, olanzapine and respiridone

Agree with Sasha Mac that Amatripiline piles on the weight! Apparently, it makes you crave carbs.

I gained weight when on Prozac for eight years and never managed to lose it. Now I’m on a beta blocker and am so
slowed down the weight is creeping up
again. Its all very depressing

My late husband also put a lot of weight on with Mirtazapine but it did do wonders for his depression and anxiety - have to weigh up cost/benefit ratio.

Mirtazipine does something to the way the brain reacts to leptin, which is the hormone which tells you that you're full.

Weight gain is a big issue with anti-depressants, in fact, in most mental issues meds. Se if this helps : www.verywellmind.com/diet-tips-for-weight-loss-380695

I was on Prozac for several years and definitely gained a lot of weight. It didn’t help that I also had flare ups of two autoimmune disorders at around the same time, both of which have weight gain as a major factor. I am now on Sertraline and seem to be ok with that.