Antidepressant make me gain weight

[Parnate]

Its so painful that most antidepressants cause me increased appetite and make me weight gain and my family doesn't believe in psychiatric treatment. I am getting treated without their knowledge. Everytime I try a new antidepressant but it ends up causing me weight gain. Bupropion (wellbutrin) which everyone loses weight on, caused me increased appetite and weight gain. My family is continuously pressuring me to lose weight. Even if they didn't, getting treated would mean me gaining weight and having diabetes and other issues down the line when I age. Venlafaxine was one antidepressants that worked without weight gain but caused memory loss. With that bad memory it is difficult to function.

I really desperately wish to live but like a normal human being without my mind harassing me.

 

[PursuitofWonder]

That's a tough situation, sorry that you have to deal with hiding it. I got weight gain too from some AD's but it does sound like you're really sensitive to it. Taking Metformin was helpful to manage it a bit, not a miracle but it slows the gain some. Stimulants helped by erasing my appetite during the day. But the side effects are hard to hide and if you suddenly start barely eating most of the day it will look sus. If you could manage to hide it, stims would be most effective but metformin has pretty much no side effects so. Other than more meds, just trying to find an AD that doesn't make you gain weight would be ideal but that takes a lot of time and effort. Whatever the case, I wish you luck in your battle against depression :)

 

[Parnate]

That's a tough situation, sorry that you have to deal with hiding it. I got weight gain too from some AD's but it does sound like you're really sensitive to it. Taking Metformin was helpful to manage it a bit, not a miracle but it slows the gain some. Stimulants helped by erasing my appetite during the day. But the side effects are hard to hide and if you suddenly start barely eating most of the day it will look sus. If you could manage to hide it, stims would be most effective but metformin has pretty much no side effects so. Other than more meds, just trying to find an AD that doesn't make you gain weight would be ideal but that takes a lot of time and effort. Whatever the case, I wish you luck in your battle against depression :)

I did try metformin, but it didn't help.
Maybe try stimulants. Ritalin and Concerta are the only ones available and that too for children and with a prescription.
Nevertheless I shall try. Thankfully I don't stay with my parents but they do support me economically.

 

[PursuitofWonder]

I did try metformin, but it didn't help.
Maybe try stimulants. Ritalin and Concerta are the only ones available and that too for children and with a prescription.
Nevertheless I shall try.

Sorry to hear metformin didn't work. Yeah you would have to have a doctor prescribe them. If your doctor who knows you and your weight gain gives you it, it's probably safe to say it's for reducing appetite. Otherwise you're more likely to get it for ADHD but the thing is they're probably gonna want your parents involved. If you could see a doctor and then tell them that your parents are anti medication, they may be willing to work around it with you. Worst case they just say they can't, I'm not aware that they would report it unless they think your parents are endangering you somehow. Not sure how to go about it beyond that. I really would not recommend obtaining Stimulants without a prescription, it's asking for trouble. I'm on ritalin and it makes my appetite literally zero for 8 hours. Powerful but it can be hard to manage food intake in the opposite way. Anyway hopefully you can figure out what works best for you, best of luck!

 

[needed_]

Its so painful that most antidepressants cause me increased appetite and make me weight gain and my family doesn't believe in psychiatric treatment. I am getting treated without their knowledge. Everytime I try a new antidepressant but it ends up causing me weight gain. Bupropion (wellbutrin) which everyone loses weight on, caused me increased appetite and weight gain. My family is continuously pressuring me to lose weight. Even if they didn't, getting treated would mean me gaining weight and having diabetes and other issues down the line when I age. Venlafaxine was one antidepressants that worked without weight gain but caused memory loss. With that bad memory it is difficult to function.

I really desperately wish to live but like a normal human being without my mind harassing me.

has your thyroid ever been checked? I had the same weight gain problems with medication and my thyroid got checked after I insisted and its function was too low and I received thyroid supplements and it's better now.

 

[Parnate]

I did try metformin, but it didn't help.
Maybe try stimulants. Ritalin and Concerta are the only ones available and that too for children and with a prescription.
Nevertheless I shall try.

has your thyroid ever been checked? I had the same weight gain problems with medication and my thyroid got checked after I insisted and its function was too low and I received thyroid supplements and it's better now.

I had it checked in 2016, will see if I can do that again

 

[Parnate]

I am so sorry guys for this rant, but I was on levomilnacipran and it made me feel really sad and guilty.
Anyway thanks to all of you for being so supportive.

 

[Kristicide]

I had no luck with adding metformin to my antidepressant but I've seen studies that show Topamax added have much better success (you'll likely lose weight). I've been on Topamax on and off for 20yrs (used to treat migraine but it's an anticonvulsant med) and I always lost about 15lbs.

 

[Depressed Cat]

I'm sorry that you're suffering with depression and that your family is not supportive.

Unfortunately, weight gain is a side effect of most anti-depressants. It's almost unavoidable. I had managed to lose an excess weight of 14 kg or 31 lbs through intermittent fasting and a healthy diet, but after I began taking anti-depressants, my weight increased by nearly 5 kg or 11 lbs.

There's not much you can do to reduce weight. The best you can do is maintain your weight by controlling your food intake combined with eating healthy (avoid sugar & reduce carbs) and exercising daily.

Your mental well-being is more important than losing a few pounds for the sake of your family. I wish you the best and hope you recover so you can get off the medicines.

 

[Parnate]

That's a tough situation, sorry that you have to deal with hiding it. I got weight gain too from some AD's but it does sound like you're really sensitive to it. Taking Metformin was helpful to manage it a bit, not a miracle but it slows the gain some. Stimulants helped by erasing my appetite during the day. But the side effects are hard to hide and if you suddenly start barely eating most of the day it will look sus. If you could manage to hide it, stims would be most effective but metformin has pretty much no side effects so. Other than more meds, just trying to find an AD that doesn't make you gain weight would be ideal but that takes a lot of time and effort. Whatever the case, I wish you luck in your battle against depression :)

I just can't thank you enough. On your suggestion I tried metformin sustained release this time and it is balancing out the hunger. I have started bupropion or wellbutrin again.
Thank you so much dear

I had no luck with adding metformin to my antidepressant but I've seen studies that show Topamax added have much better success (you'll likely lose weight). I've been on Topamax on and off for 20yrs (used to treat migraine but it's an anticonvulsant med) and I always lost about 15lbs.

I too had no luck with metformin instant release so I tried the sustained release and it is acting differently.

 

[Amber1974!!]

Prozac does not cause weight gain. Been on it 30 years

 

[Ethereal Knight]

not medical advice. I'm not a doctor. I'm just sharing my opinion from my personal experience.

not all weight gain is unhealthy, I think. sub-cutaneous fat is actually healthy and okay. visceral and ectopic fat are more harmful and tend to me more associated with chronic low-grade inflammation and insulin resistance (pre-diabetes, diabetes...).
some say that the only way to know if you're carrying too much visceral fat is by doing expensive image scans, but that's not completely true. if you carry more fat on your body than you wished, but you still have fasting triglicerydes of <70, fasting insulin of <8, normal Homa-IR and TG/HDL ratio of <2 (if using mg/dl) or <1 (if using mmol/L), then you are probably okay and healthy despite the extra fat, these lab tests discard insulin resistance and some metabolic dysfunctions that are prone to cause cardiovascular disease.
type 2 diabetes has a strong genetic component that is related to each person's personal fat threshold, and that's why insulin resistance can happen at any weight, that's also why it's more common in indian and southest asian people.
the point is: being overweight doesn't mean having metabolic dysfunction, the same way being lean doesn't mean automatically being healthy. consider running some lab tests with your doctor, but inform yourself and know what to look for. a good dietitian can also be of tremenduous help.