“Women get especially concerned about it,” admits Dr.
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Psychiatrist and addiction expert Michael McGee, MD, agrees that weight gain is a real problem with many of the medications he prescribes. Having metabolic syndrome puts you at higher risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, and stroke. 6 Metabolic Syndrome is a group of unhealthy conditions that occur at the same time-excess abdominal fat, elevated blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol. Not only were the study patients at higher risk of gaining weight, data gathered from the same study indicated that those who gained excess weight were also at higher risk of developing metabolic syndrome during the 6-month treatment period. When that’s the case, a medication may be changed to one less likely to promote weight gain and further steps can be taken to control body weight, such as watching one’s diet and getting more exercise. So, if that person gains more than 3 pounds after just one month of taking antidepressant medication, they may be at especially high risk of gaining even more weight. 5 These findings suggest that careful monitoring of weight throughout the first month of taking antidepressant medications can help predict who is likely to gain a significant amount of excess weight over the course of treatment and signal the need for preventative measures.Ī 3% weight gain in someone who initially weighs 125 to 130 pounds is approximately 3 1/2 to 4 pounds. The researchers found that those who experienced at least a 3% weight gain during the first month of antidepressant therapy were at higher risk of long-term gain than those who did not gain any significant weight in the first month. One study followed 260 patients suffering from major depressive disorder who were not overweight when antidepressant medication was first prescribed for a major depressive episode. A family history of obesity could also make you more generally susceptible to weight gain. Antidepressant medications may cause weight gain more directly by interfering with brain chemistry as well as your body’s normal metabolism and regulation of sugar and fat. On the other hand, you may not feel like eating when you are depressed and initially lose weight, but then gain back your lost weight, and then some, when your medication kicks in and you are feeling better. Take Depression Quiz Take Partner Depression Quiz Take one of our 2-minute Depression quizzes to see if you or a loved one could benefit from further diagnosis and treatment. A state of depression, in and of itself, can contribute to weight gain if your condition is causing you to overeat or you can’t work up the motivation to participate in any physical activity. There are many theories but not much hard evidence showing exactly why so many people gain weight when taking antidepressants, and many factors may come into play.
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You may find that one type of antidepressant works better to alleviate depression than another, or that one type gives you other unacceptable side effects, regardless of the effect on your weight. When choosing the most appropriate and effective medication, or switching from one type of antidepressant to another, psychiatrists and medical doctors who prescribe these medications must consider other factors based on individual needs. It’s not always possible, however, to choose a specific type of antidepressant simply because of its effect on your weight. Other antidepressants, like fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem) and bupropion (Wellbutrin, Aplenzin, Forfivo, Zyban) are likely to have no effect on weight or might even cause some weight loss. Tricyclic antidepressants such as amitriptyline and tetracyclic antidepressants such as mirtazapine are linked to the most weight gain. The antidepressants most likely to cause weight gain include amitriptyline (Brand name: Elavil), mirtazapine (Remeron), paroxetine (Paxil, Brisdelle, Pexeva), escitalopram (Lexapro), sertraline (Zoloft), duloxetine (Cymbalta), and citalopram (Celexa). But you can turn bad news into good by working with your healthcare provider to monitor both your mood and medication on a regular basis and stop weight gain before it gets out of hand. The bad news: If you do start gaining weight when you first begin taking antidepressants, you may just keep piling on the pounds over time and ultimately find it hard to lose that excess weight. The good news is not every antidepressant causes weight gain and not everyone who takes an antidepressant gains weight. There’s good news and bad news about antidepressant medications and weight gain.
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