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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Cin on February 23, 2001, at 5:20:52
I meant to ask this on my other post....I was reading all the post on Weight Gain and was wandering if anyone taking EffexorXR, WellbutrinSR, Tenormin and Ambien ever gained alot of weight taking these meds?....I am doing WW's and I do not need to gain any weight.....Also for those of you that have gained if you ate more food and gained or if the med just made your regular diet turn against you or if you just gained extra weight for no apparent reason this very important to me....I am already seriously overweight and want to see my goals met in a couple of years.
Thanks for being such great support!
Cin :o)
Posted by SalArmy4me on February 23, 2001, at 11:54:48
In reply to about Weight gain and Meds., posted by Cin on February 23, 2001, at 5:20:52
The American Journal of Psychiatry put out an article last June that tried to compare many different psychotropic medications' weight gain, based on Medline and AltHealth. They came up with this:
tricyclic antidepressants - all bad, even protriptyline;
amitriptyline - bad, worst of tricyclics
mirtazapine (tetracyclic) - bad
MAOI-As - all bad
RIMA (moclobemide) - good, best of MAO
buproprion - good
venlafaxine - good
SSRIs - good (I debate this one)
fluoxetine - good, best of SSRIs, even promotes weight loss in anorexicsI believe that most of that is correct. But I myself didn't gain weight on mirtazapine or olanzapine, probably due to my high metabolism.
Posted by Shell on February 23, 2001, at 12:14:24
In reply to about Weight gain and Meds., posted by Cin on February 23, 2001, at 5:20:52
I've only taken two of those drugs, Effexor and Wellbutrin.
I have a pretty good idea of how those affected (or didn't affect) my weight, but I checked my DietWatch program to be sure (btw, I really like DietWatch and recommend it if you want to keep track of what you eat each day).
My impression was that Effexor had no effect on my weight. I checked and found that over the four months I took it, I lost two pounds. I think that is probably fairly insignificant.
I know that I have lost weight while taking Wellbutrin. I checked and since I started it in December, I have lost 10 1/2 pounds. I do have to tell you that that has all been since January; I certainly didn't lose any over the holidays! However, I didn't gain then either, so that is something.
The reason I think I have lost while taking the Wellbutrin is that I have simply been more able to stick to a diet than I was before. I just don't find myself thinking about food nearly as much and find that that feeling too full now really bothers me. It isn't that the weight has just started to go away because I'm taking it. I am eating better (and less) and doing more exercise. I think the Wellbutrin simply helped improve the depression (so that I am motivated to exercise) and removed some of the food cravings.
Hope that helps,
Shell
Posted by Jani on February 23, 2001, at 20:08:12
In reply to Re: about Weight gain and Meds., posted by Shell on February 23, 2001, at 12:14:24
I have gained between 10-15 lbs. on Effexor over a 1 year period. Am watching my diet and have been exercising (aerobic and circuit training) diligently for over a month. I have still not lost any weight. My MD says it is not the meds but it also happened on Celexa 2 years ago. Lost those pounds when I was switched to Welbutrin, but then I suffered from severe agitation and "brain flashes" and a feeling of "nerve twitches in my neck". Now, on the Effexor I am chunky again (better to have my peace of mind and a little extra weight than to be depressed)but am weaning off as I am past the crisis and hopefully am coping well. Down to 37.5 every other but am having trouble quitting totally. If I don't take the pill on the third day, I begin to have the nervousness and "head or brains electric shock type feelings. I will follow up with all of you when I finally am off the Effecor about a month.
Jani> I've only taken two of those drugs, Effexor and Wellbutrin.
>
> I have a pretty good idea of how those affected (or didn't affect) my weight, but I checked my DietWatch program to be sure (btw, I really like DietWatch and recommend it if you want to keep track of what you eat each day).
>
> My impression was that Effexor had no effect on my weight. I checked and found that over the four months I took it, I lost two pounds. I think that is probably fairly insignificant.
>
> I know that I have lost weight while taking Wellbutrin. I checked and since I started it in December, I have lost 10 1/2 pounds. I do have to tell you that that has all been since January; I certainly didn't lose any over the holidays! However, I didn't gain then either, so that is something.
>
> The reason I think I have lost while taking the Wellbutrin is that I have simply been more able to stick to a diet than I was before. I just don't find myself thinking about food nearly as much and find that that feeling too full now really bothers me. It isn't that the weight has just started to go away because I'm taking it. I am eating better (and less) and doing more exercise. I think the Wellbutrin simply helped improve the depression (so that I am motivated to exercise) and removed some of the food cravings.
>
> Hope that helps,
>
> Shell
Posted by Shell on February 23, 2001, at 22:41:23
In reply to Re: about Weight gain and Meds. » Shell, posted by Jani on February 23, 2001, at 20:08:12
> I have gained between 10-15 lbs. on Effexor over a 1 year period. Am watching my diet and have been exercising (aerobic and circuit training) diligently for over a month. I have still not lost any weight. My MD says it is not the meds but it also happened on Celexa 2 years ago. Lost those pounds when I was switched to Welbutrin, but then I suffered from severe agitation and "brain flashes" and a feeling of "nerve twitches in my neck". Now, on the Effexor I am chunky again (better to have my peace of mind and a little extra weight than to be depressed)but am weaning off as I am past the crisis and hopefully am coping well. Down to 37.5 every other but am having trouble quitting totally. If I don't take the pill on the third day, I begin to have the nervousness and "head or brains electric shock type feelings. I will follow up with all of you when I finally am off the Effecor about a month.
> Jani
>I remember the fun of Effexor withdrawal well and I don't envy you one bit.
It's awful that it always seems to be a tradeoff. I told my doctor that I would take any medication that she felt best as long as it wasn't one that would cause weight gain. I told her I'd rather be thin and miserable (on no medication) than fat and miserable (on antidepressants that caused weight gain), because if I gained weight, I'd be more depressed than if I hadn't treated the depression at all....does that make any sense?
Shell
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