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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 BennyJ on March 3, 2004, at 23:32:01
Anybody been able to keep their weight constant or bring it down from healthy diet and exercise while on effexor xr? I tapered up slowly from 18 to 75mg now over 8 weeks and am starting to get a lil chubby and curious to know if this can be avoided or is it inevitable.
keep smilin,
Ben
Posted by rainyday on March 4, 2004, at 6:42:50
In reply to controlling effexor weight, posted by BennyJ on March 3, 2004, at 23:32:01
My experience was a steady slow increase in weight. I reduced my caloric intake and increased exercise but it happened anyway. I just stopped looking in the mirror and put away the scale.
Posted by King Vultan on March 4, 2004, at 7:55:51
In reply to controlling effexor weight, posted by BennyJ on March 3, 2004, at 23:32:01
> Anybody been able to keep their weight constant or bring it down from healthy diet and exercise while on effexor xr? I tapered up slowly from 18 to 75mg now over 8 weeks and am starting to get a lil chubby and curious to know if this can be avoided or is it inevitable.
>
> keep smilin,
> BenEffexor always decreased my appetite, even at lower dosages, and I believe it is less likely to induce weight gain than SSRIs, this because of its blockade of norepinephrine reuptake. The NE reuptake blockade becomes more pronounced at higher dosages, which may work better from a weight control standpoint. I was never able to tolerate more than 150 mg/day due to insomnia/somnolence problems.
Todd
Posted by snarley on March 4, 2004, at 11:56:23
In reply to controlling effexor weight, posted by BennyJ on March 3, 2004, at 23:32:01
Ben--
I've been on effexor 150mg/day for about a year and never really saw any weight gain (maybe two or three pounds TOPS) but this may be why:
When i started the effexor i got really bad constipation as a side effect, so tweaked my diet a bit. I used to eat a lot of meat and carbs and fried foods (which never really affected my weight, rofl). Now i eat high-fiber for the constipation (the best source of which i've found to be a vegetarian meat substitute called seitan which has 15g fiber and 20g protein per serving). I eat that and a lot of veggies a few times per day. I also avoid processed sugars and caffeine like the plague. I'm not vegetarian though, i eat out every couple days and usually get a steak or some chicken or something, but i've stopped buying meat other than the seitan to cook at home. It's great in thai and indian curries especially. And it tastes sort of like chicken, hehehe.
I'm thinking that perhaps my shift toward "healthy" eating has kept the weight off? it seems like a lot of folks complain of weight gain on the effexor here. So either i'm the exception, or i'm doing something right...
How are you eating on the effexor? same as before, or more quantities of food? and what types of food are you eating? I've turned into a bigger eater than i used to be, but you can eat a ton of low cal/low carb/high fiber/high protein seitan and not gain any weight. I dont go out and nosh on a huge plate of fries when i'm hungry for loads of food.
Btw, i'm also pretty sedentary and a smoker, so its not like i'm out exercising or anything.
Snar
Posted by BennyJ on March 4, 2004, at 21:42:45
In reply to Re: controlling effexor weight » BennyJ, posted by snarley on March 4, 2004, at 11:56:23
Ya the effexor has definately brought out my appetite with a vengence. Im trying to modify my eating a lil to include more healthy snack food like fruit and veggies and stuff but I get this mad craving, like an animal sathering at the mouth, for sugar and coffee...its a lil scary lol. Ive put on a good 20 pounds or so since my depression got worse these last few years and just got on meds recently. The effexor really helps and I want to continue taking it but avoid gaining much more weight if I can. Dr said I was good to go workout after bloodpressure check so I'll see what happens.
Ben
> Ben--
>
> I've been on effexor 150mg/day for about a year and never really saw any weight gain (maybe two or three pounds TOPS) but this may be why:
>
> When i started the effexor i got really bad constipation as a side effect, so tweaked my diet a bit. I used to eat a lot of meat and carbs and fried foods (which never really affected my weight, rofl). Now i eat high-fiber for the constipation (the best source of which i've found to be a vegetarian meat substitute called seitan which has 15g fiber and 20g protein per serving). I eat that and a lot of veggies a few times per day. I also avoid processed sugars and caffeine like the plague. I'm not vegetarian though, i eat out every couple days and usually get a steak or some chicken or something, but i've stopped buying meat other than the seitan to cook at home. It's great in thai and indian curries especially. And it tastes sort of like chicken, hehehe.
>
> I'm thinking that perhaps my shift toward "healthy" eating has kept the weight off? it seems like a lot of folks complain of weight gain on the effexor here. So either i'm the exception, or i'm doing something right...
>
> How are you eating on the effexor? same as before, or more quantities of food? and what types of food are you eating? I've turned into a bigger eater than i used to be, but you can eat a ton of low cal/low carb/high fiber/high protein seitan and not gain any weight. I dont go out and nosh on a huge plate of fries when i'm hungry for loads of food.
>
> Btw, i'm also pretty sedentary and a smoker, so its not like i'm out exercising or anything.
>
> Snar
This is the end of the thread.
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