In response to the ongoing discussion about weight gain when taking Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) I have added this post as I recently read some information that I found interesting.
Many people who take SSRI’s for depression or anxiety suffer weight gain as a result. Indeed it is a common reason for people to prematurely break-off from otherwise beneficial treatment. But in truth, appearance is so key to modern life that it is no surprise that people who are already suffering from mood disorders don’t want to get fat. This could lead to more depression!
It is important to point out that when taking SSRI’s, weight gain can be mitigated against in more or less the same ways you would avoid gaining weight under normal circumstances. A good balanced diet with plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables and not too much saturated fat and sugars as found in junk food, and of course some exercise. You will also find that exercise helps with depression as this article shows. Seeings that you will have to talk to your doctor about the medication anyway, why not ask him or her to do a quick fitness assessment and check what level of exercise your body can take.
I was interested last week when I got an email from revolution health that linked to an article on their site about SSRI’s that are known to cause weight gain. It is one of the most common questions I am asked so I am always on the look out for new material.
The table below shows what the article said, but I disagree with much of it. I personally have taken Celexa and found that it caused weight gain to the tune of 10KG! The table also shows escitalopram to be likely to cause weight gain. This is odd because citalopram (Celexa) and escitalopram (Lexapro) are almost identical. In the article and American academic stated that weight gain might be a sign that the drugs were having an effect. The professionals I have spoken to disagreed with this and thought that the point of view was outdated. I am not qualified to pass judgement on this. I would say though that the best indicator of efficacy when using SSRI anti-depressants is that the patients mood lifts!
These common drugs are likely to cause some weight gain – but that doesn’t mean they definitely will!:
- Paxil (paroxetine)
- Marplan (isocarboxazid)
- Lexapro (escitalopram)
According to the article on Revolution Health these drugs generally don’t cause weight gain (in my experience some definitely do!):
- Prozac (fluoxetine)
- Luvox (fluvoxamine)
- Zoloft (sertraline)
- Celexa (citalopram)
- Wellbutrin (buproprion)
I would be interested to here of other people’s experiences with SSRI’s and weight gain. You can email me info@anxiety2calm.com or leave a reply on this blog!
I’ve heard of some people experiencing weight gain on Zoloft but I’ve never had a problem with it. Drugs affect people differently, that’s for sure.
Comment by Janna — July 13, 2007 @ 3:03 pm
I’ve been taking citalopram for a while & have gained a lot of weight.
At first I thought it was stopping smoking but that was over 4 years ago !!!
So having read all the list of possible side affects I can now identify with others too – nausea, insomnia, very dry mouth, etc….
So do I put up with this for the sake of a slight improvement in my mood or are there alternatives?
Comment by Anonymous — July 23, 2007 @ 2:07 am
Took citalopram for 4 months it worked fantastically for my so I gradually came off taking my last pill four weeks ago. I have gained weight but put that down to quitting smoking. I have in the last 2 weeks been feeling terrible, peaking today with a panic attack. Does anyone have any advice?!
Comment by Anonymous — August 14, 2007 @ 9:11 pm
Hi anonymous! I have posted a response to your query here. Hope you are feeling better! Please post back if you have any more queries and me and anyone else will chip in with any more idea we have!
Hang in there!
Comment by T P Chant — August 14, 2007 @ 10:12 pm
Hi All, I was put on luvox for anxiety and co morbid depression. A weight gain of nine kilos, in sixteen weeks and I said enough. It is possibly our condition causing the weight gain and not the drug. Bull bloody shit was my comment in thta my weight has been static almost all of my adult life (the only exception being when I got married) “well let us get you better and then worry about the weight”. Again bull bloody shit. You are treating me for depression why should I be feeling depressed over weight gain that I don’t have to have and then the penny started to drop about sexual dysfunction, lost libido, dry mouth, suicidal thoughts, increased urination, more frequent trips to the toilet, when getting there inability to pee, and the list just grew and grew. So it was relucantly agreed to take me off this drug. I have refused any further medications and belive I am a million times better than when on these mind altering drugs.
Chaf.
Comment by chaf kola — September 16, 2007 @ 9:00 am
I have being taking escitalopram on a high dose of 20mg for the last 1.5 years- it has been a fantastic drug for my generalised anxiety and ocd type symptoms, have tried a number before with little help. but this one really has calmed my mind and being a great help. however, the only bad symptoms i have experienced is i have gained about 7-8 lb which whatever i do i cannot seem to lose. have been excersising about 4-5 times a week, eating very healthy and it will not budge. however maybe this is a good thing as i don’t want to be on it forever and this is now pushing me to discuss with my dr coming of it slowly. However i really would encourage people not to be scared by this, everyones metabolism is different and drugs will have different affects. if like me your life has been so filled with anxiety really putting on a little weight for a short time is not the end of the world. thanks,
Comment by Anonymous — October 22, 2007 @ 12:36 am
I have taken Prozac for a number of years with no noticable change in weight. Recently I was on Citalopram for 2 years again with no changes. I moved onto Escitalopram and within 9 months have put on 28 pounds.My diet/exersize has not changed in this time the ONLY difference was the Escitalopram. Just in the process of changing to Prozac again.
Apart fronm the weight gain, it was the best SSRI I have tried.
Comment by Anonymous — May 12, 2008 @ 9:45 am
I’ve tried numerous antidepressants for the past 10 yrs. I have always gained about 25 lbs. with each medication. I would then stop the medication and loose the weight; depression would return and I would try a different antidepressant. I have now been on Celexa for about two years and have been 25-30 lbs. over my normal weight. It is very depression but I have stayed on the medication because I am afraid of the depression returning; but am getting very depressed about the weight. The only medication that did not cause weight gain for me was Serzone, which I took for about 2 yrs. My doctor took me off because of the black box warning. I went through the worst withdrawal ever! I HATE depending on these horrible drugs!!!!
Comment by Anonymous — July 5, 2008 @ 10:01 pm
Was taking escitalopram to soften the anger effects from taking wellbutrin. I know the calorie count of everything i put in my mouth, and had to continuously decrease how much I ate, while increasing my exercise, and still gained 15 pounds of belly fat. I finally looked it up to see if it could be the drug, because my doctor told me that it doesn’t make you gain weight, you must be eating more. well i’m not. as for the alcohol cravings, yes, suddenly out of no where wellbutrin, makes me crave alcohol. I never had such a craving before. will have to come off both, can’t deal with the weight gain, loosing jobs since I’m a model. Too bad.
Comment by Anonymous — July 29, 2008 @ 3:28 pm
I am a psychiatrist and have taken many antidepressants myself. My experience is that I usually lose weight on the SSRI’s – this includes lexapro, citalopram, zoloft, prozac. The effect was usually dramatic in that the morning after the first dose, I could see my face and stomach were a little thinner.
This effect was maintained and if I stopped the medication, sure enough ,the weight was soon back on.
By contrast, the tricyclic antidepressants invariably put on horrendous amounts of weight. THis was similar with venlafaxine and mirtazapine.
Comment by Anonymous — September 10, 2008 @ 2:31 pm
I gained 40 lbs over 2 years while on Lexapro. In the past 4 months since I tapered off of it, I’ve lost 15 lbs already. I’m sure it was the medication, as my activity level and diet really didn’t change at all.
What good is the medication if it’s going to make me fat? I’m more depressed when I’m fat.
Comment by Anonymous — September 11, 2008 @ 7:19 pm
I was on anti-depressants, Sertraline, Citalopram and Prozac for five years. Prior to going on them I was very slim, no food issues, within a couple of months the weight piled right on and I had enormous cravings for carbohydrates and whenever I tried to lose weight I would have to stick to about 1000 calories a day and even then the weight gain was not significant enough to warrant eating only half the daily rda. Then I accepted it was part of the price for not dealing with anxiety and depression and thought the anxiety may also have been due to a former high metabolism. I came off them all in March – primarily because of the weight gain – and have lost about a stone and a half and lost the carb cravings too. But the past few months I have experienced the dread of it returning – the increased anxiety, feeling life is futile and so on. I started taking St John’s Wort about two weeks ago – tried that and many more herbals years ago but never really scratched the surface. I don’t know! I hate depending on these drugs but life on them is so much more balanced but I don’t want to spend my life as a fatter person who has to eat like a sparrow in order to be a normal weight! A friend of mine this morning told me she had just been put on citraplex after a breakdown and has felt the weight already going on. Another friend was on prozac and she said she LOST weight and couldn’t understand why I’d gained it, implying that it was simply due to over-eating, not understanding that we have different chemistries. I’m still going to try other things before returning to the doctor though, unless it gets a lot worse. Last time I lost my job and become almost homeless because of my reluctance to seek help and certainly can’t let myself get to that stage again.
Comment by Anonymous — January 7, 2009 @ 3:02 pm
I took citalopram for 3 years and gained 40 pounds. I stopped for 4 months and lost 18 pounds. It was amazing. I was so happy. But then the panic attacks returned with a vengeance and I had to take it again. 7 months on, I have regained all the lost pounds.
At least I am feeling normal, but the weight is a terrible price to pay for it.
I am a 40 year old female, I eat healthily, I play tennis twice a week and I work with a personal trainer twice a week. There is no question that it is the citalopram.
My doctor is very aware of my weight gain and has tried me on Lexapro, but it made no difference.
This post is very late, but I read this blog when I was searching for information, so it is still helpful for people with this problem.
Comment by Pil — January 15, 2009 @ 12:47 am
I have been taking Citalopram since April 08 and the weight gain is horrendous. My eating pattern and what I eat hasn’t changed but my legs are hugh and most of the weight has settled on my midriff and tummy.
On the plus side I feel so much better but what a price to pay.
Anyone else noticed this?
Comment by Anonymous — January 22, 2009 @ 6:00 pm
I’ve been taking Lexapro 20mg for 1 and a half years. I noticed the weight creeping up and I never really paid much attention to it. I’m always feeling hungry, even though I fill up on healthy foods! I workout 4-5 times a week, and I walk briskly for 1 hour on the days I don’t go to the gym. I’m eating less and working out more, but I’m not losing as much as a normal 21 year old would.
I’m seeing my Dr soon to start weening myself off it. Before I was thin and unhappy, soon I’ll be fat and unhappy with less money in my pocket if I don’t stop. Goodluck to everyone out there!
Comment by Kaylah — February 13, 2009 @ 6:03 am
I have been taking citalopram for the past 12 months. Over that time I have gradually put on about 7 pounds, as I am only 5ft this is quite a significant weight gain for me. I didn’t know that it could cause weight gain, to be honest I think i gained weight early on in my depressive episode because I was so inactive and slept for most of the day.
However, i feel great now and am slowly weening myself off it. But I can’t shift the weight! I eat a healthy diet and for the past four months I have been going to the gym 4 or 5 times a week doing a combination of cardio and weight training/toning. (By the way, joining the gym has been so beneficial to my recovery, exercise really does make you feel great!)But I don’t loose any weight! I have probably built some muscle tone, however my body fat analysis is still way too high.
Can anyone give me any advice?! Will I start to lose weight once I’m off the clitalopram?
Comment by Anonymous — February 15, 2009 @ 6:59 pm
I have been taking Lexapro 20mg for 2yrs now and have put on close to 20kg. My moods have been great and are much improved since taking Lexapro however this weigh gain is not helping me feel good about myself! I will try natural remedies from now on.
Comment by Anonymous — March 7, 2009 @ 12:39 pm
I have been on escitalopram for about six months for situational depression. No weight gain, but I have been training for a half marathon and watching what I am eating. With the combination of medication and exericse, my mood is good, enjoying life more, but definitely can see where I would gain weight if not for the high level of exercise.
Comment by Anonymous — April 22, 2009 @ 1:45 pm
Both my husband and I have taken Citalopram (at different times) in the past 4 years. My husband for his PTSD, and I (a year after my husband stopped taking it) for depression. It helped both of us while on it, but both of us gained weight while on it. I have been off celexa/citalopram for 8 months now and I cannot get rid of the extra weight. I gained 40 lbs over 1 year. Both my husband and I are working out 5 days a week, we are training to run a half marathon in November…all in hopes to loose the weight we gained while taking celexa/citalopram. Neither one of us can seem to shake the extra weight….any ideas??
Absolutely, the medication worked. It did what we needed it to do. I felt so great while on it, and then after tapering off I did well and have felt well since then. BUT I hate that I have gained so much weight!! Has this medication done something permanent to my metabolism, or thyroid? I cannot figure it out.
Comment by Anonymous — April 22, 2009 @ 6:39 pm
I have been taking Lexapro for 6 months and have gained almost a stone in weight, not only have I experienced inexplicable weight gain but my normal methods of losing weight aren’t working. I’m on 15mg and am tired all of the time, apathetic and have no motivation, I am definitely coming off it. Lexapro definitely pulled me out of the depths of depression but left me feeling nothing, at least when you’re depressed you experience fluctuations in emotion I just feel constant nothingness, have stopped socialising, stopped contact with most of my friends.
Comment by Anonymous — May 19, 2009 @ 8:43 pm
I have been on lexapro but did not gain any weight with it. However, I did not also lose weight. It doesn't appear to be beneficial to me and i intend to get it changed.
Comment by Amit — June 9, 2009 @ 7:03 am
I have been on citolapam for 4 months and have already grown by 3 dress sizes. There is no way i am going to watch anymore weight pile on…they are going in the bin. Hopefully will be myself soon and will go herbal. They should include new clothes with the perscription, its dreadful to not fit into your clothes anymore.
Comment by Anonymous — June 12, 2009 @ 7:12 pm
Have been on citalopram 40mg now since Jan & i have also started to notice the weight creep on. It does not seem to be budging! Please can someone advise me – if i come off the tablets will i lose the weight & go back to normal? I am making myself more ill as i am very weight conscious. Thank you
L x
Comment by L — June 15, 2009 @ 11:51 am
I started on citralopram mid feb 09 and have put on over 2 stone, and my diet has actually improved. All i can think is the citralopram, it's really getting me down and also have not had a sex life with my partner for 2 months and that is not like us. I think i'm going to stop them and hope i don't get any horrid side effects but i can't continue with this weight gain, it's at least 2lb a week i put on!!!
Comment by Anonymous — June 25, 2009 @ 9:27 pm
Hi,
I have been on Citalopram for 11 months, and just recently my dose was raised from 20mgs to 40mgs, due to two sudden death's in the family. My mood has been great, but since starting on Citalopram, I have gone from a size 8 to a size 12, which I am finding difficult to deal with. I am eating exactly the same, exercise the same, if I was to come off citalopram would my weight gain go, and how long would it take?
Tracy
Comment by Tracy — July 19, 2009 @ 9:29 pm
I have been taking prozac for the last 10 years and have reacently changed to citalopram, I attend a slimming class and since changing to citalopram have put weight on or remained the same. I cannot seem to loose any weight even on a low fat, low calorie diet, should I ditch the citalopram and go back to prozac or try to manage without anything?
Comment by Gill — September 24, 2009 @ 5:03 pm
I have been taking citalopram for 5 years now, I am diabetic and have been trying to lose weight. my doctor states its what you put in your mouth but because of this site I now know its not. I go to a dietian and with all her advise and a diabetic eating plan the weight keeps creeping on. I am now going to see the doctor and try and come off these drugs!
Jan
Comment by jan — October 29, 2009 @ 8:49 am
I’ve been battling my weight for my whole life, and am reasonably good at keeping it under control… Recently my doctor put me on Celexa, is uncontrolled weight gain something I should worry about? I’ve never been a calorie counter, I’m just good at eating healthy and exercising regularly… I’d almost choose to take the depression rather than the weight gain if this is what I have to look forward to.
Comment by Lauren — November 25, 2009 @ 4:24 am
When I first became depressed I weighed 60kg. In a very short time I lost 10 kg. I stayed at approximately 50 kg for the first 12 months of treatment with citalopram. This and a few other drugs combined gave me some relief, but the results were not consistent and my depression remained for the most part severe. Then Lexapro (escitalopram) came onto the market. It seemed to work remarkably well, remarkably quickly, although a couple of months after starting it my depressive symptoms returned. STill it was the best of a bad lot and so I persisted. Over the next 3 years I gained 63 kg (for those of you who think in pounds multiply by 2.2) to a top weight of 113 kg. After going off Lexapro and onto fluoxetine I have lost 35 kg. I have no doubt that this drug was responsible for the weight gain. Yes it increased my appetite and taste for sweet foods, but I was eating nowhere near enough for that type of out of control weight gain. I am still what I would describe as overweight, but am able to shop in normal clothing shops again. Despite eating the same type of diet in the same amounts as I did when I was very slim, the extra weight does not seem to want to shift. This is an ongoing source of anxiety for me.
Comment by marta brysha — November 25, 2009 @ 5:20 am
for me, citalopram most definitely HAS caused weight gain. Much more so than fluoxetine. I will probably have to be on an antidepressant for the rest of my life; I have lupus — which was triggered by pregnancy, and began taking fluoxetine shortly after the birth of my son, for post-natal depression, or lupus related depression — who will ever know which is cart and which is horse? Suffice to say that I although I’m now in my 50s and no longer remotely postnatal, when I come off an SSRI the depression usually returns within one to three months. so my take on it is that both lupus AND depression coincided with childbirth for me. However, I did not gain weight on fluoxetine; if I did, it was barely noticeable. but I had severe sexual side effects, and a kind of jumpiness on prozac. so I was put on citalopram, and within a very short space of time gained 15 lbs. Much later, going through the menopause, I became depressed again, in spite of the citalopram, so my doctor upped the dosage to 40 mg. the depressive symptoms disappeared quite miraculously, but — I gained another 15 pounds within a matter of months. Definitely the citalopram. As a result of this massive weight gain (I’m only 5′2″), I’ve come off it. The withdrawal effects were monstrous — I and everyone around is and are lucky to be alive. I was a demon with irritability; massively dizzy (I fell twice), suicidal, tearful, brain zaps, nightmares — just wanted to die. Tried then agomelatine, and that gave me monstrous side effects including the worst migraines (daily) I have ever had in my life. Came off that; am now going to try duloxetine. I certainly hope I can lose some weight soon.
Comment by Dani McConnell — November 27, 2009 @ 10:35 pm
Hi
I have been on fluoxetine for 2 years, before that I was on citolapram. I too have noticed significant weight gain with both. Since being on them I have gained 40lbs. I am considering going off them slowly of course. Has anyone noticed weight loss since being off them?
Comment by Sharon — December 10, 2009 @ 5:52 pm
Yes, I came off them and went on an exercise programme. Took some time but now i’m pretty much back where i was before or better! Definitely good to come off them slowly, i did it over a period of months!
Comment by admin — December 10, 2009 @ 6:19 pm
I have been on celexa for about 8 years. In that time, I have put on approximately 40lbs….and have been unable to lose any!! It doesn’t matter how healthy I eat or how much I exercise…..it will not come off. I’ve been switched to Wellbutrin to try to help this. Well, it helps with the weight – after 1 month I’ve been able to lose 6 lbs – however, it has not helped the depression as much as the celexa. Now I’m in a quandry…..healthy weight or healthy mind? It seems the SSRIs are the ones to help me. Any experience with an SSRI that WON’T cause weight gain???
Comment by Melanie Elkins — January 11, 2010 @ 8:58 pm
I have been on prozac for about 10 years. Started at 120 lbs and I am still at 120 lbs. Prozac, for me, has been wonderful. It helped with my mild panic attacks, stress and mild depression. Prozac did not cause weight gain.
Comment by Linda Anderson — January 12, 2010 @ 3:01 am
I have been on citalopram for almost a year and a half and have experienced uncontrollable weight gain. I am going to slowly go off the drug. I’ve definitely gained at least 50lb. My fiance went away on a trip for a month and during that time I had no appetite so ate healthy and minimally, even went to the gym and I STILL gained weight. I believe it’s the citalopram and hope the weight comes off once I’m off it.
Comment by Crystal — January 25, 2010 @ 6:10 pm