Celexa is known to cause weight gain. I was speaking to a doctor recently who told me that Celexa is actually one of the better SSRI’s for weight gain, although they all effect people in different ways so you can never really tell which one would be bad for certain people.
To some extent the weight gain can be controlled by diet and exercise. The problem is, as I understand it, Celexa seems to lower your metabolic rate and therefore you need to eat less and exercise more to burn the calories that you would normally burn much faster.
If you don’t want to be on anti-depressants forever then you need to ask yourself what other approaches you are taking to anxiety management/treatment. Are you having therapy? Have you had CBT? Are you doing something to deal with the causes of your anxiety?
If you have stopped taking Celexa and now want to start taking it again, did you come off the drugs because you felt better? And if so did you feel better because of the drugs or because of a positive change in your life/attitudes/negative thinking/past trauma?
What I am getting at is this: if you need to be on anti-depressants then you should also be looking for a long term solution. That means trying to identify the causes and dealing with them. Many people would have some kind of therapy for this although you could take a self-help approach. Either way, the drugs should only be used to treat the symptoms, that is after all what they do, despite marketing hype.
One possible solution might be to take the lowest possible dosage you can manage with, this will minimise the weight gain as much as possible, and then seek help with the causes. It is important to discuss dose changes with your doctor, and agree a treatment plan. On the other hand, if your doctor agrees that it is a good idea, you could forget the drugs and move to a solution focussed cure like therapy or counselling. I don’t know your situation so I don’t know what is best for you, but often just taking those first steps can give you a big lift and a lot of hope. With effort, you can get over this.
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