Marlaine, while I can appreciate that exercise can be the answer for some, it is not the answer for everybody. There are some people that have a chemical inbalance in the brain that necessitates the use of anti-depressants.

I have a long family history of mental illness. My grandmother was manic, my mother is manic (bi-polar) , my sister is schizophrenic , and my father is a sociopath and borderline personality disorder. Fortunately for me, I am the lucky one in that I only have panic disorder and PTSD . Thus, I manage to lead a normal life compared to my family, I work in a high-profile and high-paying profession, and have a wonderful hubby and kids. But, unfortunately for me, running around the block doesn't help me. I went off my meds for a year thinking I would be okay, and ended up with such bad panic attacks that my family doctor even thought I was having a heart problem (until I wore holter monitor for three days and this showed the panic activity). I now see a psychiatrist, I take both Paxil AND prozac (paxil for the anxiety, and additional prozac as paxil doesn't seem to work as well for my PTSD). I am losing weight steadily, when I manage to stay on track with this WOE and not go off of it.

I think you'll find the same old adage always holds true: your milleage may vary. You'll just have to try it out, and see how it goes. Hoever, my shrink has told me that when Prozac first came out it was touted as a weight loss miracle drug. He doesn't think it does either, (loss or gain) so i really think you'll be fine.