Is anyone taking antidepressants and on a low carb diet? I have been on this diet for a month and have only lost 5 pounds is it because of this medication? Anyone having the same problems?

Hi Trish, welcome aboard.

We all react diffrently to medications. Some gain, some lose, no way to tell except by trying. I gain weight when I use my asthma medications, had it not been for low-carbing, I would have gained a lot of weight. So low-carbing does help me combat weight gain, and it is a healthy way of eating as well.

Wa'il

It definitely depends on the type of anti-depressant. I did not gain weight on zoloft, but an overdose of effexor put me into seratonine excess which (among other things) made me crave sweet things (pot of jam anyone). One thing you might want to consider is something my psychiatrist said which is that he frequently finds that his patients need a reduction in meds during the summer, something like the reverse of SAD (seasonal affective disorder). If you're get to high a level of meds I would think you'd be lucky just to stand still on any time of diet.

You might want to talks to your prescribing doctor about this. Possible symptoms of excess medication are sleep disturbances, digestive problems, anxiousness, apathy and cravings. I'm sure there are others - those are just the ones I had!

Jay

I'm taking EffexorXR and have just started low-carbing because I have gained 25 pounds since beginning antidepressants a year ago (I started on Celexa) and I'm not even taking what is considered a high dose! My cravings for sweets had become enormous and I felt I was being devoured by sugars and carbs. I'm trying to get myself back in control by cutting back on carbs. I'm only finishing up week one but do feel better about myself and my carb addicitions already! I'm due for my checkup in early November and will ask for a blood work up and to start weaning myself off the Effexor. (I was warned not to stop "cold turkey!") I hope that I have lost some weight by that time--only 2 pounds so far!

Mar

Glad I found this thread. My doctor prescribed Effexor this morning, but didn't say if it would slow my loss down (it's already at a snail's pace). She knows I am trying to lose weight... in fact, she's the one who recommended lo-carbing to me. I've had great success with Zoloft, but my doctor wanted me to try Effexor because it's the one she typically prescribes to patients with fibromylagia.

I have been on many different anti-depressants and none of them caused a great deal of gain or loss. You should keep in mind that while in a depressive episode, you can gain or lose weight (not every episode is the same... I've experienced both). Antidepressants usually help stabilize the gain/loss symptom and it could very well be that the medication or dosage are not for you.

However, I do recall, when I first began taking Prozac my appetite decreased significantly and my body dysmorphia (along with food-releated OCDs) just vanished. Prozac and similar antidepressants are now being used to treat OCDs... hmmm. I believe I didn't crave carbs on medication because my serotonin levels were stabilized. Basically, my overindulgence in carbs was a way for me to self-medicate my depression (along with drinking, sex-which also releases the same hormones that carbs do).

Asthma medications usually contain steriods which are notorious for weight gain... it's great, Wa'il, that you can at least offset the gains with lo-carbing.

Trisha... a five pound loss is a good, solid loss... congratulations! I know it can be discouraging to not lose as quickly as some, but keep your head up and ask your doctor about Effexor.

is better than effexor, primarily because of the difficulty in coming off it, or even moderating the dosage. This drug has one of the worst withdrawal profiles of the available anti-depressants. In fact my psychiatrist says he would use it only as as a last resort (he didn't put me on it, my OB did for hot flashes). As he says, you should be able to reduce a medication without putting the patient into a bed-ridden state (I was like that for 4 days when we reduced the dosage 37.5 mg from 300 mg/day).

From my own experience and from people I know this is not a drug I would recommend. You might what to do a search for side-effects on the web - there's a lot of info out there.

Jay

i just wanted to welcome you trish. welcome!

I have been on effexor for two years with no problems...if fact, it has been a savior in my life. I don't think it is affecting my weight loss at all either. The only side effects I have ever had with it were when I started - dry mouth.
Donna

Great info from all the others about antidepressants. This could be your problem, or part of it. Why don't you post a typical day's food consumption? and let the LC experts here check it over to see if they see any problem areas. An objective eye sometimes helps.

I'm surprised Wa'il didn't suggest that you take measurements (he reminds us frequently). Inches can be lost without a change in the scale, so relying on the scale only can be discouraging, but if inches are lost & clothes are looser, you are still a winner at the losing game.

Good luck, Ruth