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I've been on all the SSRIs and I agree - the drug companies are full of crap. I started out on Paxil...gained some weight but couldn't stand the side effects so I switched to Zoloft. I didn't gain weight on that but it didn't help my anxiety, so I switched to Lexapro. Lexapro seemed to work to a small degree, but I packed on the pounds like a maniac on that med. Since it costs were "outweighing" the benefits in a big way, I switched to Prozac. Like Zoloft, I didn't gain any weight, but again it didn't help my anxiety.
I'm now trying Effexor, but I don't know how long I will be on it as it has ramped up my anxiety big time. I know you have to be patient with these meds and that it can initially cause anxiety to increase, but I'm climbing the walls with this stuff and I'm on the lowest dose they offer (37.5mgs). We'll see.
Anyway, throughout my exerperiences with the SSRIs I was very careful with my diet and exercised 5 times a week (an addition to my life, actually). Despite this, I gained weight on 2 of the 4 I had taken. I know some will tell you - "Oh, well you gain weight on these meds because they relieve depression and when your depressed you don't eat. Once your not depressed you get your appetite back and thus the weight gain." Yeah, right. These days, the drug companies skirt the issue by claiming that these meds, for the most part, do not cause any "clinically significant" weight gain. This is a bit disingenous, because what is "clinically significant? 30 pounds? 50 pounds?
The only medication of this ilk that I was on and actually lost weight on was Wellbutrin. I had great success with it's anti-depressant action too. But my doctor and I were trying it out on an experimental basis for anxiety. Well, this drug made my anxiety twice as bad and I had wicked insomnia. But I had lots of energy and felt really good. It's a shame I can't stay on it.
Anyway, to sum up - All SSRIs can lead to weight gain, as well as the multiple reuptake inhibitors (Effexor, Cymbalta, Remeron). The only med that, in my internet cruising, I think is very unlikely to trigger weight gain is Wellbutrin. They will actually stand by that claim - check out their website.
Off topic, all the aforementioned meds also wiped out my sex drive. I didn't mind, as I have social anxiety disorder and that makes it difficult to ask someone out...let alone score. But again, Wellbutrin was the only med that didn't have a negative effect on my sex drive. Actually, it increased it. Go figure.
Don't mean to come off sounding like a Wellbutrin salesperson....just passing along my experiences with all of these meds.
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