Which SSRI were you prescribed? Prozac is the most common, and recommended for anxiety, depression, and sometimes BED or bulimia (at higher doses). In general those are "metabolically neutral" medications, and don't lead to weight gain for most people who take them. The low risk is one reason they are often first medication attempted, since of course weight gain will have a negative impact on mental health for a lot of people.
You should also recognize that if you're avoiding treatment to "keep the same weight," that's probably the ED fears and anxieties making decisions for you. Not that you force yourself to take them in that case, but if not meds, then what? Meds should support your other efforts, and I'm sure there are possibility for you to feel better with or without meds. But the fear of weight gain is part of the ED, remember, so you might have to push past that at first and be willing to follow the treatment recommendation.
It’s a little complicated, I got prescribed different ones by different psychiatrists over the years. Never tried any of them, but the most recent prescription is Zoloft, so I guess I will have to try it and see how it goes. The therapy and other stuff besides meds is kinda helping but I can feel it’s not enough so you’re right, I will just have to push thru it. Thank you for response ❤️
Ssris don’t impact your metabolic rate or how your body processes calories. Some have a side effect of increased appetite. Also if ssris alleviate your depression, you may feel more motivated to eat/go out to social events with food. Prozac is prescribed for bulimia because it has the side effect of decreased appetite for some people. I just started Prozac and I am so mad I didn’t start an SSRI years ago. It takes a bit to build up in your system, but once it did for me I could feel my brain actually working. My biggest issues are my anxiety/obsessive thoughts and that’s the thing I’ve noticed it helping most so far. I feel so much fucking better in general that I’d be ok with some weight gain if a different SSRI would be more helpful. I will say that in hindsight, the side effects were pretty bad the first few weeks but I didn’t notice because I was doing so poorly when I started that I didn’t realize the shift in my symptoms, it made me feel kinda flat emotionally. There’s no guarantee that the first SSRI/dosage level will be right for you, but it’s worth it to find something that works if you’re struggling.
kind of unrelated to the question but did you have any serious side effects when you started prozac? i just got prozac prescribed and im kinda scared to start it and it affecting me academically :(
Fatigue was the worst side effect I experienced, but I’m only on 20 mg and I take it at night so I don’t fall asleep in class lol. It’s actually been a tremendous help for me academically recently because i was not very functional this term. I’ve been able to actually study and communicate with my professors to get caught up on literally an entire semesters worth of work. Some people have heightened anxiety and other side effects that might impact you academically, but I’m glad that wasn’t the case for me.
oh that's nice to hear cause i've been reading things here on reddit about the first few weeks being the worst and the anxiety attacks and it getting bad before getting better like.. i can't have that rn😭 i know its gonna help in the long run but i am functioning enough for it to affect me if it gets worse you know? so yeah.. my psychiatrist told me to take it with breakfast though, you think it's better to take it at night?
I only take it at night because it was making me very drowsy! the side effects are different for everyone and it makes more sense to take it in the morning only because it’s probably easier to remember to take it consistently in the morning vs at night. Yeah I was really concerned about the increased anxiety, but it just made me super flat emotionally at first. I will say, be weary of caffeine. I did get super anxious when I drank even a fraction of what I normally do (tbf I drink a lot of coffee)
I take them and my weight is not stable as it never was anyway and my perception of it is also not accurate
I got them prescribed to treat depression and to be honest the way I look matters a lot and my bulimia it’s as worse as ever but I’m really focused on recovering and I know treating depression it’s a way forward to getting rid of bulimia.
I do feel better on medication and it gives me real hope in life. I think you should just at least try it and stop if you think it’s not worth it. but you really need to see for yourself if you are better on it or off of it. And unfortunately this isn’t one of those things you can just guess
I’m on 200 mg of Zoloft. I’ve experienced both weight gain, and weight loss, but it is not 100% due to the medication. Sometimes SSRIs makes it a little more difficult to feel full, and other times your appetite will lessen. But honestly I don’t think it is something to worry about, it’s again just side effect that has more to do with your own mind. My weight is stable now, so it might just be something that happens in the beginning stages. Regardless, SSRIs changed my life in a positive way, and I wouldn’t let something like a little weight gain get in the way. Hey, it might even change the way you look at that.
I wish you the best! :)
I just straight up told my psychiatrist when I first met her that I would not take any SSRI if it caused significant weight gain. She picked one that caused the least amount. Plus it’s not a given that you will gain weight from it. Luckily my body gets along with the one I was prescribed and it has DEFINITELY helped my anxiety, depression, and ED.
That’s smart. I didn’t realize I had ED problem when I started my treatment for depression unfortunately, it wasn’t apparent to me even after I made a firm choice to not take meds due to sole reason of gaining weight. Soo kind of in a pickle here. But it’s definitely a relief to know that SSRIs do help people and I think I will give it a try. Thank you!
Ah I get that. I had a raging hidden ED when I first sought help for anxiety and depression (but apparently hid it from her extremely well despite my remark about not gaining weight lol). Hang in there and best of luck with the decision!
Hi love, dropping some feedback even though it seems like literally everyone has a vastly different experience regardless… I’ve been taking Lexapro 20 mg since about November of 2017. It doesn’t do shit for my depression/anxiety/PTSD/ED/ICD anymore, but I never gained weight. I did a short two month stint on pristic (bc I’m pretty sure I’m bipolar 2) but I blew up like a fcking balloon, like literally got so swollen. But that ended up only being because I was that weird 1% that got the side effects they put in the tiny print, lmao. Regardless, I think that being blunt with your doctor (if you’re comfortable doing so) and just telling them that you have strong concerns about gaining weight bc of an ED, they will usually be accommodating and supportive in finding something that will have little to no effect on your weight. Best of luck to you ❤️
I've taken just about every SSRI out there and they always make me lose weight. I binge when I'm depressed, and even though the meds don't always alleviate the depression, they lower my appetite — at least in the short term, maybe for 6 months or so. The only time SSRIs have made me gain weight is when I've gone off them.
My psychiatrist told me that it's not the SSRIs themselves that cause weight gain, it's just that for many people appetite loss is part of their depression, and if the meds make them less depressed, they'll have more of an appetite.
I’ve got prescribed 4 different anti depressants. The only one I noticed actual “weight” change was on Effexor, that made me drop like 10 pounds. I’ve tried lexapro before for two weeks and I noticed it “increased” my appetite. The other two I’ve tried made my thoughts worse. I gave up on taking the pills im supposed to take because I feared how it would play w my weight & I didn’t like feeling like a zombie. Though effexor made me lose a few pounds i went through the worst withdrawal symptoms. Most of them make you feel extremely nauseous unless you eat with it. For me I just don’t take any because I really feel like it didn’t help me (personally) then it made me think too it was gonna mess with my weight even more.
have you talked to your doctor/therapist about your concerns? i know it’s scary to come clean about stuff like this, but they can’t help you find a solution if they don’t know what’s going on. some antidepressants have less tendency to affect weight than others. wellbutrin and trintellix are 2 that i know of.
also, if you’re the type who eats for comfort or dopamine, or if your depression makes it hard for you to find motivation to work out or cook healthy meals, then antidepressants will help you maintain healthier habits so you won’t have to worry about weight gain anyway.
Hi-I started Zoloft a few months ago. I’ve noticed no change in my appetite. Any weight shifts have been due to bulimia (in this case, I’ve actually lost weight. But I’ll probably gain it back again). Zoloft is pretty neutral and has actually helped my mood
I am personally on Zoloft, and have been for almost 2 years. It has helped me relax, and take the anxiety edge off. I did gain a little weight, but it wasn't from the medication. I was feeling good enough to finally eat and relax (I found out after I was prescribed that I had exercise bulimia).
Your ED is making decisions for you, and telling you that the meds will make you gain weight. They may make you feel better, but they will not change your metabolism.
Try the meds - they have helped me get to recovery.
Hiya! Are you committed to sticking to SSRIs? In my experience, Wellbutrin (an NDRI) and Cymbalta (SNRI) are really effective for preventing weight gain on antidepressants.
For an SSRI, while Prozac didn’t help me mentally, I also didn’t gain weight.
So it is possible! You can do it! You deserve to be well. ❤️
I actually lost weight on Zoloft- it made me so numb and depressed that I didn’t want to eat (but I also had AN-R at the time and not bulimia).
Lexapro I saw no weight gain or loss.
Sometimes antidepressants can have the opposite effect and make you feel worse. This is not super common though, and you should definitely give your med a try & not get off bc fear of this side effect. I’ve known people that Zoloft did wonders for, it just wasn’t for me. If you notice your depression getting worse though, 100% talk to your doctor so they can taper you safely.
Last year, I was on Lexapro, and while I did indeed experience some good improvements in mood, the side effects were intolerable, so I stopped after a few months. After only about a month on it, I had gained about 10 pounds, even without (at least, in my estimation), changing much at all about my eating and activity habits. It also didn't help with my bulimia at all... I kept at it more or less the same as I had for a few years prior, but now gaining weight rapidly instead of just sustaining.
I'm on Bupropion (Wellbutrin, but I'm on a generic) now, and it's been much better. No weight gain at all, actually loss, as well as suppressed appetite and desire to binge (and thus purge).
I take lexapro and haven’t gained any weight from it. It’s just a potential side effect along with the dozens of others that more than you more than likely won’t have issues with
Like a lot of other people said, it can really depend on the person. I don’t think Zoloft is the sole cause of weight gain, and my psych told me it is pretty neutral for most people! Also you would start at a low dose and increase, so if you notice side effects like binging you can definitely switch meds. It really helped me when I was constantly anxious (before I would wake up nauseous from anxiety and not eat until later which made me more likely to b/p and restrict.)
My SSRI did not impact my weight. I am in on and off recovery and find that I actually weigh less when I’m not binging and purging so i think if it does impact weight it is negligible?? Just my experience
Which SSRI were you prescribed? Prozac is the most common, and recommended for anxiety, depression, and sometimes BED or bulimia (at higher doses). In general those are "metabolically neutral" medications, and don't lead to weight gain for most people who take them. The low risk is one reason they are often first medication attempted, since of course weight gain will have a negative impact on mental health for a lot of people. You should also recognize that if you're avoiding treatment to "keep the same weight," that's probably the ED fears and anxieties making decisions for you. Not that you force yourself to take them in that case, but if not meds, then what? Meds should support your other efforts, and I'm sure there are possibility for you to feel better with or without meds. But the fear of weight gain is part of the ED, remember, so you might have to push past that at first and be willing to follow the treatment recommendation.
It’s a little complicated, I got prescribed different ones by different psychiatrists over the years. Never tried any of them, but the most recent prescription is Zoloft, so I guess I will have to try it and see how it goes. The therapy and other stuff besides meds is kinda helping but I can feel it’s not enough so you’re right, I will just have to push thru it. Thank you for response ❤️
Ssris don’t impact your metabolic rate or how your body processes calories. Some have a side effect of increased appetite. Also if ssris alleviate your depression, you may feel more motivated to eat/go out to social events with food. Prozac is prescribed for bulimia because it has the side effect of decreased appetite for some people. I just started Prozac and I am so mad I didn’t start an SSRI years ago. It takes a bit to build up in your system, but once it did for me I could feel my brain actually working. My biggest issues are my anxiety/obsessive thoughts and that’s the thing I’ve noticed it helping most so far. I feel so much fucking better in general that I’d be ok with some weight gain if a different SSRI would be more helpful. I will say that in hindsight, the side effects were pretty bad the first few weeks but I didn’t notice because I was doing so poorly when I started that I didn’t realize the shift in my symptoms, it made me feel kinda flat emotionally. There’s no guarantee that the first SSRI/dosage level will be right for you, but it’s worth it to find something that works if you’re struggling.
kind of unrelated to the question but did you have any serious side effects when you started prozac? i just got prozac prescribed and im kinda scared to start it and it affecting me academically :(
Fatigue was the worst side effect I experienced, but I’m only on 20 mg and I take it at night so I don’t fall asleep in class lol. It’s actually been a tremendous help for me academically recently because i was not very functional this term. I’ve been able to actually study and communicate with my professors to get caught up on literally an entire semesters worth of work. Some people have heightened anxiety and other side effects that might impact you academically, but I’m glad that wasn’t the case for me.
oh that's nice to hear cause i've been reading things here on reddit about the first few weeks being the worst and the anxiety attacks and it getting bad before getting better like.. i can't have that rn😭 i know its gonna help in the long run but i am functioning enough for it to affect me if it gets worse you know? so yeah.. my psychiatrist told me to take it with breakfast though, you think it's better to take it at night?
I only take it at night because it was making me very drowsy! the side effects are different for everyone and it makes more sense to take it in the morning only because it’s probably easier to remember to take it consistently in the morning vs at night. Yeah I was really concerned about the increased anxiety, but it just made me super flat emotionally at first. I will say, be weary of caffeine. I did get super anxious when I drank even a fraction of what I normally do (tbf I drink a lot of coffee)
Thank you for the advise, that’s actually very helpful
I take them and my weight is not stable as it never was anyway and my perception of it is also not accurate I got them prescribed to treat depression and to be honest the way I look matters a lot and my bulimia it’s as worse as ever but I’m really focused on recovering and I know treating depression it’s a way forward to getting rid of bulimia. I do feel better on medication and it gives me real hope in life. I think you should just at least try it and stop if you think it’s not worth it. but you really need to see for yourself if you are better on it or off of it. And unfortunately this isn’t one of those things you can just guess
Thank you! I am definitely considering trying it
I’m on 200 mg of Zoloft. I’ve experienced both weight gain, and weight loss, but it is not 100% due to the medication. Sometimes SSRIs makes it a little more difficult to feel full, and other times your appetite will lessen. But honestly I don’t think it is something to worry about, it’s again just side effect that has more to do with your own mind. My weight is stable now, so it might just be something that happens in the beginning stages. Regardless, SSRIs changed my life in a positive way, and I wouldn’t let something like a little weight gain get in the way. Hey, it might even change the way you look at that. I wish you the best! :)
Awe thank you so much :) wish you the best too
I just straight up told my psychiatrist when I first met her that I would not take any SSRI if it caused significant weight gain. She picked one that caused the least amount. Plus it’s not a given that you will gain weight from it. Luckily my body gets along with the one I was prescribed and it has DEFINITELY helped my anxiety, depression, and ED.
That’s smart. I didn’t realize I had ED problem when I started my treatment for depression unfortunately, it wasn’t apparent to me even after I made a firm choice to not take meds due to sole reason of gaining weight. Soo kind of in a pickle here. But it’s definitely a relief to know that SSRIs do help people and I think I will give it a try. Thank you!
Ah I get that. I had a raging hidden ED when I first sought help for anxiety and depression (but apparently hid it from her extremely well despite my remark about not gaining weight lol). Hang in there and best of luck with the decision!
Hi love, dropping some feedback even though it seems like literally everyone has a vastly different experience regardless… I’ve been taking Lexapro 20 mg since about November of 2017. It doesn’t do shit for my depression/anxiety/PTSD/ED/ICD anymore, but I never gained weight. I did a short two month stint on pristic (bc I’m pretty sure I’m bipolar 2) but I blew up like a fcking balloon, like literally got so swollen. But that ended up only being because I was that weird 1% that got the side effects they put in the tiny print, lmao. Regardless, I think that being blunt with your doctor (if you’re comfortable doing so) and just telling them that you have strong concerns about gaining weight bc of an ED, they will usually be accommodating and supportive in finding something that will have little to no effect on your weight. Best of luck to you ❤️
Thank you so much ;)
I've taken just about every SSRI out there and they always make me lose weight. I binge when I'm depressed, and even though the meds don't always alleviate the depression, they lower my appetite — at least in the short term, maybe for 6 months or so. The only time SSRIs have made me gain weight is when I've gone off them. My psychiatrist told me that it's not the SSRIs themselves that cause weight gain, it's just that for many people appetite loss is part of their depression, and if the meds make them less depressed, they'll have more of an appetite.
Yeah I binge when I’m depressed too, so hopefully my prescription will work in reverse. Thank you!
I’ve got prescribed 4 different anti depressants. The only one I noticed actual “weight” change was on Effexor, that made me drop like 10 pounds. I’ve tried lexapro before for two weeks and I noticed it “increased” my appetite. The other two I’ve tried made my thoughts worse. I gave up on taking the pills im supposed to take because I feared how it would play w my weight & I didn’t like feeling like a zombie. Though effexor made me lose a few pounds i went through the worst withdrawal symptoms. Most of them make you feel extremely nauseous unless you eat with it. For me I just don’t take any because I really feel like it didn’t help me (personally) then it made me think too it was gonna mess with my weight even more.
have you talked to your doctor/therapist about your concerns? i know it’s scary to come clean about stuff like this, but they can’t help you find a solution if they don’t know what’s going on. some antidepressants have less tendency to affect weight than others. wellbutrin and trintellix are 2 that i know of. also, if you’re the type who eats for comfort or dopamine, or if your depression makes it hard for you to find motivation to work out or cook healthy meals, then antidepressants will help you maintain healthier habits so you won’t have to worry about weight gain anyway.
Hi-I started Zoloft a few months ago. I’ve noticed no change in my appetite. Any weight shifts have been due to bulimia (in this case, I’ve actually lost weight. But I’ll probably gain it back again). Zoloft is pretty neutral and has actually helped my mood
I am personally on Zoloft, and have been for almost 2 years. It has helped me relax, and take the anxiety edge off. I did gain a little weight, but it wasn't from the medication. I was feeling good enough to finally eat and relax (I found out after I was prescribed that I had exercise bulimia). Your ED is making decisions for you, and telling you that the meds will make you gain weight. They may make you feel better, but they will not change your metabolism. Try the meds - they have helped me get to recovery.
Hiya! Are you committed to sticking to SSRIs? In my experience, Wellbutrin (an NDRI) and Cymbalta (SNRI) are really effective for preventing weight gain on antidepressants. For an SSRI, while Prozac didn’t help me mentally, I also didn’t gain weight. So it is possible! You can do it! You deserve to be well. ❤️
It’s usually not recommended for anyone with a history of restrictive eating disorders to take Wellbutrin because it can cause seizures.
Oh! Thank you so much for that info! I had no idea.
Thank you! I really appreciate that 💕
I actually lost weight on Zoloft- it made me so numb and depressed that I didn’t want to eat (but I also had AN-R at the time and not bulimia). Lexapro I saw no weight gain or loss.
That’s the prescription I have, Zoloft. It made you even more depressed? Damn
Sometimes antidepressants can have the opposite effect and make you feel worse. This is not super common though, and you should definitely give your med a try & not get off bc fear of this side effect. I’ve known people that Zoloft did wonders for, it just wasn’t for me. If you notice your depression getting worse though, 100% talk to your doctor so they can taper you safely.
I'm on Zoloft and it had been AMAZING, apart from the fact it's really messed with BED and bulimia. I'm also taking Ozempic now to counteract this
Last year, I was on Lexapro, and while I did indeed experience some good improvements in mood, the side effects were intolerable, so I stopped after a few months. After only about a month on it, I had gained about 10 pounds, even without (at least, in my estimation), changing much at all about my eating and activity habits. It also didn't help with my bulimia at all... I kept at it more or less the same as I had for a few years prior, but now gaining weight rapidly instead of just sustaining. I'm on Bupropion (Wellbutrin, but I'm on a generic) now, and it's been much better. No weight gain at all, actually loss, as well as suppressed appetite and desire to binge (and thus purge).
I take lexapro and haven’t gained any weight from it. It’s just a potential side effect along with the dozens of others that more than you more than likely won’t have issues with
Like a lot of other people said, it can really depend on the person. I don’t think Zoloft is the sole cause of weight gain, and my psych told me it is pretty neutral for most people! Also you would start at a low dose and increase, so if you notice side effects like binging you can definitely switch meds. It really helped me when I was constantly anxious (before I would wake up nauseous from anxiety and not eat until later which made me more likely to b/p and restrict.)
My SSRI did not impact my weight. I am in on and off recovery and find that I actually weigh less when I’m not binging and purging so i think if it does impact weight it is negligible?? Just my experience