How to decide if I should go back on meds?
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Anonymous
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Long story short--I have had anxiety/depression issues all my life (as far back as I can remember) and went to a therapist for about 3 years before she convinced me that even though I had made progress with CBT, meds would be very helpful for me because I was having frequent panic attacks. I found a psychiatrist who put me on Zoloft 50mg. It was like I had finally woken up to how life should be. My anxiety decreased and I felt so much better. The downside--I gained 15 pounds (on top of baby weight I had yet to lose). I decided to wean myself off of the Zoloft because I need to lose this weight. I feel horrible about myself and I hate getting dressed in the morning. I feel judged all the time and actively avoid being in pictures. I'm very short so the weight is very noticeable. The psychiatrist wanted me to go on a low dose of Cymbalta while I weaned off the Zoloft but I wanted to see how my body reacted to being off meds. I am also hypothyroid and on Synthroid. My current endo doesn't seem to care that I'm still having hypo symptoms even though my TSH and T3 levels are within normal range so I have an appointment with a new endo in July.
Zoloft withdrawal wasn't the most fun thing in the world, but what sucks is that now I'm extremely irritable off of it. Every little thing sets me off and DH says I just have this negative cloud around me. It's causing friction in our marriage and we tend to bicker a lot anyway so I don't need any added irritability adding fuel to the fire. I've been eating healthy and exercising but still haven't seen weight loss although I do feel less bloated. For about a month I was recording everything I ate and was eating about 1300 calories a day but the scale still wouldn't budge. I've read that it can take a while for Zoloft to completely leave your system and even longer to start losing weight. I have an appointment with my psychiatrist tomorrow to check in with how I'm doing off Zoloft, but I keep going back and forth about whether to go on another medication. On one hand, I really would like to know if the Zoloft caused the weight gain and if I can take the weight off. On the other hand, I don't like my personality lately. I can feel myself overreacting but can't seem to reign it in. Not fair to DH or DS. I had expressed concern originally about weight gain on meds but the psych said that Zoloft was weight neutral. When I told her why I had decided to go off of it, she did say that it can cause a slow weight creep over time in some people. I don't necessarily trust that cymbalta wouldn't have the same effect. So, clearly that wasn't short, but I'd like some advice from people who've BTDT. |
Anonymous
| Honestly if Zoloft made the difference mentally/emotionally it's worth 15+ pounds. |
Anonymous
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What about a different drug? Lexapro is known for less weight gain side effects.
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Anonymous
OP again. If I could get past it mentally it would be one thing but the extra weight also puts me in a precarious situation with blood sugar. I had GD so I'm all out of whack after that and my resting glucose borders on high. Like if 100 is the cutoff, it's 95-99. So I need to lose the weight for health reasons as well as vanity reasons. |
Anonymous
OP, I'm the lexapro poster. I moved to a combo of lexapro + xanax and also had my thyroid tested so am now on thyroxine -- solved my weight issues. |
Anonymous
Definitely go back on meds, but find something that's not known for weight gain. What about Brintellix? http://www.webmd.com/drugs/drug-165188-Brintellix+oral.aspx?drugid=165188&drugname=Brintellix+oral The nausea is temporary (e.g., 2 weeks) as your body adjusts to the drug. |
Anonymous
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I feel your pain OP.
I take 200 mg. of Zoloft and have had weight gain, but I also take other meds so it may be the other meds along with the Zoloft that collectively contribute to the weight gain. I am a usually skinny person, yet on meds I look bloated and I feel so unattractive. I hate seeing my reflection in the mirror and I absolutely hate how I look in photos too. I decided to go off the meds about three years ago to get my figure back which I did..(took about three months off the meds for my figure to return.) People thought I went on a diet, the weight loss was that noticeable and I felt wonderful and secure regarding my appearance and body. But inwardly, I was a mental mess. I was depressed, anxious and quite obsessive, etc. I had to weigh the pros against the cons and finally decided that I couldn't function anymore without my medicine. In life, you never get something for nothing and nothing screams that more than my situation regarding medication. Yes, I get to feel good, I can function well and not worry about my moods anymore and having to stress and deal with my anger and anxiety, but at the same time the trade off is I have now gained back the weight and look bloated and less attractive. |
Anonymous
I am sorry OP. Please remember that stress effects blood sugar immensely. Did it go up when you were on it before? Or is up now when you are not on it? |
Anonymous
OP again. I have not had it tested since I've been off Zoloft so I'm not sure. It has basically been in that range since I had DS almost 3 years ago because I still had about 15 lbs of baby weight to lose. The Zoloft weight is on top of that so I have about 30 lbs to lose. I've always known that my body doesn't process sugar well so I've always eaten a diet low in carbs to keep it in check. Maybe I should give it some time for my body to regulate itself off the meds? I'm not feeling like I'm in a depressive state and I haven't had any anxiety attacks since going off of it, so if I can get past the irritability I'd be ok. Summer is a lower stress time for me (no work) so that may help a lot. As crappy as it sounds, right now getting to a reasonable weight is more important to me than not being irritable. I've made an appointment with my old therapist and I'll see what the psych says today. If anyone had weight gain on SSRIs, what medication didn't cause weight gain for you? Thanks for your responses. |
Anonymous
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Girl, get yourself a prescription and an exercise bike. Life is too short! Be happy and comfortable in your skin. Knowing that you have to make more of an effort to stay fit is just part of a larger plan of self care. Burn off the anxiety. Get the endo boost. Keep the weight gain to a minimum. Maybe your body, in a different non-post-partum state, will respond differently to the Zoloft? I didn't gain any weight with Zoloft. I had different side effects. Maybe the experience will be positive and unrelated to weight this time around? |
Anonymous
| Wellbutrin? Not sure if it's good for anxiety too, but I was on it for depression and lost weight. |
Anonymous
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OP, irritability IS a symptom of depression. I know you're worried about your weight, but not liking yourself and acting in ways that damage your marriage is not healthy, either.
I'm on Celexa and didn't experience any weight gain on it. |
Anonymous
| OP, long time anti depressant user here. When I don't take them, I sound like you in the first post. I would say, go back on your meds. You will feel much better. 15 lbs sucks, but being depressed is worse. You should be grateful the medication works. |
Anonymous
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I think that it's hard to make the decision to go back on meds when you aren't on meds- does that make sense? In other words, you have such anxiety because you aren't on meds that you can't go on them... it's a vicious circle.
In your case I'd almost wonder if some sort of weight loss drug was warrented (though I know nothing about those). I think experimenting with what works for you to not gain weight is also worth it. |
Anonymous
OP again. I have an exercise bike and an elliptical in my basement. I use them, along with going to a HIIT class 2x/week and push-ups/crunches throughout the week. The issue is that I'm gaining even though I have healthy habits. I was gaining even while eating 1300 calories per day and exercising. I really can't eat less than 1200-1300 calories per day because that's not sustainable and being hungry adds to my anxiety because I think about food all the time. A few weeks ago I decided to stop recording everything I eat and stop recording exercise and just try to keep health on my mind instead of weight loss. A different mentality. I have felt less anxious without recording everything I eat, and I feel like my appetite has decreased. I was focusing so much on what I was "allowed" to eat that it was always on my mind, thus making me feel hungry all the time. When I stopped counting and started listening to my body, I stopped thinking about food as much. Unfortunately, although it makes me feel better mentally, I still have not lost a pound. I would love to be one of those people who can be "fat and happy", but that just doesn't work for me. My anxiety/depression was regulated on Zoloft but I still couldn't feel good about myself due to the weight gain. On Zoloft I felt hungry ALL THE TIME. As far as post-partum state, is it still considered post-partum almost 3 years out? I do still feel like my body thinks it's still pregnant or post-partum hormonally. (I'm definitely NOT pregnant!) TMI but sometimes I feel like I still have milk even though I didn't BF and I dried up shortly after I had DS. Weird. There has to be a happy medium somehow....Am I expecting too much? |