In addition, individual factors seem to play a role. You may be surprised to learn that there are two antidepressants linked to weight loss.
Remember, a link implies a statistical association, so it does not predict individual results. These include:. As an SSRI , Prozac increases the levels of serotonin in the brain and these are generally the first-line treatment for depression. Any weight loss you may experience while taking Prozac may only be temporary and weight gain after the first few months may be possible. Wellbutrin is an atypical antidepressant that doesn't change serotonin levels in the brain.
Rather, it uniquely alters other brain chemicals like noradrenaline and dopamine. This is especially true of people with a history of seizures or an eating disorder like anorexia or bulimia. It could put you at greater risk for having a seizure while using it. This states their potential for increased risk of suicidal thoughts and actions in children, teens, and young adults during the early stages of treatment.
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If you are having suicidal thoughts, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at for support and assistance from a trained counselor. If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call For more mental health resources, see our National Helpline Database. Treating your depression is paramount to your mental health and well-being.
Of course, your physical appearance and health are also important, and your doctor would not want weight gain to affect your adherence to your depression therapy. Have a candid discussion with your doctor about depression treatment as there are a lot of options out there. If you have concerns about weight loss or gain, talk to your doctor about diet and exercise changes you can make as well. By changing a few habits and feeling healthier, you can also improve your emotional and mental health.
Often, a combination of medication and a healthy lifestyle is the best treatment plan. There is also the precaution that if you do not have depression, antidepressants are not recommended for weight loss. Studies have found that taking these medications for that purpose has negligible results. We had our clients follow dietary guidelines that would make the brain make new serotonin.
How to Avoid Weight Gain When Taking Antidepressant Medication
The medications they were taking did not increase serotonin levels in the brain; they made the serotonin already there more active. We knew from previous research that when carbohydrates were eaten on an empty stomach and without protein, a process was initiated that led to new serotonin being made in the brain.
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And our experiments had shown that when this happened, people felt less hungry and their carbohydrate cravings went away. We told our clients to eat a carbohydrate snack twice a day on an empty stomach and to eat a dinner meal that was mainly starchy foods like pasta or rice and vegetables.
How Antidepressants Can Affect Weight Loss
We told them that they could eat protein at breakfast and lunch but that protein interfered with the process leading to new serotonin being made. And since many of them were on medications that made them likely to eat two dinners, or to snack continually after dinner, we wanted to make sure that there was plenty of serotonin in their brains to turn off their evening appetite. It worked. Even though our clients were still on the medications that were causing them to gain weight, they were able to start losing.
Of course, the carbohydrates on the diet plan were low in fat to avoid unnecessary calories and the amount of carbohydrate they were permitted to eat was also portion controlled. We told them that their brains didn't care whether the carbohydrates they ate came from doughnuts or brown rice, but they had to eat healthy, low-fat, high-fiber carbohydrates for their general health and to decrease their calorie intake.
But it turned out that this was never a problem. Our clients had been thin. They had always eaten healthily.
How Antidepressants Can Affect Weight Loss
And once that voice in their heads telling them to eat junk food was turned off, they had no problem going back to the way they had always eaten. Moreover, as soon as they saw themselves losing weight, they were eager to get back to the gym or the other physical activities that had enjoyed before their weight gain. Be sure to voice your concerns with your physician. If your doctor feels the most effective medication is one that has been found to cause weight gain in some people, start taking preventative steps right away. You may not be able to fully prevent medically-induced weight gain, but you can take these steps to help keep it under control:.
Photo: Unsplash, I Yunmai. Article continues below Do you feel depressed? Antidepressants and body weight: A comprehensive review and meta-analysis. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.
Why Does Sertraline Cause Weight Gain?
Weight gain and associated factors in patients using newer antidepressant drugs. Gen Hosp Psychiatry. H1-histamine receptor affinity predicts weight gain with antidepressants. European Neuropsychopharmacology. Journal of Affective Disorders. Early weight gain predicts later metabolic syndrome in depressed patients treated with antidepressants: findings from the METADAP cohort.