citalopram & weight gain ( how long to lose it after coming off cit)

Hi I have found all your experiences so helpful. I was put on citalopram 20mg in September 2012 having suffered bullying at work. This last year has been very stressful in dealing with employers so I don't knowhow I would have got on without the citalopram. However I am now feeling much stronger. I experiencedweight gain of approx 1.5 stone and could not understand why as I was eating less and exercising more whilst off work. I too had come to the conclusion that the drug was causing the weight gain and decided to come off the drug not just because of the weight gain but because I have been feeling a lot betterabout myself. I have stopped taking the citalopram (cold turkey) 10 days ago. I have had the odd sensation of feeling foggy and my eye sight has been blurred on occasions but I am starting to feel back in control and regaining my sense of humor!

My family is aware that I have stopped taking citalopram and I think it is important to have that support. No I have not discussed coming off with my Doctor.

Jayne, hope it all goes well for you. Just be cautious that you can kinda feel on a high because you've come off them. Be aware that you may have what I call crash and burn where if something negative happens in life your life it can seem much much worse. This is just my experience and I do hope it's just me!!! Best of luck to you and let us know how you get on! Xx

Hi everyone,

I was on citalopram for 3 years and went from 54kg to 64kg in the space of a year and it stayed on for the whole 2 years but I went down to about 61 on my third year. I am so glad I stuck to my guns and didn't let weight gain get to me. Try to be strong- but by all means if there are better alternatives to citalopram, go for it.

I stopped taking my Citalopram tablets on July 2013 and I consulted my doctor before doing so. DO NOT stop cold turkey, it will come back and hit you 10x harder. I went down from 20mg to 10mg then I started to take it one day and not the other. About a week of alternating the meds, I stopped taking it all together.

First couple of things I noticed after getting off citalopram. I felt more 'alive'. I think the meds numb you to some degree so that you can think clearly without emotional turmoil and use this period to solve your problems. During my last year, I took up mindfulness meditation by Dr Mark Williams and it is the best thing I have ever done in my life. It is a scientific approach to meditation developed by a University of Cambridge professor which studied the brains of monks for years and realised that they developed the ability to stay present in the moment and their minds were more receptive to positive thinking. Please give it a go. Someone on Youtube has recently uploaded the 8 week course Dr Williams suggests depression/anxiety sufferers should take to half their chances of a relapse by 50%.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEyaQ_iTBcs

Second thing I noticed is that I got my sex drive back. When I was on citalopram, I completely went off sex and anything of a sexual nature. I just had absolutely NO libido which actually really worried me at one point because I thought 'What if it never comes back? What if I meet a nice guy and I can't be into him?' haha, I almost drove myself nuts but thank goodness, it came back almost as soon as I left the meds. I usually have a high sex drive meowww haha!

Thirdly, the weight loss! I noticed I started to loose weight a month after I got off the tablets. I don't know exactly how much I lost in the first month but lets just say, I was 61kg on July 2013 and now I am 57kg and its 25th of October 2013. I didn't take up any exercise but I did realise that my appetite has gone down to how it use to be and now that I am more aware of my health, I have actively begun to eat healthy. I have the occasional junk but since I have been off meds, I have changed the bad eating habits I picked up during the 3 years. When I took those meds, god they made me SO sleepy. I would eat and then sleep, eat and sleep, the WHOLE day. I swear unless I was at uni, I was sleeping. I had NO social life. Now I have started to take iron supplements (found out I was anaemic-which may have also caused the fatigue) and I do not sleep during the day. I was never a fan of junk food so haven't had to change my food habits, but I have started to add more healthy things into my diet I wasn't aware of before - Almond milk, flax seeds, black strap molasses, organic gelatine etc.

Phew.... that is all for now ladies and gents. I felt I had to put this down because when I was looking for answers when I went on and then off meds, I didn't find anything solid. I felt I had to put this down for the next person who has a similar journey to me.

Good luck. Eat well, sleep well and live well.

Aso xx

Hi - My husband has been on Citalopram for over 10 years now. His weight went up to 25 stone. Four years ago he had a grastric sleeve operation, which took 2/3rds of the stomach away. Where he lost 8 stones. Still on Citalopram he then had a further operation on the 29th September 2013 to have a complete gastric

bypass. He then took himself to a psychiatrist and was told that the GP who prescribed (Cit) should have weened him off them years ago and that the GP should be struck off because of the weight gain problem. My husband now has cronic manic depression. He was told he should never have had the operations! Get off this medication asap. I am absolutely livid. Life is unbearable at the moment living with this person whom I love dearly & along with a number of other things that are going on in his life. I'm furious to the news which was only told to us yesterday about (Cit). His weight loss has gone down to 15 1/2 stone now. But these were operations which weren't needed!

Thank goodness I found you all!

Having gained 4 stones (!!) in the 12 months since starting Citalopram, I feel at last I have some sort of handle on what is happening to me.

I feel more depressed now following weight gain, with reduced libido and reduced activity levels (I can't drag my poor old bones around with so much extra weight!) than before I started the Citalopram.

I suffered a mild depression which initially improved with 10mg citalopram. Fortunately I have never increased the dose, so shouldn't have too much trouble coming off. On balance I think it's time to leave this one in the cupboard. If I continue to gain weight at this rate I'll be immobile in another 12 months! I'll keep you posted.

Hi flossy flower. I can relate completely to your comments. I too put on four stone whilst on Citalopram and had never before had a weight problem. Just to give you some hope and a light at the end of the tunnel I would like to let you know that when you come off them the weight starts to come off too. I came off them in January of this year and have already lost 2 stone without any dieting or excersise. Hang in there and it will start to come back off.

Thanks Karen, that's really encouraging! There is only so far the elasticated waistbands in my wardrobe can stretch.

Hi

Its been a few months that I posted coming off of citalopram. Yes I did have a small incident of a crash situation during that time but dealt with it ok. I haven't lost weight but then again I have not dieted on the flip side I have not gained any further weight and think once now that the Christmas feast is out of the way and I now feel more active I will hopefully start to lose the weight.

Hang in there and don't get depressed about the weight this only adds to the pressure. All the best to everyone.

I'm sick of my weight going up and up and up. I'm on 20/40 mg of Citalopram but have tried several

different antidepressants. The weight gain makes me feel bad about myself and worsens the depression.

Hi Sadsandra. I know exactly what you mean about the weight gain.. I was on 40mg of citalopram for three years and during this time I put on roughly 3 and a half stone in weight going from a size 8 to 10 to a 14. The doctors would not accept that the citalopram was the cause of my weight gain instead telling me it was menopause. I have now been off the meds for a year and without diet or excersise have already lost 2 stone. I think this pretty much proves that citalopram does cause weight gain as I have never previously had a weight problem. Maybe you could ask your doctor if there is an alternative med available to you. But I just wanted yo let you know that when you do eventually come off them the weight will come back off. Hope this helps.

Thanks for that, Karen

I've been on different ones for 13 years but since going on Cit my weight has been worse. I'm desperate to come off antidepressants altogether but every time I try I 'crash'.

The weight I am carrying is making me feel depressed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Going to discuss things with her, when I see her on Monday.

Not long back from my check-up with my doc. and, for the first time, she has admitted that SSRI's do cause weight gain. She can't, however tell me, if I come off them, when and if, I will lose weight.

Now, reducing the dose.

It does seem that weight gain for some is a real problem. I assumed on the two occasions this has happened that my weight gain was an emotional response to the circumstances I found myself in but I am beginning to wonder. I came off Citalopram just before Christmas (only 10 mg) and survived Christmas unscathed. I have lost ten pounds and feeling ok. I know I am lucky to be able to come off SSRI down to such a low dose and then off. Fingers crossed. The weight is certainly more depressing in the end than the problem I started with!

I feel the same! If the weight goes down, I will have more self-esteem and that, in turn, will help my depression.

I have been on it for a month now. I'm worried about weight gain. How exactly is it making people gain weight without eating more? I really couldn't eat any less - it would be unhealthy! My anxiety stopped my hunger so I'd have to force myself to eat. I am more hungry on it but I'm not eating more - the sick feeling with the hunger doesn't bother me as it's not as bad as the sick feeling that came with the anxiety! I'll ask my doctor and hope that she's honest.

Feel a million times better on cit. very tired though.