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the weight gain

Posted , 4 users are following.

leanne61579
leanne61579

Okay I have been on this drug for years but it was for my hot flashes going through menapause.  I kept the hot flashes going for enough years that we upped my dosage to 150 mg.  I have gained over 25 LB this past year and its all in the stomach area.  I eat right and exercise and am in my mid 60's.  I thought it was from my steroid injections which I recieve in my lower back and now wonder if its a side effect of both of them.  Please tell me anything more about the weight gain and if it goes away if you stop the drug.  Thank you

0 likes, 5 replies

5 Replies

  • janette66
    janette66 leanne61579

    Posted

    Yes, once I decreased my dose, I found I was losing weight.  Without even trying, the last two weeks I was taking it I found I had lost a bit of weight, now I am two days off the meds and I have lost a total of about 12 lbs in about 2 1/2 weeks.  I know that will slow down but I believe I lost that weight quickly because of not having the cravings the medication was causing.  I am 48 and I am also stopping my hormone pills that I have been taking after my hysterectomy a few years ago, so I am battling hot flashes, my next step for that will be accupuncture, my mother did that and she said it stopped the hot flashes very quickly.

    Good luck leanne61579!  Hope this helps!

    • leanne61579
      leanne61579 janette66

      Posted

      Thank you for writing back and telling me this.  Any feedback is so helpful when you get to feeling bad about a situaton.
  • pixie22
    pixie22 leanne61579

    Posted

    Steroids definitely cause you to put on weight. I haven't noticed any weight gain with venlafaxine but everyone reacts differently. It could be having an indirect effect on your appetite - when you feel better you eat more than when you are depressed? Just an idea!
  • ncoules49
    ncoules49 leanne61579

    Posted

    Hello ,

    I have been on this drug Effexor XR 150 for 12 years for axiety more than depression . I have gain 40lbs. I am from the US don't quite know how I ended up on this site but here I am and getting excellent inoformation. I have decreased my dose 10% every 10 days,  still really out of it , start bawling my eyes out over nothing or make a problem in my head 100 times bigger than it is. I am now at about 70mg a day now (have the XR capsuls , my husband has been helping me reduce ) I have lost about 5 lbs with out trying. I couldnt stop eating and the cravings were much worse than they were before my reduction of this horrible drug. I am hoping for the rest of my weigh to come off when I'm drug free for a couple weeks. I just can,t even think of getting on the scale right now. It would totally drive me into a crazy crying fit . Of which happens whenever they happen. My husband thinks something triggers them . Maybe maybe not. Sorry my mind is racing, but slowly getting off this drug os the best way. I worry that I have been on it so long that I will stay a little crazy.  LOL I do laugh at my self after the crying fits are over. I look at my husband and say WTF!! where did all of that come from he keeps re assuring me its the drug withdrawal . We all need to hang tough and make sure we have support. Or someone to be with you!!!     We can all do it!!

    Sorry If I am rambling. Al so my doctor gave me a script for Xanax. I only take it when I have an episode. and for sleep at night. of course the script says 3 times a day Iwould be sleeping all day.  I just want to be off of all of this crap. DRUG FREE!!  The weight will come off!

     

    • leanne61579
      leanne61579 ncoules49

      Posted

      Hi,

      I feel sorry for you as I am only taking mine for the hot flashes and not the anxiety.  I just stopped mine cold turkey on Tuesday and will try to deal with the hot flashes as the weight is making me so stressed out. Our daughter just started taking some for her disease and she has gained about 8 LB in just a couple of weeks. It is so sad that we have to deal with this and I do beleive it is the women it effects and men dont seem to have the problem of it. Just today I put on a sweatshirt form last year and it really doesn't fit me as too small across my stomach and shoulders. Hate dealing with this all the time. Thanks for responding and hope things go better for you.

      '

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