Weight gain whilst taking anti-depressants

Yes, AlyT. I'm with you on this.

It is very depressing to gain so much weight. I have been on 20mg for almost 13 years, wish I could get off it without the nasty withdrawals!

I eat less and healthier than I ever have......my appetite is not as good since being on these tablets. I find it so hard to drop any weight. I get so sick of people that think you must be eating too much! I have friends who have not gained weight...lucky them and some who have. Don't know if it is a coincidence that friends who did gain weight are the ones, like myself, who had to wean on to it when first starting the drug! We also seem to have more difficulties trying to come off it also!

I have done so much research and cannot seem to find the answer part from saying your appetite can increase and that's why you gain!! Certainly not in my case!

I have given up grain. No bread, as one slice seems to make me even fatter!! I live on veg, chicken , sald and nuts!! I would like to eat normal things like I used to but find I no longer can!!! So depressing!!!!

I was really off my food before I started taking them and it got worse for a bit when I took them then as things improved I totally got the munchies. Have gone back on weightwatchers (I had only put on the stone I lost when I was off food) and am losing weight at a safe rate. And I'm naturally bigger but was definitely not losing weight on them before I started weightwatchers . I think it doesn't effect people in opposite ways it just effects everyone differently.

I have certainly put on weight since I started taking Citalopram, which isn't something that I expected to happen. I'm now just over fifteen and a half stone, which is an increase of a stone since the end of November last year. Not a huge amount I suppose, but more than I would have liked.

Hi Allyt I had a lot of side effects when first went on these meds the worst been nausea for the first 2

weeks,now I am in my 11th week and my appetite as definitely increased,but watching what I eat because I

know if I put weight on it won't help my depression,but I also know people who haven't had this problem on

these meds and hasn't affected their weight so I guess they affect everyone different.

Take Care x

I did read somewhere that Citalopram causes water retention but I don;pt feel all puffy as I would if it was just water.

I read that somewhere too AlyT must affect everyone different as my weight as more or less stayed the same,I seem to have stabilised at my original weight of 8st2

Did lose a few pounds in beginning nothing major.take care x

i am glad to read that others have experienced weight gain whilst taking citalopram.I thought I was the only one.i was prescribed the drug to control menopausal hot flushes.It worked well at first but soon began to lose

it's efficacy.I stupidly stuck with it and gained a stone in weight so I stopped taking it. I still have the hot flushes especially at night…… anyone got a good remedy for this?

Hi Al

I have put on a lot of weight since taking Citalopram. My appetite is up & down. Some days I go to the supermarket, & I can't see anything I want to eat, so I come away with rubbish. Cooking for myself never used to be a problem as I like cooking. It must be a combination of things. The tablets, rubbish food & lack of excercise = weight gain.

I have come off from for the weight gain as that was making more depressed than anything else in my life. I gained 2 stone too with all different SSRI's.

I have been on citalopram for 3 months now, only 20mg. At first i was really worried about putting on lots of weight since i'd heard lots of stories. At first my appetite increased alot, maybe because of my mood, i suddenly really wanted to eat food and carbs, which was probably because i was feeling better and less down and got my appetite back. But it seems to have settled down and is ok.

I havent put on a huge amount of weight, a couple of pounds maybe, but then i used to go up and down a few pounds each month depending on my cycle and if i'd been away with freinds for the weekend and eating loads of crap! so it really depends!

Although i've put on a bit of weight, its not noticable in the mirror, just the scales! To anyone who is new to it, and is really anxious about this as am i, dont worry and remember that you can control it through diet and exercise, anti depressents dont contain a load of fat cells its how you respond to them that impacts your lifestyle and weight, but thats just my opinion

However i say all this and i am only 21, and naturally quite slim so maybe that has something to do with it? Also havent been on it all that long, maybe i'll suddenly balloon out in 6 months time?! lets hope not!!

I have been on Citalopram since October 2014 (only 10mg) and have gained a stone since then, despite doing a lot more exercise than I did before.

I initially attributed the weight gain to muscle gain but my appetite also went haywire…..I just can't stop eating really unhealthy food and that is all I think about!! Whenever I go in to the supermarket I end up coming out with cakes, sweets and biscuits and I can't stop until it's all gone.

I have only just recently started thinking that this may be down to being on Citalopram and it has affected my appetite and metabolism….the weight gain is making me feel more depressed than I was in the first place, so thinking of seeing my GP to come off them!