Weight loss while on antidepressants

I work in the mental health arena and I have chronic long term depression for which I take medication. A couple of days without meds will be ok but after that you need to discuss with your Doctor. For those on this forum who are or have had some bad responses to meds, can I suggest that you need to talk to the Doctor and if he/she want change or play with the dosage then you should go and see someone else. Any withdrawal from depression or anxiety medication should be overseen by a Doctor and I wouldn't expect to notice any change within a few weeks. It takes 6 - 8 weeks for this meds to become effective and thesame applies to a withdrawal. After many years of trying to manage my depression with the GP I finally saw a psychiatrist and with his assistance plus psychological counselling I finally have it under control and no longer have to cope with the black dog. It took me the best part of 2 years hard work to get to here and it was worth every second. I had always beleived that my reliance on food was attached to my depression but now understand that it is based on my experiences as a child and is now a lifelong habit which I just can't manage on my own hence the decision to have the sleeve. I hope this helps you and it is so nice to have this forum where you can say anything. Good Luck



Glenmaree

Well I have now reduced my cymbalta down to 30mgs at night to see if I can get rid of this tiredness and numb feeling! I'm up to night 4 with reducing it..but feeling no difference atm..I too am worried that I won't be able to get my tablet down as after day 2 I start to get electric shocks in my head and dizzy and sick :(..Hi Armywife I'm glad you feel you can now open up nothing we carn't talk about on here..as you can see alot of us are in the same boat! It is so hard to get the right mixs of meds and It's hard not to give up and just go mad..I know I have thought on a number of occasions "there is no help for me I'm doomed I'm gunna end up in a institute for the rest of my life" god life is a battle..we battle so many things and weight and mental issues seem to go hand in hand :(....

Hi I have just joined this forum but was interested about what to do about meds after the procedure.
I am taking Cipramil (have tried Lexapro and Efexor but both gave me terrible withdrawals if I was even 2 hours late taking my dose). I am a little paranoid about suffering withdrawals if I can't get the tablet down so would really like to find away to get it down. I will discuss with my surgeon I guess.
Luckily for me, Cipramil seems to have worked. I have been on it for over a year now. However, when I was on a higher dose, I got those numb feelings some of you have described. Really scared me too. I remember my son who was 3 at time scraped our LCD TV screen with a paint scraper and I could barely raise an eyebrow. It was then I knew this really wasn't right. But by reducing my dose slightly, I felt a lot better. It is by far the most suitable medication for me, out of the ones I have taken.
I too want to be off them forever but have decided that taking 1 tablet a day is much better than the low and anxious feelings that have consumed me.

Good luck to all, depression is such an evil condition :(

I think I had to stop my meds for 2 days, until I could handle fluids and liquids...it might have been more, but the pain relief and the motivation to get up and moving stopped me from noticing I had stopped. Mind you then I was only on 100mg zoloft...oh those were the days!!!

If your tablets are big, you will find you will have to either crush them or chop them up into little bits. However it is important to check with a chemist it is ok to do so. I was on nexium and you can't crush it, you have to dissolve it.

Just make sure your psych and sleeve Dr are communicating so they can decide what is the right plan of attack for you. But really for the first 2 days it is hard to get anything down!!

Camelia, thanks for your honesty. Have to admit hearing it worries me! I have been on seroquel since the start of the year, but only have 100mg at night. My psych wants me to use more of it but I just wont because of the same reason as you it bombs me.. I could sleep forever. Its a scary thing when your a stay at home mum with two toddlers. I have previously asked him for a substitute but he has not wanted to change it.. im seeing him two days before my surgery and I will definately be discussing it further. Im also on 1400mg of sodium valporate and 150 Dothep. I am concerned that I wont be able to take my meds for a few days once ive had surgery? I have to take 7 pills a day.. What is everyone else's experience, did you have to miss your meds for a while after surgery?????

I'm on Zoloft, primarily for anxiety.



I've only had the sleeve for 2 weeks, but it hasn't prevented me from losing.

hi all

great topic...one i often think of but am too shy to bring up!! i was sleeved in june this year and have been on varying antidepressants for approx 3 years...when i went for surgery i was on mirtazipine and zoloft...after surgery i decided to stop the zoloft as i didnt feel it was helping...the mirtazipine also was no longer letting me sleep, was giving me terribly restless legs and i found i was having to mix it with alcohol to get any effect...(terrible i know!)...after sleeve i saw doc again, got back into the psychologist appts and doc changed my meds to seroquel 100mg and pristiq....seroquel is good to give deep, restful sleep, i find the pristiq doesnt do much and often i dont take it (again, bad...i know)....in terms of weight loss i think the seroquel has definitely had an effect...i have lost 15 kg (wahoo) but have had to work very very hard in terms of excercise and with many plateaus...compared to many in my month group that is very slow weight loss...have fallen off the wagon in the last 2 weeks due to returning to my husband after 2 months with family interstate and the stress that it is to be in our relationship....am feeling pretty low but am determind to get back with the program this week...anyway, thats my story, but again, always interested in others experiences with meds and the surgery etc etc

I hate to tell you that I got down to 85kg post sleeve, then hit a plateau for a few months and stood steady around the 85-87 mark.

I went into the psychiatric hospital at 85kg, came out of it 90kg (but was eating lots of chocolate and biscuits) then when at home put on more and got up to 99.9kg. I am now at 98.9kg.
They put me on seroquel as soon as I was admitted.

I wonder though if because you have been on it with a "normal" stomach, that when you are sleeved your body will king of take that into account. You also have to remember for the first couple of months you are going to only be able to eat very small portions so I *think* you will be ok but just test this theory out with your surgeon.

LissyD when they started the seroquel they gave me a 25mg tablet and it knocked me out for the entire day and it took a long time as they increased the dose before I stopped resembling zombie woman and could function normally. I am now on 800mg per day and really desperate to cut it down, although my psych is really reluctant to :O(

I have found the trick now is just to go back to the dietary advice they give you post op. High protein, low carb. Instead of chocolates and biscuits for the seroquel munchies I now have prunes, yoghurts, nuts and for the chocolate fixes Jarrah chocolattes.

Fingers crossed it will continue to work this week (have been a bit naughty this weekend!!)

~*camelia*~

Quote "Don't go on seroquel unless it is the very last option. I am now struggling to lose my seroquel weight...although this is week one and I have lost a kilo...just another 20 to go."


Camelia, Im on seroquel as well, im getting sleeved in two weeks. Seroquel definately is a horrible pill that makes you crave sugar and carbs. I tried to stop taking it a few weeks ago and after being off it for three days I started having sleeping problems and racing thoughts again.

I was just wondering did you gain 20kgs after you had the sleeve because of the Seroquel? Im worrying that the sleeve wont help me lose weight and if the Seroquel is going to still affect my cravings for sugar and carbs then im going to have to try and get off it.

Hi again Lissy



No Fluvoxamine doesnt make me tired in fact i take it first thing in the morning otherwise it can keep me awake.

Having said that when my dose was wrong i was so tired all the time.



smiles

Mandy

Dr Nolan. He and his team were fantastic whilst going through the sleeve stuff. He is very to the point but does a really good job.

Don't go on seroquel unless it is the very last option. I am now struggling to lose my seroquel weight...although this is week one and I have lost a kilo...just another 20 to go. Hoping it gets easier when I can start exercising again (can't at the moment as it triggers my epilepsy :( )

But I can definitely recommend the CBT it gives you all the basic skills you need to get through coping with the tough stuff. There is also a good website that you might find useful it is: www.getselfhelp.co.uk it has loads of stuff about CBT, DBT and other stuff too.

all the best for your sleeve, when and where are you getting it done?

And can I ask you Camelia..who done your sleeve?? just seen your on the goldcoast and I'm getting mine done down there!

I have no idea why my last post just appeared here again! Smart phone my arse!
Delete delete delete........

I have concerns for any medication that after a months use is still leaving you feeling numb.



I take fluvoxamine myself, that after so many tries to find the right antidepressent works for my brain chemistry, but i do remember when my dosage was too high i couldnt shake that numb empty feeling.

These days ( and for the last three years ) my dose is set at 100 mgs and i can feel, i have days that are worse then other just like anyone does but the fluvox helps keep me balanced.



Antidepressents are ment to keep us from falling into that black hole, they should not leave us empty and numb.

Very few of us finds the right medication first shot at it, meds and does have to be tweaked to suit our individual needs. So if numbness or empty feelings are still an issue please talk to your Doctors and insist that something is done, we have chemical imbalances within our brains that should not deny us the right to feel.



warmly

Mandy

Have you thought about asking your psychiatrist to refer you on to a program like CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) or DBT (dialectical behavioural therapy)

I am on a shed load of pills for depression, anxiety, OCD etc, etc.
Doing both of the courses I have mentioned above has helped me face that feeling of numbness and emptiness and challenge it. Now the numbness and emptiness are identifiable emotions which are easier to deal with, with the tools I have learned front he 2 courses.

Pills help, but to really get over things I strongly believe doing something like this helps you to really get to the nitty gritty of why you are feeling the way you are.

I am on seroquel, and since being on that I have basically put on all the weight I lost. But this drug is notorious for giving you sugar and carb cravings...the cravings so strong it is akin to a drug addict craving drugs.
I have tried as much as possible this week to eat LOTS of protein and fruit to combat the sugar munchies, I weigh myself tomorrow so fingers crossed for a loss.

lissy I tried cipramil, it did nothing for me at all!

Hey, you guys are not alone with the flatlined feelings. I lost my Mum about a month ago and I cant even cry for her! Hopefully, soon, I will be able to wean off and start experiencing some real emotions. Just not the absence of emotions I have now.

You're not evil, just medicated.
I've felt exactly the same so don't think it's just you.
The emotional flatline that Cymbalta gives me has actually been good when things have been really stressful since I'm not as inclined to freak right out BUT....it just feels wrong to be so robotic all the time. Unfortunately some of us are cursed with a brain that just doesn't have the right chemical balance. We have to do our best to live with it and manage it.
I have a three year old and I know how hard it is to deal with all this and try give them the best of yourself. I'm lucky to have a lovely husband who is taking up the slack at the moment.
You're doing it all on your own so don't be hard on yourself.
You're doing the right thing by seeing the shrink to see where to go from here.
GOOD LUCK! You are NOT alone :)

i was on lexapro, stuffed my labido, so i checked it in the bin and dealed with life other ways

I know what ya sayn about you couldn't cry if you wanted to..I'm hearing ya! I feel evil as I have no feelings like im on this straight line that doesn't change...and that line is a sad cranky one never happy

Me again!
LISSYD,
That 'numb to feelings' sensation you describe is another reason why I'm trying to get off Cymbalta. I'm afraid of falling back into the black hole, but at the moment I'm so numb I couldn't cry if I wanted to. A good cry would be so cathartic at the moment!