Antidepressants and Weight Gain

It's sort of counter intuitive, if they make you fatter in the process, isn't it?

Most people say and I'm sure you would agree... they're not happy with gaining weight while on antidepressants.

Getting fatter doesn't really help things along if you're already depressed, now does it?

If this is a concern, you may be better suited for antidepressants that cause weight loss instead.

The Top 3 Reasons for Antidepressant Weight Gain

1. They decrease metabolism by lowering thyoid function.

2. They increase hunger.

3. They decrease movement through fatigue/tiredness.

Antidepressants Decreasing Thyroid Function

Thyroid hormone acts like a furnace within your body. It increases your metabolism, allowing you to eat more, while still losing weight!

The antidepressants and weight gain that follows from increased serotonin, also increase a hormone called prolactin;

- SSRI's (Prozac, Celexa, Lexapro, Paxil, Zoloft)

- Tricyclics (Elavil, Sinequan, Tofranil, etc...)

- MAOi's (Nardil)

Prolactin decreases your output of thyroid hormones, by inhibiting TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone). Basically it acts like a brake, causing things to slow down.

This is bad news if you're trying to stay thin. You'll eventually lose the battle as your metabolism gets slower and slower, while eating less and less. You will no longer be able to maintain ground on your goal weight.

The good news is, you can decrease prolactin while on these antidepressants and still maintain normal thyroid function, with a medication called Cabergoline (Cabaser, Dostinex).

Cabergoline is in the class of medications called dopamine agonists.

Not only will it improve your thyroid status, it will also have a positive effect on your sexual function, by allowing you to come normally and decreasing refractory time (time to have sex again).

You can think of Cabergoline as an antidote to the many negative side effects of antidepressants.

Antidepressants Increasing Hunger

The more you eat the more you have to burn to keep the weight off. Blockade of the histamine receptor is generally responsible for the increased hunger you get while taking these antidepressants;

- Remeron (Mirtazapine)

- Tricyclics (Elavil, Sinequan, Tofranil, etc...)

You may have increased cravings for certain types of food, mostly carbohydrates (ice cream, cookies, pastries, etc...)

Will-power definitely helps, but extra exercise will most likely be needed to offset the increased food intake.

Antidepressants Increasing Fatigue

Many antidepressant may make you tired, which means you're moving less, and thus, burning less calories throughout the day. This is mostly due to histamine blockade but also a number of other factors.

The main offenders for antidepressants weight gain are;

- Remeron(Mirtazapine)
- Trazodone (Desyrel)
- Serzone (Nefazodone)
- Nardil (Phenelzine)
- Paxil (Paroxetine)
- Tricyclic's (Elavil, Sinequan, Tofranil, etc...)

An important thing to remember... not everybody experiences the antidepressants and weight gain from the medications listed above.

It's highly individual, and some people may actually lose weight believe it or not. It's just something to keep aware of in case the pounds start creeping up. Now you'll know why.