Zoloft/Weight gain

I was on Lexapro but had to change a few years ago as I was told i couldn't stay on it if pregnant. My Doctor told me Zoloft was my only option while pregnant. Now after reading these posts I may look more closely at my Meds. I am still losing as I am newly out but don't want anything to add to my battle. Unfortunately I have tried a few times to get off and I feel the anxiety coming back pretty quickly. Jennifer

I am 2 years out from gastric bypass surgery.  I had lost about 123 lbs and was feeling great.  About 6 months ago my doctor put me on Lexapro.  I seemed to do fine and then she doubled the dose, not sure why.  After that she went on maternity leave & then quit her practice so I haven't really had a doctor for that amount of time & recently found one.  I started gaining weight about the time the Lexapro was doubled and have been extremely depressed about it.  When I found a new doctor they put me on Cymbalta.  I have gained almost 30lbs!  I got online and looked up Cymbalta and learned that that as well as Lexapro & a few others medications caused immediate rapid weight gain and caused extreme hunger & a craving for sweets!  This is exactly what I have been going through.  When I saw my doctor today I told her I didn't want to be on any of these medications & planned to quit taking them.  I have gone through too much to have the weight come back on.  I too did not have surgery to become a blimp again so I feel your pain.....!  I was glad to see that others are experiencing the same thing because I was starting to think it was just me.  I am hoping I can now get back on track & the weight will start coming off.  I will keep you posted.  Please keep us posted as well as to your progress.

Any of the SSRI drugs are associated with weight gain. Google it and you'll see. I think some were worse than others. I remember Paxil being the worst offender. I have been on zoloft for years and am now in the process of weaning that off and switching to wellbutrin. No weight gain there, and it's one anit-depressant that is associated with weight loss.So much weight loss that one of the warnings and contraindications to being placed on it is someone with a history of anorexia or bulimia.

Prior to WLS I gained an enormous amount of weight on Zoloft - not that it worked so well for me, my then-psychiatrist just kept upping the dose.  Two years ago I found a GOOD psychiatrist who helped me wean off of Zoloft and put me on Lexapro which I haven't had any side effects with.  Not everyone will have weight gain with every SSRI.  The key is to find a doctor willing to try different meds until you find the one that works on a low dosage with no or minimal side effects.   And NEVER just stop taking an anti-depressant cold turkey!!!  You must wean off slowly and that should be done under the care of a doctor.  Trust me, I've made that mistake and I've never felt so horrible or out of control in my life.

The few research articles I found actually ranked the SSRIs with the strongest weight gain factor. Had them ranked in order of the worst offenders. Some have very little weight gain associated, but there was still that side effect for some people. The biggest offenders had the weigt gain in the majority of patients and it was more than a measely five pounds.  I'd research it more and ask your doc about it.

Thanks for all the replies everyone. I am feeling better knowing that my weight gain might not be due to me eating too much once again. I am weaning off Zoloft and so far feel great. My mood is elevated, I'm more energetic and feel positive about losing this weight I've gained and losing down to my goal of 150. -=db=-

I recently went back to the doctor that did my WLS.  He lives in a city that is almost 400 miles away which is why I haven't seen him  since Oct of  2005.  We no longer have any doctors in our city that performs any of these surgeries.  Anyway, I told him about the antidepressants & that I am no longer taking them do to I think this is why I have gained 30 of my 123lbs lost, back.  I have to admit, I really do need to be on some kind on anti depressant but need to find the right one.  He didn't listen to much I had to say about all of that.  He had asked why I had quit coming back.  I advised him that after my 3 month checkup his staff told me I no longer needed to come back unless I had a problem.  He brought in his whole staff & asked me what looked different about their faces.  Well, what was different was that they were all new. Soon after my surgery things went through a big change in which those people that gave me that information no longer worked there.  He gave me his utmost apology stating that this should not have happened & that I do need to see them on a regular basis.  I had not had a lot of education on how to eat after my surgery.  The other thing he did say was "you also fell off the horse".  Without me telling him anything about my eating habits he stated, NO MORE SUGAR!  I thought my husband had called before we came & ratted on me that I have been eating candy & quite a lot of it!  To tell the truth, I didn't want to admit that I was eating a lot of wrong things and was actually in denial.    I was told to go back to the "eat your protein first, then your vegtables etc."  Even though i had surgery 2 years ago and can now consume more, I still have the gift of my pouch which will not allow me to eat very much meat.  I had been eating alot of other EASY foods full of carbs because meat can be so difficult to eat.  The doctors office also had a lot of different high protein foods, snacks etc that are the types of foods I crave so I bought a lot of groceries while I was there.  In just the 4 days I have started eating with those rules in mind, my energy has increased ten fold!  My mind feels sharper and I am full all the time and best of all, my scales are going back down.  It amazes me how different foods, especially carbs & sugar can affect how our mind & bodies feel.  I am not saying that this is your problem but possibly that going back to some of the old rules might help.  It is so true, "we are what we eat".  I too have a goal of 150 & was getting pretty close when everything reversed before I knew what happened.  Good luck and keep us posted.  I would like to know where to look to find the antidrepressants that have the opposite reaction.  So if anyone has a list of those or a website to go to please let me know.