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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
[email protected]Shown: posts 1 to 2 of 2. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by stellar on September 3, 2001, at 21:26:46
I was on prozac 11 months, it seemed ok, except I gained about 15 lbs. I used to be able to eat whatever I wanted, but exercised a lot. I still exercise, but nothing's happening. It seems vain and stupid to put vanity above mental health, but I am not sure what's worse- feeling uncomfortable and big, or anxious and depressed. I was on 20 mg a day, and just stopped a week ago. Does Wellbutrin work better? I have depression that runs in the family, and some anxiety and major insomnia that I take ambien for.
I was on Paxil and Celexa each for a month before prozac- they both made me very sick- muscle pains, worse insomnia, fatigue and jaw grinding. Does anyone have advice on going off Paxil, and how soon the weight comes off, and what else to expect? Thanks!!!
Posted by Kathleen6674 on September 3, 2001, at 21:47:38
In reply to prozac weight gain/ withdrawl, posted by stellar on September 3, 2001, at 21:26:46
> I was on prozac 11 months, it seemed ok, except I gained about 15 lbs. I used to be able to eat whatever I wanted, but exercised a lot. I still exercise, but nothing's happening. It seems vain and stupid to put vanity above mental health, but I am not sure what's worse- feeling uncomfortable and big, or anxious and depressed. I was on 20 mg a day, and just stopped a week ago. Does Wellbutrin work better? I have depression that runs in the family, and some anxiety and major insomnia that I take ambien for.
>
> I was on Paxil and Celexa each for a month before prozac- they both made me very sick- muscle pains, worse insomnia, fatigue and jaw grinding. Does anyone have advice on going off Paxil, and how soon the weight comes off, and what else to expect? Thanks!!!I was on Prozac for nearly 6 years. I gained 34 pounds, had sexual problems, got hypomanic, and then the stuff just stopped working as an antidepressant. There were some relatively good years in there, though, when I was sailing high (a little *too* high, actually, could've used a mood stabilizer along with it).
The hypomania didn't drive me off, but the weight gain and sexual problems did. I don't think weight gain is anything to sneeze as a side effect - 15 is a substantial amount, and the fact that your exercise and food intake is the same as pre-meds indicates that something metabolic is going on. Not cool, IMHO. Plus, continued weight gain can lead to further health problems down the line - heart disease and type 2 diabetes runs in my family, so I started getting more than a little concerned for my future health outlook. That over and above feeling unattractive (30 pounds on a 5'3" woman REALLY shows, let me tell you).
If you're worried about looking "too vain" (I was), you can bring up weight-related health concerns, and that should make a doctor take you seriously (I was afraid of being dismissed as so much vain girlishness, etc.).
I did lose 20 pounds on Wellbutrin, probably would have continued to lose had I stayed on it. It did work as an anti-d for me (although not as *dramatic* seeming as Prozac), but I had some side effect probs that you might not have. It's worth giving a go if your doc says it's OK. If you've had seizure problems or eating disorders, s/he might nix that idea, since it's been associated with seizures in those two groups of people, but otherwise, it could be worth it.
Whatever you do to get off Paxil, don't do what I did with Prozac, which is go off suddenly. I didn't get any withdrawal *symptoms* per se (and in that I was extraordinarily lucky - I've heard tales about discontinuation probs. and flu-like symptoms, et. al), but I did crash big time back into another serious depression, something that I could have curtailed before it got really bad had I been tapering gradually under medical supervision. I ended up having to search for new therapists and doctors while suicidally depressed (and hence not being possessed of great judgement, which meant I ended up having to re-search for yet another T and pdoc once I was slightly more stable). Best to do this kind of thing when you have your docs in place, and to make sure they're monitoring you while you're doing it.
This is the end of the thread.
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