![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
[email protected]Shown: posts 1 to 9 of 9. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Susan J on October 4, 2003, at 13:25:28
Larry,
OK, you asked for it. I'm asking another question....
I was on Paxil for almost a year. In that time, I gained over 20 pounds quite rapidly. Is there any chemical/physiological reason for that weight gain? I've heard anecdotal evidence that people gain weight on Paxil, but as a person who's struggled with weight her entire life, I thought it was just too easy to blame it on a drug.
But since I've been off of Paxil, I've lost all that weight and am losing more. I thought perhaps that since Paxil made me sooooo tired and I wanted to sleep all day, it was truly the *inactivity* that caused the weight gain. But I'd be really interested to know if there's something to messing with your seratonin level that makes you gain weight....
Thanks!
Susan
Posted by Searchlight on October 4, 2003, at 13:50:53
In reply to New Question for Larry -- Paxil , posted by Susan J on October 4, 2003, at 13:25:28
I was on Paxil for 6 months for depression (not a good drug for depression despite many docs prescribing it as such), and it made me into a complete sickly zombie, and I packed on the pounds like never before. Everyone I know or know of who is on it, and everything I have read about it has resulted in huge weight gains. I am 99.9% sure there is a physiological/metabolic component to it, and I am certain that a scientific explanation is forthcoming. If you can stay away from it, I am inclined to think it is one of the more dangerous ones on the market.
Posted by Susan J on October 4, 2003, at 14:10:36
In reply to Re: New Question for Larry -- Paxil , posted by Searchlight on October 4, 2003, at 13:50:53
>>and it made me into a complete sickly zombie, and I packed on the pounds like never before. ..... If you can stay away from it, I am inclined to think it is one of the more dangerous ones on the market.
<<Yeah, what's *with* that? In my large circle of *acquantances* that admit to SSRI use, they are all being prescribed Paxil! And it was just so horrible for me. I hope it's working for others, but I had what sounds like a very similar experience to you. For the first 3 months, nothing much happened. My doc said it would take some time to feel better, but all the inserts say 6 weeks! I was on 20mg, my doc upped me to 30mg, and that's when all weight he** broke loose. As soon as the dosage was increased, I began gaining weight.
Then my doc kept telling me I *wasn't* depressed, yet I still felt horrible. Then, I started feeling even worse, would sleep, I kid you not, all but the 10 hours I was at work, and that was a struggle to stay awake. And it was a profound, deep sleep. I didn't eat more and often ate *less* cuz I was sleeping. In the spring, after being on Paxil about 8 or 9 months, I began feeling suicidal for the first time in my life. This was just before they linked Paxil to possible suicidal ideations in kids. And all the time my doc kept telling me I was doing better. As horrible as I've felt in the last 20 years from various bouts of depression and dysthymic depression, and of all the times I just wanted to die, I have *never* really considered killing myself until I was on Paxil.
This is why I think doctors are necessary, but not they are not God, and everyone knows their own bodies/minds the best. Doctors really should respect that. I self-weaned off Paxil against my doc's advice, and for the first 2 weeks off of it, I felt better than I have in 15 years! But then I plunged back into depression. I can't explain that either. The doc of course said it was the absense of Paxil. Maybe Paxil relieves certain things causing depression but aggravates other things that cause depression. But I'm on Wellbutrin now and feeling sooooo much better.
I hope you feel better too. These drugs *are* messing with our minds, after all. We need to attack these things with all the knowledge we can get.
Susan
Posted by Searchlight on October 4, 2003, at 14:33:44
In reply to Re: New Question for Larry -- Paxil » Searchlight, posted by Susan J on October 4, 2003, at 14:10:36
Susan J (my name is Susan too), I really hope you can find a doctor that respects your comments on how you are feeling on the meds. It sounds like your current doc is not doing that. I know exactly how to monitor myself and how I feel on each med and no doc should ever tell YOU how YOU feel. Paxil was the worst- the absolute worst. I just zoned out, felt like pure hell and had tons of terrible side-effects. I am glad Wellbutrin is working for you (it made me nausiated, but I know people who are fine on it). I am a bulldog about conquering my depression, and I won't let any doc get uppity or wishy-washy with me about my treatment. I think I am the one ultimately saving my own life here with my insistence on the right med. These meds are serious, serious drugs and I wish more docs would pay proper and crucial attention to what they are doing to their patients. I truly believe a psychopharmacologist should be required as part of treatment when seeing a psychiatrist for meds (and insurance should pay for it no question) Best of luck and stick to your guns!
Posted by Susan J on October 4, 2003, at 14:45:11
In reply to Re: New Question for Larry -- Paxil, posted by Searchlight on October 4, 2003, at 14:33:44
>> I am a bulldog about conquering my depression, and I won't let any doc get uppity or wishy-washy with me about my treatment. I think I am the one ultimately saving my own life here with my insistence on the right med.
<<That's great! I was so gone in depression when I finally got up off the sofa to seek help I was desperate for whatever they'd prescribe or recommend. I jumped right into therapy and drugs, even though I don't really want to be on drugs. I don't like the feeling of dependency, that if you take my Wellbutrin away, I'm going to sink into incredible pain....But if that's what it takes, I'll do it. I just don't want to be improperly medicated or overmedicated.
>> These meds are serious, serious drugs and I wish more docs would pay proper and crucial attention to what they are doing to their patients. I truly believe a psychopharmacologist should be required as part of treatment when seeing a psychiatrist for meds
<<That's really interesting. I saw your other post on a psychopharmacologist. I didn't really know what it was (other than what it looks like), and have never heard of them. But it truly is so difficult to navigate through the health care world even if you are *extremely intelligent* (which I'm not) or *very knowledgable* (which I'm trying to become) about health care issues.For instance, my doc told me because of my *specific* symptoms of depression, I had a problem with seratonin reuptake and therefore prescribed an SSRI. Does a lack of a specific neurotransmitter really manifest itself in different *symptoms* of depression? What does each neurotransmitter do, what's it effect on the body? I haven't been able to satisfactorily answer these questions for myself. Why does Wellbutrin, which works on norephinephrine, work much better for me? And why didn't my doc know that by my symptoms? Too many questions....
And good luck to you, too. Have you found a drug or drug combo that seems to work for you? That's my next great fear, that I'll have to get into drug combinations, keep tweaking dosages and combos, and how long will it take to feel better? It took a whole year of my life to figure out that Paxil wasn't *it* for me. Thankfully, WB is working for me right now.....Take care,
Susan
Posted by Searchlight on October 4, 2003, at 15:03:41
In reply to Re: New Question for Larry -- Paxil » Searchlight, posted by Susan J on October 4, 2003, at 14:45:11
Susan, my heart goes out to you. I am on Celexa right now and it works okay. I have tried many!
And will continue to do so (in a medically reasonable way) until I find things that really work for me. I hope you never, ever blame yourself in anyway for having depression- it is an illness just like diabetes. All of the psychotopic drugs and our treatment and understanding of mental illnesses are in their infancy- we have a loooooonnnngggg way to go on that. Essentially we are the guinea pigs for future gens with depression and other mental health problems. Our speaking out and letting everyone know is our way of monitoring how meds/therapy work and don't work for each of us as individuals so we are doing a tremendous favor not only to ourselves but for others in the future. If you ever need to talk, I am here.
Susan (Searchlight)
Posted by Susan J on October 4, 2003, at 15:16:27
In reply to Re: New Question for Larry -- Paxil, posted by Searchlight on October 4, 2003, at 15:03:41
Hello to the other Susan. :-)
>>I hope you never, ever blame yourself in anyway for having depression- it is an illness just like
diabetes.
<<I don't think I blame myself for depression. Sometimes I feel worthless because of it, unlovable because of it, but I find strength in the fact I'm doing everything in my power to be as healthy and happy as possible. I may not win the fight, but I'll at least fight the fight. :-)
Thanks for the encouragement, and I hope things go well for you, too.Take care,
Susan
Posted by Larry Hoover on October 8, 2003, at 9:32:56
In reply to New Question for Larry -- Paxil , posted by Susan J on October 4, 2003, at 13:25:28
> Larry,
>
> OK, you asked for it. I'm asking another question....Oh, goody.... ;-)
> I was on Paxil for almost a year. In that time, I gained over 20 pounds quite rapidly. Is there any chemical/physiological reason for that weight gain?
Probably has to do with specific serotonin receptors, post-synaptically.
See:
http://www.mvelectric.com/ssri/I'll tell you, though, that whatever you read will be an educated guess, at best. Hints, not answers.
> I've heard anecdotal evidence that people gain weight on Paxil, but as a person who's struggled with weight her entire life, I thought it was just too easy to blame it on a drug.
I gained five pounds a week on Remeron, and was eating the same portions of food. My doctor said I must have been eating more, but I didn't. My doctor would blame appetite changes (known to occur with Remeron) rather than a physiological variable directly influenced by the drug. The fact is, I buy food in bulk, and store it in portions. I wasn't eating more.
> But since I've been off of Paxil, I've lost all that weight and am losing more. I thought perhaps that since Paxil made me sooooo tired and I wanted to sleep all day, it was truly the *inactivity* that caused the weight gain.
That would be a factor, specific to your experience, but I can't see that being the only variable to consider.
> But I'd be really interested to know if there's something to messing with your seratonin level that makes you gain weight....
>
> Thanks!
>
> SusanIt's not just a consideration of the absolute serotonin concentration, it's how that serotonin is used by the body that matters. SSRIs don't so much change the amount of serotonin as they change the impact of the serotonin when it is released by a neuron.
I'll use a metaphor. You can give a poor person help by giving him money (analogous to increasing total serotonin), or you can give him targeted financial support (e.g. paying the rent, analogous to activating a particular receptor). Or, given his finite financial resources (assuming some stable level of income), you can intervene and manage the money for him. You can determine how much is spent on e.g. food vs. tobacco. The latter approach is more like what we are attempting to do with SSRIs, but we do it blindly; we don't know what the individual's true needs and budget are, but we muck with the balance anyway, hoping to make it better.
Take care,
Lar
Posted by Susan J on October 8, 2003, at 14:36:29
In reply to Re: New Question for Larry -- Paxil » Susan J, posted by Larry Hoover on October 8, 2003, at 9:32:56
Larry,
> See:
> http://www.mvelectric.com/ssri/
<<Very interesting article.....thanks!
> I'll use a metaphor. You can give a poor person help by giving him money (analogous to increasing total serotonin), or you can give him targeted financial support (e.g. paying the rent, analogous to activating a particular receptor).
<<Funny you use that metaphor. That's exactly the type of project I'm working on here at work. How to increase health care access to the uninsured. Should we give them a set amount of $$ to spend as they wish on health care? Or do we permit them access to specific health care clinics only, regardless of cost of services?I'm such a geek.
Thanks again,
Susan
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
[email protected]
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.