Just had Sugeon Appt - Fired up!

Lexapro & Prozac are SSRIs, a type of antidepressant. My nutritionist prescribes these for their weight loss program. Years ago, I was switched from the tricyclic I gained weight on to Prozac & proceeded to lose 45 pounds in less than 4 months.

I felt upbeat, positive & inspired to accomplish things, secure that I was capable. My self-esteem was elevated and I was confident. My sister had the identical response. It can lift you out of a deep funk & jump-start your life.


When nutritionist gave me a 'script 3 wks ago, I immediately was in full appetite suppression mode. Just like years ago, I wasn't tempted by the sweets & snacks around me.


Now, here's the drawback to anyone going on an antidepressant for the first time if you are bipolar or ever diagnosed with major depressive disorder... If so,


1) Your mood change may happen as soon as within 3 days. 2) You may begin to act impulsively. & your driving has you feeling like you're a devil-may-care teenager again and /or you're having way too much fun buying things that really aren't necessary or in your budget.


So if these diagnoses exist or you've been depressed alot in recent years, and especially if you've any close relatives diagnosed with bipolar or major depressive disorder, you should consult your/a psychiatrist first and ask him to supervise a trial run on the Lexapro (or any oher SSRI)


I've been easily able to be in 100% compliance with my rapid weight loss diet and have lost a lot already. The scale keeps falling. It's so easy with Prozac - for me, anyway. My nutritionist says that's why they prescribe it.


ps: didn't hurt my libido or ****** capacity at all... But frankly, I'd rather be thin.


pps: I'm bipolar type 2, no psychotic mania, just impulsivity... But, to control my depression & stabilize my moods, I take lamotrigine (Lamictal). So I can fully enjoy my Prozac and lose weight at the same time..

Gee, I wish I'd never stopped taking it - I may have gotten to goal & maintained. I never will stop again. Yeah, Prozac is not associated with weight gain - at least for the vast majority of people.

pps: Sparkle Kitty, thanks for giving me the heads up on my brain burb about my typing Valium when I meant Prozac. I owe you one!

Prozac for me was totally different then lexapro, no sexual side effects and it made me crazy OCD lol I was running around scrubbing walls and dusting anything in sight.. Maybe that explained my weight loss during it :) it was like a housekeeper taking speed 

Actually, valium is technically a benzo, not an SSRI ;)

But yeah, SSRI's are notorious for inducing mania in bipolar patients. I've had that a few times when tweaking my "****tail" and it's awful. Mania may feel lovely, especially when you feel too good to eat, but when some folks get really wound up and start spending money you don't have, getting reckless (drugs, sex, etc.), and generally doing things without regard to the consequences, then it's no good at all.

From the statistics I've read, you must be one of the lucky ones who loses weight on Prozac or other psych meds;  from all the lit I've come across, as well as my psychiatrist's observations, weight gain occurs far more often than the opposite. While some psych meds like Topamax have been used for weight loss in clinical trials, the other side effects (like serious cognitive impairment) have caused enough trouble that they're not recommended for common use.

It's great if Prozac made you feel better. But for someone with no history of depression, I'm still skeptical of it being used as any sort of "magic pill."

Thanks, Sparkle Kitty, for the heads up. I've edited to correct my brain burb & add a few more thoughts..

My younger daughter has Bipolar type 1 and she is chronically med non-compliant despite repeated hospitalizations for psychotic breaks. It's so sad. She hates the weight gains with the new generation antipsychotics. She does great with Lithobid, butsher back breaks out and she stops.

That's heartbreaking, isn't it? Meds can do so much good, but getting past the side effects is sooo hard.

I'll be the first to admit that the weight gain from the antipsychotics was one of the big reasons I opted for surgery-- after gaining 100lb, my psychiatrist was the one who finally convinced me to consider WLS.

Your psychiatrist was a prince to do that.

I've decided to talk to her about wls, but she'll have to be stable on meds to go through it. She's a drinker, so I'll advise the sleeve. I've decided on the sleeve for other reasons, so I'm hoping my success will convince her. She'd take the meds if she didn't pack on the pounds. Surgery could be a life changer for her.

Fingers crossed that it works out! The sleeve is apparently also recommended because there are fewer absorption risks with psych meds, since that would be awful to take them but get no benefits.

One other thing to ponder, has she taken one of the genetic med-metabolism tests? I got the YouScript test, which just required a cheek swab, and found out that I'm an "ultra rapid metabolizer" for a whole category of psych meds. Turns out that I get all of the side effects (including weight gain) and none of the help from tricyclics, Prozac, and a few other groups. Insurance paid for the whole thing and it was super useful. Maybe that would be helpful for her as well?

I would feel really uncomfortable with a doc *****commended that I take an SSRI without a detailed mental health history or without the requirement of therapy in addition to the SSRI.  

Not only do SSRIs tend to cause weight gain, but they can also tank your libido, something that docs often neglect to mention. Even worse, that dysfunction can be a long-term thing, even once you stop taking the SSRI (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-SSRI_sexual_dysfunction).  

If I had known 16 years ago what I know now about SSRIs, there is no way I ever would have taken them, especially not because a WLS surgeon recommended one for an off-label use.  

Thanks for sharing this- this is not something I will go through with using. His reasoning was that lexapro is dual indicator for anti depressant and anti anxiety. I am not one to ever stress too much about things- I have made an educated decision and I'm ready. I think finding a good therapist is going to be enough- no meds necessary. Interesting your practice prescribed these also.. Regardless, I appreciate getting both sides from everyone and I think I'm ok with doc since he didn't push the issue, left it totally open and not awkward.