Has your anti-depressant affected weight loss?

Hi there-

I have been reading on the sleeve board and RNY board for a couple of years now.  I feel that a big source of my weight gain over the last few years is because I have been on anti-depressants. This is what happens with me:  I will be on zoloft for a year or so, gain about 15 pounds, get off because I'm frustrated with the weight gain-lose maybe 5 pounds over a year. Then I realize I need to be back on, so the same cycle continues (gain 15, get off the anti-depressant, lose 5 pounds, etc.) I have been on zoloft on 3 different occasions, then celexa and now pristiq. I haven't seen weight gain with pristiq (which is an snri) but it doesn't work as well for me as the ssri's.  Zoloft has--by far--been the most effective for me in treating my anxiety and increasing my level of enjoyment with life. When on celexa, I gained 26 pounds in a year. YIkes!!

I've been reading that some think some anti-depressants can induce insulin resistance, which could lead to weight gain. This makes me think-maybe RNY IS the surgery for me. Wouldn't it help with the insulin resistance, which would allow me to be on my preferred anti-depressant (Zoloft)? 

I guess my question is-have you been able to stay on your anti-depressant post RNY and do you think it has affected your weight loss? I can't continue on the pristiq post RNY because it is an XR drug.

Is anyone on Zoloft and doing well with their weight loss? Are there any absorption issues with the zoloft? That would be another big fear of mine-not being able to absorb my anti-depressant.

Thank you all so much for your help!!

I gained about 30lbs. on Celexa, too. I'm on a combo of Zoloft and Wellbutrin now, but I don't see a huge difference in my weight loss now. Before, being on SSRIs would make me crave comfort foods badly, like bread, candy, tonic, fried foods, etc. Post-op, though, I don't have these issues nearly as much as pre-op. I do battle with head hunger, but it's much more obvious to me than prior to surgery. 

Before surgery, I switched from Wellbutrin SR to the regular Wellbutrin with little problem. Zoloft didn't change for me. I am on pretty low dosages of both, so I'm not sure if your dosages might need to change post-op. I recently upped my Wellbutrin to twice a day (100mg), but I had only been on 100mg/day for a year. 

So do you think adding wellbutrin has combated those cravings? I tried wellbutrin for a couple of months and it did nothing for my anxiety. I switched doctors and he explained that it was because my serotonin needs a boost, which is why an ssri works better for me than wellbutrin (which affects dopamine).  I lost 5 pounds without any effort on wellbutrin-it just didn't do the trick for me, though.

Makes me wonder if I should try a combo of zoloft and wellbutrin.

I noticed the same thing on ssri's--cravings for comfort foods (esp. carbs).

So you don't feel like your anti-depressants have interfered with your weight loss post-op?

Thank you so much for your help!!

I have been on a combination of Celexa and Wellbutrin for many years and never noticed a weight gain. My Dr has now added Remeron which the Dr said will probably help me with trying to gain weight. She said that others don't like it because it does make them gain weight more than other anti-depressants do.

No problem!

For me, the Wellbutrin helped give me a little extra push. I was starting to feel a little flat on just Zoloft, but I didn't want to get off of it because it was helping to keep me stable (if that makes sense LOL). I was dragging big time on just Zoloft, and that was for about 6-7 months before adding Wellbutrin. I've been on a combo for a year now, and I've felt 1000x better. Now that I'm losing weight, exercising, eating better, sleeping, and everything else good that happens after surgery, they both help me to stay on this happy high. I thought I'd be able to wean off of them, but right now, I don't want to get off of them. Believe me, I'm in such a better place than last year! 

I don't feel like they've interfered with my weight loss at all. I know I'm still healing, so I'm sort of waiting to get hunger back, but I'm kind of crossing my fingers that I just stay with this 'not really hungry' feeling, to be honest. 

Good question....I take 20 mg of Lexapro and was wondering how the body absorbs meds when it doesn't absorb vitamins anymore.   I forgot to ask my dr at my final consult last Wednesday.

If it's an extended-relase or sustained-release, just switch to a non-extended-release one. You may need to adjust the prescription, too. Just keep that in mind when you see your prescribing doctor. 

Thanks....I'll have to ask her.

Effexor, which is what I was on when I had surgery and am still on, didn't affect my weight loss at all as far as I know.  I ended up a little below my goal weight and I'm still a few pounds below goal.  Of course, I have no way to know if I would have lost more or lost it faster if I hadn't been on Effexor.  But I'm very satisfied with my results.

About a year ago I took Abilify for about four months and gained 23 lbs.  I told my doc I had to come off of that.

If you've only tried three different antidepressants, you might want to talk to your doc about trying something else.

I've been on Wellbutrin XL for years, with great results.  It's sort of been my miracle drug.  However, after I was on it awhile, I noticed a pretty good increase in my anxiety levels (which evidently, is a side effect of Wellbutrin), so my doc added a low dose of Lexapro, which has been very effective.  With this combo (plus I take Lamictal as a mood stabilizer), I haven't had any unusual problems with weight gain.  Of course, I've had weight gain, but only because I'd been making horrible food choices!   

Since surgery, I've switched to regular Wellbutrin (a 100 mg. dose 3 x day), and continue on Lexapro, with no problems so far.