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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
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Posted by Ptroy on March 7, 2000, at 14:02:03
Can anyone please tell me how they lost the weight they gained from taking Paxil once they went off the medication.
I stopped taking it 6 weeks ago (after realizing that i had gained 40 pounds while on Paxil for a year), exercise every day (1 hour, some type of cardio), and am on a 1500 calorie EXTREMELY low fat diet (almost no fat), and cannot lose a single ounce.
I am getting VERY depressed, and VERY angry (my doctor NEVER mentioned the fact that people everywhere have gained massive amounts of weight from Paxil.
Please, does anyone have any advice on how to begin losing this weight???
Posted by Julie on March 7, 2000, at 18:15:20
In reply to Paxil weight gain, posted by Ptroy on March 7, 2000, at 14:02:03
In the archives to this site, there are quite a few threads about weight gain with Paxil, Zoloft, etc.-- and cites to other Websites with articles about it. Some psych docs are finally figuring out that weight gain does happen in quite a few patients but I haven't gotten any answers yet about why. (Cam W on this board says it might be a metabolic thing-- something to do with leptin). I'm in the same boat-- gained 35 pounds on Zoloft. I've lost about 10-- I assume through working out like a fiend for 5 years.
My question, though-- did you stop taking the Paxil because of the weight gain, or were there other reasons? If it was the weight gain, are you going to try other meds? I have decided that since I need meds to keep my moods okay, I'll just have to deal with the weight gain. It seems more important to be un-depressed than slim-- though I HATE having to make that choice.
Posted by ptroy on March 8, 2000, at 7:45:31
In reply to Re: Paxil weight gain, posted by Julie on March 7, 2000, at 18:15:20
Julie, i thought i had gained about 20 pounds on the paxil, so i didnt really worry at first (since my doctor and fitness manager both gave the standard unknowing answer, "you are just getting old, that is what happens"). Well, then i went to the doctor (after actually researching paxil and see what REALLY happens to people who take it...i.e. absurd weight gain, total disinterest in sex (both of which happened to me and have destroyed my life to a large degree), so i went back to the doctor.
When i went back (did i mention i was a size 33 before paxil, now i can barely stuff myself into a 36, so that means all new suits, pants, etc.), my fear was now confirmed...i gained 40 pounds in one year, on a almost no fat completely healthy diet and cardio exercise for 1 hour 5 times per week, so much for the "you are just getting old" routine...and the funny thing is, my doctor still had the nerve to tell me it wasnt the paxil.
So he switched me to wellbutrin (at my request), and after a month on wellbutrin, i hadnt lost an ounce of the paxil weight (they say wellbutrin causes weight loss, but then again, they say paxil causes weight loss too if you read the company which makes it, the doctors, and the medication books. The stress of not knowing if the meds were causeing me to be unable to lose weight (i.e. was the wellbutrin preventing me from losing weight like paxil) forced me to discontinue all meds. I now deal with the panic and anxiety attacks via the recommended means: realize that they will pass, try not to "panic" about the attacks, just ride them out.
I can understand some might not be able to discontinue meds for medical reasons, but for me, the 40 pounds i have gained and am unable to lose has caused me to become very depressed. I blame myself for allowing this to happen to me, and not checking up on my weight more frequently. But i am not a doctor, and i feel that it is their responsibility (and the drug maker) to inform patients of ALL the side effects, not just the ones which the drug maker says are its side effects.
If i could sue my doctor and the drug maker for the hell this has caused me i would, but for now my focus is regaining a normal sex life (which i think is possible), and losing some of this weight (which i am starting to believe might never happen).
I am a bit neurotic about my weight, which magnifys the situation (the thougth of it taking 5 years for me to lose some of the weight is unacceptable to me, and i truthfully dont think i could deal with that....i had a SEVERE bought with anorexia/bulimia about 14 years ago, which has taken me years to get back to "somewhat" normal, but weight/food is still a major player in my life.
So if you learn of any other methods which have been successful for dropping weight post paxil, please let me know.
I hope everything works out for you!!!
This is the end of the thread.
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