Posted by MarkinBoston on January 11, 2001, at 22:25:12
In reply to What Is It With SSRI's And WEIGHT GAIN???, posted by LISABECK on January 11, 2001, at 15:56:29
> I am so digusted with this weight gain issue with SSRI's.
I know what you mean and used to think that the weight gain was OK, but accepting that I will have to deal with depression for the rest of my life, excess weight leads to higer risk for heart disease, diabetes, and celebacy - none of which are heartening.
Elevated cortisol hormone levels are associated with depression and panic attacks. Cortisol also favors gaining fat, some of it indirectly with suppressed growth hormone levels, which decline with age anyway.
High estrogen levels are also associated with fat increase.
Worse, fat begets more fat via its influence on hormone levels. The only nice thing is that beta endorphin (natural opiates) are higher with more fat.
As a man and depressed, my testosterone level was measured as just under normal and I was able to get a script for a level that put me at borderline high-normal. It made me feel good enough to go back to the gym and I gained muscle AND lost 30 lbs in 2 months.
The hard part is wanting an endocrinologist help manage several hormones at healthy levels. Supplimenting testosterone cased my estrogen to be triple that of an average man, but managing that with one more drug was rocket science to my doc. Its in research papers, new books, common practice for athletes, but alien to most endocrinolists. There's tools to be used but arn't.
There's probably a dozen or more Women's health centers in and around Boston, but no Men's health center. We still have a way to go for the awareness to happen.
poster:MarkinBoston
thread:51461
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010111/msgs/51484.html