topic Antidepressants for anxiety in Treatments, health professionals and therapies

Antidepressants for anxiety

150lashes — Fri, 06 May 2016 11:05:15 GMT

What were people's experiences with taking antidepressants for anxiety?

Was weight gain an issue?

Cheers

Antidepressants for anxiety

Zeal — Fri, 06 May 2016 14:31:02 GMT

Hi 150 lashes,

I have taken an antidepressant medication (SSRI) for my anxiety for about four years. It helps my body with serotonin uptake, as I don't naturally produce enough of this bodily neurotransmitter. I didn't have any negative side effects when I first started taking these meds, from memory. I started on a lower dose and gradually increased it under my doctor's supervision.

I have not personally experienced weight gain as a side effect of taking my medication. I was once told by a doctor that the medication itself usually isn't responsible for weight gain.

If you are concerned about this, I suggest you talk to your doctor 🙂

Best wishes,

Antidepressants for anxiety

lookingforme — Fri, 06 May 2016 14:37:51 GMT

Hi 150lashes. I am currently on an SNRI, and weight gain was an issue for me. I had an adverse reaction to an SSRI (tremors) and so my GP started me on very low doses to see how I go on the SNRI. I will say, at low doses, my appetite was insatiable. I just felt like eating, and as a consequence, I had gained wait. Unusually, though, at a higher dose which I'm on now, my appetite has settled and I am able to lose weight. I read on forums that the increased appetite was a common effect on the lower doses.

Definitely talk this through with your GP.

Antidepressants for anxiety

PatT — Sat, 07 May 2016 04:24:09 GMT

Hi 150lashes,

I'm on an SSRI and have been for some time now. There ARE some antidepressants that cause weight gain (I won't go into names because it's against BB policy) but most commonly, antipsychotics tend to cause the biggest amount of weight gain rather than SSRIs. If you have concerns about this as a side effect of antidepressants, speak to your doctor about which one may be best suited for you.