Hi everyone,
I am wanting to document my experience after getting off antidepressants (Sertraline) in terms of weight. I am doing this because I haven't found much info regarding people's experiences and thought it can be helpful for others as well as myself.
I started taking Sertraline 3.5 years ago, I first took citalopram for about a month but didn't feel great so the psychiatrist decided sertraline would be better. My mood improved and I felt great. Side effects weren't bad except for the occasional headache (probably once a month, which never happened before to me).
The first 6 months after being on Setraline nothing changed, but after that my weight and measurements (hips in particular) steadily increased, no matter the food or exercise habits, which were pretty healthy. Every month I would gain a bit of weight, nothing too noticeable, but I used to track my food, exercise, weight and measurements, so I can look back and realise it happened. Until July 2018 (3 years after being put on the medication) I had gained 10 kilos (I used to be 59, so it's not negligible).
Since August I stopped exercising and watching what I ate, I was on a really stressful period of my life so I decided to stop
worrying about it. I gained 4 kgs, which makes sense and I can't really blame it on the medication.
I stand by my decision of going on medication, it helped me a lot, and it is what I needed at the time. Now I am felling better, I'm at a better place in my life, so decided to get off it (under medical supervision). I tampered it, but still got really bad withdrawal symptoms (the brain zaps were getting worse after 5 days), went back to sertraline for a few days but finally my psychiatrist put me on Clotiazepam to help me deal with it and the anxiety (I have an anxiety disorder too) . I finally stopped the Sertraline on 16 December, and started the Clotiazepam a few days after that. I will be stopping the Clotiazepam in about 4 weeks and see how I am doing.
Just for the record, I've seen a few GPs plus my psychiatrist. I'd say 4 out of 6 completely disregarded my experience and suggested "exercise more" or "eat less".
I am on holidays at the moment, so not really watching what I am eating that much. I am back on 7 January and will start working out again and tracking my food. I'll update this sharing my experience and tips.
Summary of weight:
| July 2015 | 59 kgs | Started on sertraline |
|---|---|---|
| January 2016 | 60 kgs | |
| July 2018 | 69 kgs | |
| December 2018 | 73 kgs | Stopped Sertraline, started Clotiazempam. |
TL;DR: Put on weight while on sertraline and now I stopped the medication so I'll be documenting the (hopefully) with loss journey.
PS: Apologies for the grammar mistakes. English isn't my first language.
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from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2RoX3f4
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