Weight Gain and Lexapro?

Question

My Doctor recently switched me from Paxil Cr to Lexapro for panic attacks due to the large amount of weight I gained from Paxil. I first started out at 138 now up to 184..YIKES!! Has anyone taken Lexapro? And can you tell me if you noticed weight gain or loss? Thanks Bunches

Answer 1

I gained a lot of weight on Lexapro...I suggest talking to your doctor about the weight gain you had on Paxil CR and now you are concerned that you may gain more weight on Lexapro. I don't remember exactly how much I gained but it was around 40 pounds. Ask the doctor if there are alternative medicines you can try. Unfortunately, weight gain can be a side effect for many medicines. I hope you can find one that works for you. Right now I take Cymbalta and actually lost weight on it...but if you did indeed switch this might not be the case for you. Talk to your doctor and see if they can help. If he/she can't or is unwilling...find a new doctor. And, if you don't see a psychiatrist and you get your medicine from your family medical doctor or a general practitioner (GP)...I would suggest going the route of seeing a psychiatrist as they are specialist in these types of medicines and their knowledge base is going to have greater depth that a GP doctor or anyone on Y! Answers. I commend you though for taking the initiative to reach out to others to get help and find the medicine that works best for you. Good Luck and email me if you would like to chat further about this. I included the website for Cymbalta at the close of this answer in the 'Know your source' space so you can check out what others say about this medicine. It might help you determine if it is something you are interested in.

Answer 2

I didn't gain weight, but I read it before I started taking it that many people did, so I talked to my doctor and we came up with a plan. He added a small dose of Wellbutrin to the lexapro to combat the fatigue and side effects of the Lexapro. Wellbutrin is an antidessant, but it is also a mild stimulant. The dose of Wellbutrin was about 150 mg. This gave me energy to go for a 40 minute walk every day. I also ate a healthy low-fat diet while on the drug. Wellbutrin by itself has never been a good antidepressant for me, but its great for fatigue. Lexapro is a great antidepressant, but it made me tired, so the combination was very good. Ask your doctor and really watch the amount of time you are sleeping and eating. If you are sleeping a lot during the day, you will gain weight. Be aware of how much sitting around you are doing. With antidepressants, you become very content not to move.

Answer 3

Paxil also made me gain weight 22 lbs(in a month) Lexapro on the other hand did help with the weight issue but it also mad me extremely tired all day long. Most antidepressants will make you gain weight if Paxil did..( its very hard to lose the weight from this)
I have tried most to find the one that works for me( it wasn't easy)Zoloft made me lose some weight and is the only one that is working for me(for what I need it to do)...Medication is not always the answer,I did go a year without anything in my system(in between all the others). Doctors now of day give this type of medications to everyone, its not for everyone. Its not the answer for what I take it for but it does help me....So, Good Luck! Hope this helped

Answer 4

I don't Know about Paxil Cr, but I've been on Lexapro, and I've gained about 60 pounds in 8 months. I went to My doctor, and she found out that one of Lexapro's side affects is significant weight gain. I'm now slowly getting off the stuff

Answer 5

There are no clinical studies that show that Lexapro causes weight gain. Trust me, I looked into it. I think people gain weight because they start feeling better and eating more.

If you read the whole booklet, it even shows there were no differences between placebo and Lexapro on weight gain, in fact, some people lost their appetites.

Answer 6

I was on Lexapro for about a year, and I gained thirty pounds on it, and I didn't change anything about my diet or my level of activity that might have contributed to my weight gain.

A lot of SSRIs are notorious for weight gain difficulties. You have to weigh the benefit of being on the drug against the weight gain, and try to get more exercise to shed the excess weight if you decide to stay on it. Either that, or you could talk to your doctor about switching to a different drug that has a lower possibility of weight gain.

Answer 7

Add me to the weight gain on lexapro and also loss of sex drive too

Im on wellbutrin xl now (years later) it does make you lose weight and no loss of sex drive

depressed...weight gain....no sex drive...YIKES = more depressed

Answer 8

lexapro is an anti-depressant for depression. i gained twenty pounds in two months.

Answer 9

Better to prepare slow to eat foods like hot soups whole fruites etec

Answer 10

if food was your only source of pleasure make sure to reconnect with other things you enjoy music sports volunteer work or movies for example