Zoloft & weight gain - Need help!

If you are exercising, you are probably building some muscle. Muscle weighs four times more than body fat. So that could be contributing to some of your weight gain.

Keep exercising and watch what you eat. I don't know if you will continue to gain weight. Have you thought about wellbutrin? It causes you to lose weight. I would talk to the doctor about a switch.

The doctor's don't always understand how WE feel. I have gained wieght on anti depressants before and it does outweigh the medication helping the mood. I guess you have to weigh it up for yourself and determine if it is worth it. Talk to your doc about wellbutrin if you haven't tried it before.

Good luck...

Hugs, Karen

PS welcome to the depression forum.

That is a huge gain. What did the doc say about it? Do they think you will gain more?

Hugs, Karen

I have a LONG history with zoloft and weight gain, going on about 6 years now, off and on the medication. I find myself SO frustrated with doctors (and my husband) who don't acknowledge that my medication is causing my weight gain. When I noticed I continued to gain weight, even after taking long hard walks 5-6 days a week, I began researching side effects and "bingo" found out that weight gain is very common for zoloft users. I weaned myself off and continued to walk. I didn't immediately lose weight, but I at least stopped gaining weight. That was a start in the right direction.

Eventually my doctor suggested wellbutrin, and it had the opposite effect---I lost weight without even trying. I made no changes to my eating or exercise habits and lost weight easily. Now, I did have other problems with wellbutrin, which eventually saw me have to try zoloft again. My mood improved dramatically within a couple of weeks of taking zoloft, but sure enough, after about 2-3 months, I began to gain weight again.

I'm looking for a doctor who's willing to try a cycle of medication for me to control both the depression and the negative side effects of weight gain, but I haven't yet had any takers. I know that zoloft does wonders for me emotionally, but I have to find something else to replace periodically to combat the weight gain.

I'm hoping others here will have some suggestions???

I just wanted to encourage you to insist that your doctor take your weight gain seriously as a side effect of the zoloft and offer an alternative. Exercise and healthy diet are certainly important aspects of treatment, but they aren't always enough to deal with weight gain as a side effect of medication.

Good luck to you.

Lisa

I'm getting off too bc of the weigh gain and sex side effects