Zoloft And Weight Gain

I found this forum in my search for answers to my unexplained and excessive weight gain while taking Zoloft. I've been on this medication for 8 months now and I'm finally to the point of re-evaluating whether this prescription is doing more harm than good.

I acknowledge that each persons reason(s) for needing Zoloft may differ greatly and at the time I started taking 50mg a day; I was definitely going through some difficult changes in my life. I  noticed some slight weight gain initially but the positive effects that Zoloft was having on me emotionally, far outweighed the few extra pounds. At the time anyway.

Now, 8 months later ... I have eliminated the stresses in my life that originally put me on Zoloft, but by staying on this medication I have inadvertently gained nearly 25lbs. I brought my concerns to my doctor but was told that the medication wasn't playing a part in the weight gain. I was instructed to start eating better and excercising. Followed by my prescription being changed to 100mg daily.    ?!?!?!

OK, I'm NOT a doctor but I DO know that now I'm depressed because of all the excess weight!!!  The only logical conclusion I can come to is that MAYBE this Zoloft which was SUPPOSED to be helping has actually made things worse for me.

I would like to say that I did not discount my physicians suggestions to exercise and eat properly. I started a healthier lifestyle with regard to eating and also incorporated walking rapidly

1 hour - 5 days a week. However, I haven't lost a single inch. My clothes are as tight as ever and I'm extremely frustrated. I've been pushing myself for the past 3 weeks faithfully and for what?!

I'n not going to give up my walking (etc.) but I AM tossing that bottle of Zoloft in the trash. I have read that there might be side effects by doing this but they can't possible be worse than what continuing this product is doing. It certainly doesn't help matters when I read countless forums from people that have gone through the same thing or are currently suffering.

Ultimately, I feel very betrayed. It's possible that I could have stopped this medication a long time ago and wouldn't be suffering the ill effects of Zoloft. If there's anyone who has/had a similiar experience, I would be grateful to learn I'm not alone.

I too gained weight while on Zoloft.  I was thin, so a few extra pounds didn't hurt.  But, after six months, I hadn't changed my diet, nor my workout.  I am extra careful not to eat too much and always exercising.  Nevertheless, I gained 20lbs in 6months.  That's more than I gained while pregnant.  Today, I weigh as much as I did when I had my baby!  Talk about depression!

Although my Dr. told me it isn't the Zoloft, I know differently.  My body chemistry is completely whacked!  I feel it, I know it!

Physically, I have experienced the following:

Weight gain
Dry Skin
Contipation
Lower Back Pain (I can't even get out of bed)

I contacted my Dr. and she suggested 25mg for 7 days to ween myself from the Zoloft.  I did it, now I'm feeling Dizzy, and very light headed.  When I go to back up in my vehicle, just the movement of looking over my shoulder to back up makes me dizzy!  NICE!  I have a call into my Dr. to find out what to do now!

Errrrrr

Hi,

I just wanted to say that I also gained weight when I started taking Zoloft about a year ago. I gained 18 lbs but I chalked it up to "waking up" after a good 16 years of longer and longer bouts of depression. Now I was going to have to start to deal with actual life and the non-decisions I made. Suddenly all I knew was isolation and now I wanted to be more social but left that skill far behind. So I stress ate, stopped running, and made horrible nutrtion choices. This started 4 months into my taking Zoloft.

That being said I've just recently put myself back on a good food plan and also getting out and walking. We'll see how it goes. And if nothing happens I'll have to start reevaluating the meds. I didn't realize it was such a common side effect.

purplecrayon

I took zoloft for about 4 years and gained about 45 pounds. I think it increases your appetite and then prevents you from losing the weight. I took myself off zoloft because I hated the way I felt on it and I think it did more harm for me than good. After being off it for about 2 years now, I've lost all that weight and have never felt better. And I went off cold turkey. I said too myself, "is it really worth not feeling good about myself?" and decided it wasnt worth it.

I was on 50 mg of Zoloft for about 5 months and had gained around 7 lbs in that time period. When I went to the doctor complaining of how I wanted to sleep ALL of the time, she put me on 100 mg. That's when I really saw the weight gain just soar. I gained about 11 lbs. in 3 months or so. I've gone from 137 last May to 155 today. I weaned myself off of Zoloft and my last pill was at the end of July. I'm seriously depressed about my weight, and there hasn't been any change since getting off of the Zoloft, but at least it hasn't gone up. Now I'm just wondering how long it's going to take to get my body chemistry back to normal and if dieting is really going to do much of anything right now. I have been exercising around an hour every day, but there still hasn't been any change. Hopefully, someone can tell me how long it typically takes to lose the weight.

hi. started taking zoloft about 16 months ago. at first i lost a good five pounds on the medication. over the last few months i've been gaining weight like crazy. i weigh 155 pounds and usually sit at about 135 or 140. the meds made me like myselft again and i thought i'd like to try to go without them. i started a plan with my dr. i was at 50mg and went down to 25mg everyday for two weeks. then i went to 25mg every other day. had a few dizzy spells and strange headaches, but not so bad. the only thing making me more depressed is my weight. anyone lose weight after you quit taking zoloft? how long? any suggestions?

Welcome Mama!!

Thanks for telling your story! I think we all have to take the weight off the way anyone does. For me it would be STOP eating at night. If I figure out how to that, I will share my plan. I just bought some protein bars and plan to eat one each evening to try to stay out of the junk! I'll let you know if it works. I know I shouldn't eat anything after 7 or 8 pm, but these 10 cravings are very powerful. I think I would be better limited to the 100 to 200 calories of a protein bar than to go nuts on junk.

Thanks again for sharing!!

Blessings!

I'm glad to hear one persons success story about losing the weight after Zoloft (perigrine's). I was on Zoloft for almost a year for PPD--and gained somewhere around 16lbs. It seemed like nothing I could do while I was still on Zoloft could help me lose weight--daily exercise, calorie counting, supplements, Curves, you name it. So now I've been off of it completely for only two weeks--and I've stepped up the exercise (weight training, cardio, 1300 calories of nothing but good food a day, plenty of water) and I'm still seeing NO results. It's very, very upsetting. From what I've read, Zoloft cranks your metabolism down so low, it's impossible to lose weight while you're on it. Does anyone know, or has anyone read, how long it takes for your metabolism to get back to normal? If someone could just tell me that it's going to be okay eventually--even if it's a few months--I'd feel a lot more hopeful.

Thanks--
Jen

Thank you so much, Monica. You've given me some hope.

I lost weight when I first started taking Zoloft...but after taking it for almost a year I've gained about 10 pounds. But don't cold turkey it. That's what I just did and the withdrawal symptoms are pretty bad. Night sweats, dizziness, electric shocks, not sleeping, vivid dreams, anxiety...it's been a little over 2 weeks since I've stopped taking it. I was at 100mg a day. Now I mostly have the vivid dreams, dizziness, and electric shocks. My weight seems like it's starting to go back down but I've also been exercising more so that might be it too. Good luck to you:)

I've been on Zoloft for the past 5 months, and I'm having serious problems with weight loss. I know, nobody really wants to hear about that, but in my case, it's not a blessing & I really need some advice.

The Zoloft is working well. I was diagnosed with major depression, anxiety disorders, and OCD. Considering I'm still in recovery stage and that the Zoloft worked amazingly fast and without any other side effects (besides dropping pounds), I really don't want to stop taking it.

When I started taking it, I was at 116lbs. I am 5'3.5" tall. I quickly went down to 112. I asked my doctor if it was supposed to do that (I was under the assumption that most people gained on antipressants). She said it was a side effect for some people, & that if I lost any more, she'd take me off of it. I figured that it was probably just the appetite loss that I'd had the first week or so. When that went away, I figured I'd be fine.

Nope. One month later, I'm at 108. I purposely wore the heaviest clothing I could get away with to the appointment, considering it was summer. She didn't notice (or maybe she forgot the ultimatum).

Now I'm supposed to schedule an appointment for this coming month, & I'm at 103. I've been eating more (which isn't a great deal; I'm not exactly ravenous all often, but I make the most of it when I am). I do not exercise AT ALL. I eat healthy, but that's because I'm a health nut, not because I'm anorexic. What anorexic do you know that can (and does) eat a footlong sub sandwich in one sitting?

All my friends and family are being very pushy about my weight loss. I just don't know what to do about it. If I confide in my doctor, she could take me off the Zoloft. Trying to settle into a new medication (or no medication at all) would be really hard, because I'm in the middle of a semester at college, & I'm taking 18 hours. Additionally, I have family troubles that are set to worsen in the coming weeks.

Any advice would be welcome.

Thanks

I was so glad to find this site I started taking zoloft a year ago  to treat my severe pms and since then have went from 120lbs to 153.I have three children and have never had a weight problem until I started taking  zoloft.Everyone was telling me its because I am getting older and thats what happens with age  but I'm only 29. In the last month alone  I have gained 10 lbs I feel horrible  I have no clothes that I can fit into even my "fat" jeans are to tight now. After reading all these posts  I can see I'm definitly not alone in this battle of the bulge with zoloft and I'm calling my dr. tomorrow about how to ween off of them.

Hopefully I'll start dropping the weight I wish all of you luck as well and if anyone has had sucess after  they stopped taking it I would love to hear about it.

 Thanks so much....Jessica

Okay, here goes. My daughter went on Zoloft a couple of months ago and lost 15 pounds the first month. He appetite just up and disappeared. I guess most people do gain on it and you caN bet I'll never take the stuff, but for a few it does cause weight loss. She has quit taking it recently (why I don't know) and has already regained 7 pounds.