Sorry to add such negative imput but I've been dealing with medication and weight gain for 13 years now and I have to say, while you are on the meds all the excercise and dieting in world does not help. I've been waiting for the medical world to find out why this is.

I tried to save this but now there's nothing left for me to do. And I've never been one to beg. Please don't go, just stay. I watched with tears in my eyes as you walked away. Miss your voice, and your touch. And if I told you I loved you could that be enough? And now there's silence it's been too long since I've heard... from you. And I lay sleepless knowing that my heart still belongs to you.

I was on Paxil years ago, to treat an anxiety disorder. I actually had anorexia. The paxil, along with therapy, did wonders for my mental well being. The problem was, I gained 80lbs in the year I was on it. As soon as I stopped taking it, I stopped gaining weight. And I havent gained any since as generally I eat very healthy. I lost about 30lbs, but then I had two children and gained back 20. I'm glad I got better, glad I am not in that dark place anymore, but being fat is hard! Before paxil I could wear a bikini proudly, now well, even trying on shirts is painful. And the way people who knew me years ago look at me, its awful. I rarely eat any of the things that make people fat. I see my lack of weight gain since stopping medication 6 years ago as proof of that. I look at other people's shopping carts and want to cry. But its like the medication changed my "set point" permanently.

Husband's family has had many with depression for generations, some bipolar. We have also seen the drugs used to help the condition put on lots of weight. Perhaps my story can help.

Our children had issues in school at a young age (son overly active & impulsive, daughter severe working memory issues). Both affected learning. Both had shades of depression. At 15 for the older and 13 for the younger, we were finally convinced to medicate with both Concerta. Son was helped in school, but not really in other areas. Life was falling apart in college, lost scholarship, couldn't get to classes. We discussed his "steam train" personality, risktaking, disregard for consequences, lack of willpower and more. Docs said to stay the course. UNTIL M.D. suggested a newer neurotransmitter test that is proving itself reliable -- never knew one existed.

Son's dopamine was double top limit of norm. Doc immediately pulled him off meds. ADD drugs he had been on (Concerta, Strattera, Adderall) all up dopamine. Still in process. Daughter had extremely low serotonin, which is needed in proper amounts for proper memory function. Son was put on supplement to SAMe to help regulate him as he comes down. Daughter put on supplement 5HTP to help her. Still waiting for results of next test to see where they are now and where we should go. This has been life-changing already -- without drugs without side effects. More in family are looking into process of test. It's only a urine test done at home and sent to lab (NeuroScience Inc.). At about $25 without insurance, it's the best money we've spent. Wish we had this 10 years ago. Without a tool like this, much is just guessing.

**Test is about $250 without insurance** s

Had a bout with anxiety over a year ago. Was taking zanax and celexa. First lost a lot of weight from no appetite. When my appetite came back, the weight started piling on. I gained 40 lbs. I am at my heaviest ever. I went through therapy. Weaned off the zanax in the fall and I am now 2 months off the Celexa. Now I am struggling to get the weight off. I still get anxious but I feel as though I can control it. I hope I NEVER have to go on any of that medication again!!!!

Matt said: "You can't go to the gym to get rid of depression". This is absolutely not true! Excercise increases endorphins, boosts the brain chemistry and is a serious cure for depression. You will ALWAYS feel better after even a small workout - the only hard part is getting the determination to go to the gym if you are depressed.

do i dare say that i feel "relieved" that there are many many people out there going through the same thing i am ... weight gain caused by antidepressants ?!?! i am 34 yrs old and have been on cymbalta for the last 2.5 years ... i was in a very seriously "dark" place 4 years ago after a few serious losses ... it took me a year and some months to "give in" and try a "magic pill" that would make me actually want to get out of bed and go to work, to get up and want to shower, etc ... i will admit that yes, the pill actually did "work" HOWEVER 2.5 years and 80 pounds of weight gain later, i feel as though i have entered a whole "new" dark place ...i sweat profusely, i cant walk distances without panting like a dog who has run non-stop for an hour, i cant fit into any clothes anymore, and i cant "socialize" with boys/men anymore ... now i fear that i will never be in a romantic relationship and therefore never have children, all because i did choose to be "happy and fat, than thin and sad" ...so now what ? it is kind of making a deal with the devil ... make me thin and beautiful again so i can feel a bit happy and healthy and in return i'll give up my mental health ... i'll "learn to swallow the pain" ... it is unfair ...unless you are in this situation, you just wont understand the internal arguments one has regarding these "magic pills" ................

Exercise is a key to stave off depression or to support whatever else is being done to combat it. However, with generations of depression in the family tree, exercise alone often won't do the job alone. But exercise should never, ever be ignored or omitted from one's life.

Dear Lauren and other people affected,

Several years ago my father passed away during which I developed anxiety. Two years ago my mother and step father went out of the country and mentioned something about their will and that triggered my OCD. I became obsessively worried about them which developed into horrible intrusive thoughts. The OCD was horrible and made me lose considerable weight and feel crazy. Since then and before I have been on three different anti-anxiety/OCD medications. The OCD medication which I was put on made me feel normal again however I put on weight. In three to four years I put on about 35lbs. This may not seem like a lot but I am 5'2 so for me it is a lot. It may have been other factors as well but I felt like medicine definately played a role in gaining weight and trying to lose it even with exercise and diet.

In May of 2009, I went off my medicine (which I was terrified to do) to lose weight for my wedding in September. After a few months and then joining WW I lost a few pounds but not considerable weight loss but at least it was a loss- for a while I felt like I would never be able to lose weight!! I haven't went back on since and now I am pregnant but my weight is more normalized even with being pregnant.

I do have to say since being off medicine I haven't gotten to a point where I let it take over like before. Working out while on medicine does not help any I am sorry to say. But if you try to go off medicine, there are other things that may help you feel more normal even though you will struggle every day. The first is therapy- I went to a therapist and she made me feel normal and not like I was going crazy or the only one experiencing this- if you line up 10 people 8/10 people have some form of anxiety/depression. Also, eating right and exercising is hard when you don't feel good but if you press yourself it will help- it triggers chemicals in the brain that make you feel better. Thirdly- allow yourself to realize what you are going through and then move on- try to be thankful for the things you have in life, the simple things and realize there is always tomorrow. Realize you will have good days and bad days.

Sorry this is so long, I just want to share my experience and let people know you are not alone and there are ways to cope. You WILL NOT feel as good without taking medicine but then again some of the side effects make you feel not as well also such as weight gain. There are things out there that will make it manageable. I wish you the best of luck and hope you find a way to manage both.

Karen

I too heard Matt make the comment about excercise. I definitely feel better when I am or after I have been working out. First of all it gets your mind off things. Secondly you do get a "high" after working out. One of the best therapies for me even at the worst of times was to take a walk everyday with friends. Somedays it was hard to get out the door but after I did it was worth it.

Nice article. Some nice tips. But I just finished reading an eye opening weight loss report by Stacie Sandler on news 7.She personally tested two of the best selling weight loss products in America and wrote an honest review. I was so shocked by the result of test after I finished reading the report because she revealed some of the hidden secrets in weight loss industry that the pubic will never know.

I strongly recommend you read the report because it will tell you how to really lose weight instead of losing your money on those products that won't work! You can read the report here:http://news7report.yotrendz.com/health/

Steve -  I know that is supposed to be true, and it may be for many people, but I find going to the gym to make matters worse.... worse for self esteem, worse for motivation, and the statement that it is simply a matter of determination to get yourself to the gym (and hence make yourself feel better) is at best an oversimplification of the dynamics between exercise and depression and other mental illnesses.

you people are so soft. Are you kidding me. As a diagnosed manic depressive I have the medical background and prescriptions that a lot of you probably share. The difference is that I understand one thing. You can not gain weight if you eat less and work out more. I do not care if you had kids and you are depressed or the drugs make you mope around. This is precisely the problem with fat lazy sloppy americans. GET OFF YOUR ASS. Like right now while you gently weep reading some article or watching tv about a fat lady who is happy remember that we are leaving a legacy of sloth and laziness to our children. If you are fat there is a good chance your children will be too. Same with depression. Start being the example you want our society to embody, No excuses (energy or food in)-(working out/caloric burn)=Net calories, if your net calories are higher than what you burn off every day you gain weight, similarly if your net calories are less than what your body burns every day you lose weight. Medication or not this is no mystery. Furthermore, open your eyes, there are other cures to depression than medicine. In fact a lot of doctors will tell you that working out is a way a lot of people have cured their depression. So stop being a fat lazy stupid american and start working out, Jeez people lets leave a legacy of hardwork and discipline, not fat lazy medicated sloths---so if you are overweight and you read my entire rant I would probably get down on the floor and start doing some pushups before you take the next bite of the ice cream that is probably sitting next to your computer

I have had depression my whole life .. never realized it was all the gluten I was eating until I was diagnosed with celiac disease in 2006 at the age of 44. The author might want to reasses her diet? I see she likes toast (gluten) ... and sugar is an anti-nutrient.

Gluten can cause malabsorption of critical neuro nutrients even if a gold standard celiac diagnosis is negative (both blood and sm. bowel biopsy) as there is a spectrum of sensitivity to gluten. Gluten made me fatigued (too fatigued to maintain workouts MBILLION. Sure, I'd start, but I couldn't keep up). I thought I was fatigued and depressed cause I was fat. Nope. Once I started healing on a gluten-free diet, I became fat and happy ... well, happIER. My neurochemicals are being rewired with better diet and supplements, including neuroscience's Travacor - an L-tryptophan amino acid supplement. My mother was depressed, she passed it on to me, and I to my own daughter who is being neuro tested soon. Yes, this runs in families.

So far I can tell you that I have lost weight effortlessly while taking the neuro supplements. It has something to do with serotonin cause my fibromyalgia leg pain went away in two days (the rest of my body pains from fibro and depression, including RLS, disappeared with gluten-free diet and taking B, D, multivitamins, and iron under doc's care.) My plate was full of greens, fruit and meat - surely anyone would lose weight. No. But once I started taking that supplement, I understood the meaning of serotonin's role in weight loss. It's much easier to lose weight when you're happy (not fake happy making do in society playing pleasant) and now I know why. From what I understand, medications ping-pong around your existing neurotransmitters. These supplements are trying to help you make NEW and MORE neurotransmitters.

However, know that the supplement did have a side effect in me: headaches around my cerebellum - severe. They'd dissapate in about an hour upon arising. I had body-wide pain while I slept - esp in my legs (the serotonin was "working" I'm guessing going to needy receptors?). This was happening around the time the news were reporting about SIDS babies who were found to have low levels of serotonin. The doc showed Matt Lauer where the serotonin is made: right where my "cerebelum" headaches were! The supplement was a shock to my system. I had to stop taking it for a week, then titrate my dose until I got the same effect. It has been about 2 months and this has sadly not happened. Not having fibro pain was my goal in seeing the holistic doctor in the first place. She started with this test, and I didn't even realize I was depressed (I've been depressed so much, sometimes it's hard to tell! But I am.) I also am sleeping a bit deeper.

The author has written beautifully about her pain being fat, and how drugs are not the answer. I sure hope supplements are for me. MBILLION, you might want to check out neuroscience.com because you have some hostile words there. It's a symptom I'm sure. Check it out. :)

I think it's important to note that Zyprexa is primarily prescibed to treat schizophrenia. It can help depression but that is not what it prescribed for. For a doctor to prescibe Zyprexa for depression, most likely it was due to the severity of her condition. There are many drugs and combinations of drugs to choose from for depression that would not have this kind of impact regarding side effects.

As for diet and exercise, a person with depression does not want to get out of bed, let alone go for a walk. The depression must be relieved before diet and exercise can be done with success.

Also note that she also mentions being institutionalized. Her condition is severe. I applaud her strength in stepping out and trying new treatments and putting her best foot forward to live a full life dedicated to her family!

MBillion you are so ignorant. You were lucky enough (some how) that your body does not react in that way to medications. Do some research in to medicine and you will see it is a side effect. Have some compassion and be thankful you do not experience this side effect to medicine. I am the farthest thing from a lazy ass and have been off medication since last May- yes you are right with eating right and working out you do lose weight but NOT while on medications. Every body reacts differently to medication. Be thankful for what you have and use it to help others rather than bring them down you idiot!

My brother has battled bipolar disorder with episodes of manic psychosis ever since he was a teen. He's always been very thin and active: he's a drummer in band, he does kung fu daily, as well as jogging and working a physical job as a CNA. During his episodes of mania he would always become skeletally thin, as he would stop eating or sleeping for weeks at a time. So, not a "sloth" or "lazy" by any stretch of the imagination.

During one of his psychotic phases, he was institutionalized and put on Zyprexa. The difference was like night and day; he was thoughtful, steady, sane. He held down a job and stopped drinking and smoking, he met a woman and got married. However, he steadily gained weight, despite his exercise routine and physical hobbies. His wife started making comments about his fat, as did my mom. He has always been pretty proud of his looks, and that was all it took to get him off the meds. He lost the weight soon enough.

He also lost his mind, and was institutionalized several more times. Lost jobs, almost lost his wife and kids since in manic phases he goes out carousing and is very promiscuous. All because of the stigma around being fat. I think it is heart wrenching that most people in this country are so shallow and image-obsessed that they would rather lose a limb or go insane than be fat. Here was a drug that helped him be a happy, functioning person. And he threw it away to be thin. Because of judgemental, cruel, shallow people that hate fat at all costs, and a culture of vanity and blame. It's a real shame.