Zoloft/weight gain #4

I am still so frustrated. I am back to 125 today. I am down to 4 pairs of pants that still fit. And this is after working out 2 x per day - vigorously too. How long will it take for this antidepressant weight to come off?? I quit mine 10 days ago...I absolutely hate how I look and I'm worried I'll never lose the weight.

Well November 3 2006 will officially be 1 year since i have stopped taking zoloft and i have only lost 5 pounds!! It is extremly frustrating considering that i have never had weight problems.

Hope3...i really do think that you don't let the weight gain bother you because you are an older individual and that you have gone through some things that obviously allow you to appreciate life more. Unfortunatly, until the average person experiences some kind of tragedy they often take life for granted. But i am a 22 yr old girl who was always the "pretty one," skinny and very fashionable, to 30 pounds more than the weight i was when i began zoloft, which was about 105 pounds all within 11 months. Now such a drastic change like that has really turned my life upside down and i get critized often about my weight. it is a very noticable increase in weight that will not go away. i can not wait for the day when i can feel even a little bit better about the way i look. So in my case the way i look was a huge part of my life that was taken away from me within months because my doctor never informed me of a possible weight gain, and he also never monitored me the way he should have and switched the medication when the weight gain became noticable. You seem like a very sweet person.

Anyway, i went to the doc not long ago and had my blood taken to see if there was anything wrong with my thyroid. Of course there is not anything wrong and i am still here in the dark about why this darn weight refuses to budge. i plan on once again getting back into some kind of exercise routine. i am not very optimistic because i have tried so hard so many times in the past with no results. i will keep everyone updated.

Oh by the way flubes, i really hope that zoloft does not put you through the same weight gain hell it has put me and many others through. the only advice i can give is for the first year you are the drug do not put your guard down!! the weight gain from this drug was so rapid for me, i felt like i woke up one day and i was fat. It was as if it came out of no where. I gained 20 pounds within the last 4 months of taking the drug. good luck to you!!

 allyboo, I see you still check the posts also, maybe for the same reason I do a year later.  IT will also be 1 year the first week in November.  She is basically at the same 5lb weight loss stand still that you have been at.  Now in college it is harder for her to eat the right kinds of food, the working out and eating right never seemed to budge the scales for her either.  She has just recently went off her birth control once again to see if this will allow her to loose that stubburn weight!! 

I never give up hope that someone will come on this site and say after a year they started to drop the zoloft weight.  IT seems thats what was posted before, so now that we are at that mark I pray the weight will start to come off!!

The best to Allyboo, often wonder how your doing with the whole zoloft weight gain thing!!  I agree with all of the sudden it was just their.  I look back on my daughters pictures and your right, it was like all of the sudden she put on an extra 20lbs!!!!

Good luck to all whom are trying to lose the zoloft weight!!!

Allybooboo, yes I'm still here forever serching for answers!! It's also great to see that you still check the forum too! My daughter is struggling to try and get back into the work out routine now that she is in college! She has a hard time managing her time and studies I think!! She seems very stressed with her studies and often wonders if she should be back on something!! I really hate to see her go that route again just because of all the side effects and etc. Keep up the great work with the trainer and keep in touch with us. Maybe you could share alittle of your routine and diet plan this person has you on! Do you still have my e-mail address? Keep in touch and best to you dear!!!

To others, Allyboo has been great support throught this diffficult year for myself and daughter!! Hats of to her!!

So is the liver supposed to go back to doing its normal thing once you go off the antidepressants? I've been off mine for 7 weeks now.

Seriously Nivram, my trainer just sets my appointments and tells me what to do when i am at the gym. Right now i am running for about 40-45 mins, 5-6 days a week and altering the intervals as i run (like start off at 5.0 and then go to 5.5 then down to 5.0 after 5 or 10 mins and then up to 5.8 and so forth) it is hard work, but seems to be working. also i am strength training about 3-4 days a week for about 30 mins with my trainer. I have changed my diet to only complex carbs (whole wheat, sweet potatoes, grains and so forth) and cut out almost all sugar. My trainer tells me to eat 6 small meals a day, but as a student i have more things to worry about during the day and find that to be the hardest part right now. I just eat as often as i can. i have cut down my portions and drink a lot of water. so far i have lost inches in my stomach and the scale says that i have lost 3 pounds, but i am not really paying attention to the scale because muscle weighs more than fat. The good thing is that people are noticing that i have lost weight and after a month I am starting to slightly notice it as well. So i am getting results. The main thing is consistency. i have been on top of this since i have started and have not given up and i do not plan on giving up. i have made it this far. exercise and diet change are the key. once the weight is off i dont think i will have a problem. it will be easy to maintain the weight loss. One thing that i notice is that i enjoy working out now and i think that is what keeps me going. i love to run. not only to lose my weight, but it really helps with stress. Plus i get a feeling of accomplishment. It has not been cheap to have a trainer, but the gym at my school had great student rates, so i couldnt pass it up. I really recommend getting a trainer if possible. They really push you and motivate u and they help u with nutrition also. if not just tell hil to get on that treadmill and start running. start out running for 5 mins and walking for 5 mins, alternating for 30 mins. eventually she will be running for 30 mins straight like i am at this point. it took me 1 month to work myself up that. Although when i started running i could run for 15 mins staright. but just tell hil to start out slow and work her way up. she will start to see a difference after a month with consistency. hope that helps. write back soon!!!

Yesterday Nov. 3 was offically 1 year since i stopped taking zoloft. i am not where i hoped i would be weight wise when i decided to stop taking the drug 1 year ago, but at least i have made some progress. i really hope that within the next year i will start to see the weight come off.

Oh my gosh I can't believe I found all you people with my same feelings and weight gain problem. Is there any thing that you can recommend besides not taking zoloft? I don't think I can seriously stop taking it, but the weight gain is making me "crazier" than I normally am. Let me know of any suggestions you all might have. Thanks and love to all.

Hi Els and everone!! Thanks for your quick reply Els. The truth is I have tried so many of the other antidepressants. I think I tried wellbutrin first (it made me feel incontenent, I have no idea why) then paxil (weight gain and funky dreams), then zoloft (weight gain), effexor xr (weight gain, lots of sweating!, and REALLY funky dreams that were too real, sometimes I'd wake up and not know what was real or not; I tried it because I was also having panic attacks), and back to zoloft (more weight gain). The dreams aren't so bad on the zoloft, but then of course there's the weight gain and also I think it contributes to my restless leg syndrome and exaggerates my arthritis. I know this all sounds soooo hypochrondriacal, (haha that's my word!) but it is all true! I do feel so much better psychologically on the zoloft, so do you suppose I just have to settle?
I was reading snickersmom's posting and have so many of the same things going on. I too try to eat right, get some exercise, my cholesterol is really good, I take blood pressure medicine ( that is also part of the reason for the antidepressants, to calm me down and lower the pressure)....but I'm so self conscious going anywhere, I used to be fairly confident in my looks, but now when I see pictures of myself I think, what the hell happened! I always hope for the mirror in the bathroom to be steamed up when I get out of the shower, so I don't have to see myself naked! Yuk! Anyway, I'm so glad that I found this group so maybe I'll find some answers, if not, then at least then I can whine!! Love to all! mommapkat

Hey guys. I got some great news today. For all of you that don't already know, on September 27, 2006, i enlisted the help of a personal trainer to help lose this stubborn weight. It has really paid off! Today i found out that i have lost 7 Lbs. since working with my trainer. i could not believe it! But it has been a lot of hard work, but it is ok because all that hard work is paying off.

So i am sure all of you are wondering how i did it. well here is how

1st, i completely overhauled my diet.

-i cut out all whites and replaced them with only whole grains, brans, and wheats.

-i eat a lot of salads, cutting out regular dressing and using only oil and vinager.

-i eat a lot of chicken for protein and veggies.

-i eat a lot of the south beach diet foods such as their high protein cereal bars and south beach whole wheat cracker packs.

-I started out eating small meals every 3 hours. now i pretty much eat when i can because i have such a hectic schedule.

-i really cut down on my portions. This was really hard in the beginning, but if you want results bad enough, you tend to make the sacrafice.if i was still hungary after eating, i drank a lot of water.

-i drink at the least a half a gallon of water a day and at most a gallon.i cut out all othe rdrinks except for water.

-i ate a lot of sugar free stuff like sugar free pudding packs or jello if i had a sweet craving.

And a busy schedule is no excuse. i am a pre-law, senior at Nova Southeastern University  and i have not only been able to stay on a diet, go to the gym at most 6 times a week and the least 4 times a week, keep up with my studies, and work part-time. It is all about how bad you want something. Even though i had a trainer, i only saw her while i was in the gym, she wasn't there at meal times telling me what to eat and what not to eat, that was all me.

2nd, i exercised

-i started out only being able to run for 1 minute at a time. Now i can run for 30 mins straight. i run for a total of 40 mins per day. just remember that i worked myself up to that.

-i did a mixture of cardio and strength and weight training along with abs.

-consistrncy in the gym is key.in the beginning you must go to the gym for at least 1 hour 4-5 times a week. remember i have a really busy schedule, sometimes i would find myslef at the gym as early as 6 in the morning or as late a 11 p.m. Its all about fitting it in somewhere, some how.

3rd, i didn't get discouraged and i kept going

this time, because i have tried to lose the weight before, i was determined and i was not going to give up. i think the reason why i am making progress is because i want it so bad. It is probably the most important thing to me right now. Not only am i losing weight but i feel stronger and i am not as stressed as i should be for a colllege student that has so much on her plate. my exercise routine has helped me in so many ways that i think i am sold for life on it. i used to suffer from a major depression down fall at least once a month and since exercising i have not been depressed at all. overall i feel great.

i hope this helps. determination is the one thing that is going to drive you to reach your goal. Without it you will find yourself cheating on your diet and exercise routine, and by doing that you are only cheating yourself.

well, i wish everyone the best of luck and dont sell youselves short. start a diet and exercise routine and just put everything you got into it and i am sure you will lose weight. i know it is a different situation for the people who are still on the zoloft. i know it is not that easy.

well i will continue to check in.

ALLYBOOBOO, Congrats on the 7 pound weight loss!  

I have been working out at the gym on the treadmill and ellimptical (sp?) machines.  I still feel a 2 inch layer of fat covering my behind...   But it makes me feel better...The belly fat is what I am having a hard time getting rid of.  I can get in my size 6 jeans but if I go out to eat I have to unbutton them afterwards .  I too cut out anything white about 2 years ago and went to eating whole grains and high protin diet.  I lost about 10 pounds but I am stuck at this weight now...hopefully with the extra exercising I will drop somemore.  I am still hanging on to the size 4 jeans...but I dont think I will ever wear them again...

mommapkat said...
Oh my gosh, Snickersmom!!! I guess you know how good it is to find out that I'm not alone in fighting this!!! It took me so long to figure out that it had to be the antidepressants that made me gain so much weight! At first I thought maybe it's 'cause I'm getting older and my metabolism is just changing, but like you said, even after watching exactly what I'm eating, and exercising, nothing happened, except maybe for gaining some more weight!! It's feels great to be able to compare notes with other people. I understand your ocd. The zoloft really helps that! And it makes me feel so much better, I can actually make decisions, and keep some semblance in my life, so I'd hate to think of completely going off everything. I do like me now, except that there's so much more of me. Anyway, it is great being able to talk to you all and exchange notes and ideas. Thanks for the welcome! Mommapkat

The Zoloft does help and therein lies the frustration! I agree with your statement too...I like myself as well but there is a LOT more of me too!   I've been doing pretty much South Beach diet but you know, being on the Zoloft makes it so hard to lose weight.  I'm glad you found us!