SSRI induced gain, wish me luck

[Hope Assassin 2]

Howdy folks - I'm a 41 year old software engineer (tells you about how physically active my job is :), and since I was diagnosed with MDD about 3-4 years ago and started on a 100 mg Zoloft (sertraline) regimen, my weight went from around 180 lbs to a current 204 lbs (I'm 5'8"-ish), without any change in eating habits or exercise patterns. God bless psychiatry whom I was a major skeptic of until I realized depression for some people isn't caused only by situational circumstances but also genetics and heritage contribute to much of it as well... My entire family has been dealing with their own anxiety and depression in other ways, via alcohol, lustful activities, gambling, shopping, overeating - since I don't come originally from the USA, the taboo on psychiatrists is even greater back home where I'm from..... and taking an antidepressant for most people who suffer is almost non-existent.

Zoloft has helped reduce, or rather, help me cope with 90% or more of the symptoms I experienced - basically reluctance to do anything and just curl up and cry due to the severity of the depression as well as the several times a day panic attacks each of which felt like impending doom and death knocking on the door... Good luck focusing on mental work with those experiences in your head/body - I don't wish them on anyone.

What I never saw coming as a result of my SSRI regimen is the progressive weight gain that has been taking place... obviously partially this is due to age, but the majority of it is really due to the side effects of taking an SSRI like Zoloft. I've found it nearly impossible in terms of time consumed and habit change to manage my weight with exercise and nutrition alone and I've scheduled a surgery with Dr Ortiz for this April after reading here extensively, watching Dr Ariel Ortiz and Dr Juan Lopez Corvala perform this procedure on numerous patients. It was a tossup for me between Dr Ortiz and Dr Corvala, I guess I really liked Dr Ortiz's website and information provided better, so I picked him, but I feel that these 2 doctors are probably among the best at what they do in the Tijuana area....

With a BMI of 30 and no end of the weight gain in sight as age progresses... I feel like I've made the right choice for myself, my wife and my children. Wish me luck and pray for my speedy recovery. Many of my colleagues suffer from extreme obesity, so I'm hoping I start a trend here :).

M.

[Clementine Sky 708]

We have similarities in our experiences. I also rapidly gained an astonishing amount of weight on Zoloft. It was the descent into obesity for me. My endocrinologist recommended the VSG to me and said that women my size (almost the same height, BMI, and pre-surgery weight as you, but a bit younger) with PCOS had benefited from it. Even without the PCOS I think there's prudence in obtaining better health now, before you reach morbid obesity and all the health problems associated with it. I had an extremely positive experience in Mexico having the VSG (mine was with Dr. Fernando Garcia) and in the 18 months since then have exceeded my goals. I think you'll be extremely happy with the results as well. Be aware that since you're starting at a lower BMI, you'll likely lose weight at a slower pace. It took me a year to lose what some do in a few months. The silver lining for me is that I've had no issues with loose skin or Hair loss. I went from squeezing into a size 14 / XL to wearing a size 2 or 4 / XS.

I switched to a low dose of Wellbutrin a few months before surgery, which has thankfully helped to alleviate some of the depression and not caused me to gain weight. Many people taking a higher dosage have commented in reviews of the prescription that it helped them to lose weight by curbing their appetite, but unfortunately the higher dosage caused hair loss and anxiety in me when I took it, so I've stuck with the lowest dose.

If you continue to take Zoloft you might still experience weight frustrations even after surgery. There's a surgeon on YouTube named Dr. Matthew Weiner who has made several useful videos, including one about why people gain weight after having WLS. Medications were at the top of the list, with antidepressants being a notorious cause. Your surgeon might be able to offer some advice.

Best of luck to you!

[Hope Assassin 2]

Hi Sky - thank you for sharing. My weight has been steady around 200 lbs and it seems after the first year or two of being on Zoloft, the gain has slowed a lot and I hover around this weight that I'm at right now for quite some time now. Regardless, I feel like crap with the BMI being 30 and the weight I'm at w/my height... I feel WLS (gastric sleeve, which is what I'm going for) is drastic enough to hopefully reset my weight downward enough to pre-zoloft levels at this age, which in my view, "buys" me healthy years even if I have to continue with the SSRI regimen... The only thing I am curious about is if dropping the weight as a result of WLS will relieve my symptoms, as I've read that people develop depression as a result of being overweight too... I don't know which came first, the gain or the depression or perhaps in parallel... All I can say with certainty is I felt the depression in spades and I also felt great relief while on Zoloft. I tried stopping once, it backfired... so I learned my lesson, sucked it up and took the weight gain rather than counter productivity and misery as a result of MDD....

Quite frankly, I have no idea how it will all pan out.. I'm glad this forum is here so I can share or update on what will happen, but this is certainly a venture into the unknown for me, hoping God steers me in the right direction, whatever that direction may be.... could be good, could be bad, or could be ugly... I have an intention of losing weight - how it pans out and what the ultimate price might be and what it looks like, I have yet to see - though I have optimism based on other people's experiences so far.

Thanks for responding.

[Christina.Rose 287]

Ok, I am taking Zoloft because my other medication was dangerous for my pregnancy. I am weaning my daughter from nursing now and ready to take any medicine required. Now, I am freaking out about reading that Zoloft causes weight gain. Is it that it makes you eat more or store more of what your eating?? I also have PCOS, not that it is really specific to Zoloft questions but I saw another poster that was really similar to my situation.

[Hope Assassin 2]

It doesn't make you eat more... it somehow slows down your metabolism, so for the same food intake, you retain more of the calories in the fatty tissues. Try Wellbutrin once your kid's weaned completely.. I hear SNRIs (such as Wellbutrin) are better than SSRI for weight, and actually even cause you to lose weight.. of course, talk to the doc before asking to be put on wellbutrin, but I've heard many women like it because of its weight loss properties... provided you can take it.