Posted by Shari H. on June 11, 2003, at 8:30:54
In reply to Re: Effexor XR vs. Paxil and weight gain , posted by Capri on June 10, 2003, at 19:03:48
I have been taking Effexor for 15 months and I gained 28 lbs!! The whole reason I was put on the effexor to begin with was to treat depression brought on by Anorexia. How ironic! My friend is on Paxil and she has gained even more weight then me. I did lots of research and spoke to my doc. The weight gain is not because you are eating more than before, it is because you metabolism has slowed shown dramatically. There is an enzyme in our bodies called Liptin. All anti depressents cause this specific enzyme to be low and as a result your metabolism shuts down. In resonse to someone elses comment about having lost weight, I also lost weight in the first few months of taking effexor.(about 5 lbs). After my body got used to it, the pound started piling on very very quickly. I decided just for this exact reason, to taper off the pills. I went from 75mg to 19mg in about 3 months. This takes time to avoidsevere side effects. This week I will try cutting my pills in quarters (9mg) and see how I handle it. My doctor told me that when I am off the pills I should go back to my "ideal" weight. Despite the fact that I gained so much weight I was quite under weight when I started (110lbs). She said that I should very easily lose about 15lbs once fully off the drug which would bring me to about 120. I don't plan to go back on any AD's because the circumstances at the time I suffered from depression no,longer exists. I hope this helps you!
poster:Shari H.
thread:13781
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030609/msgs/233129.html