Posted by Racer on June 3, 2004, at 12:02:55
In reply to Remeron and Effexor weight gain!!, posted by Sinnielou on June 3, 2004, at 11:42:40
I can't help you too much, but I have found a site that has information on one possible issue involved in weight gain. Here's a warning for you: while it does have a lot of compassion and a few suggestions for possible treatment of that weight gain, it was also a distressing read for me. It might be distressing for you, too, but it might still be worth checking out in hopes you can talk to your doctor about it. (The site is geared toward bipolar, but at one point he does say that diagnosis isn't what matters, so much as effective treatment. Since some unipolars do respond to some of his treatments -- his self-report -- the information might still be useful for us, too.)
http://www.psycheducation.org/hormones/Insulin/weightgain.htm
As for my own experience with Effexor: there was a period while I was on it that I ate differently, because I moved in with a man and started cooking for him, but after that short 'honeymoon in the kitchen' phase, I went back to my normal eating habits -- and gained a lot of weight. When I stopped taking the Effexor (which had been combined with Prozac), the weight started coming right off, with NO change whatsoever in eating or exercise patterns.
I'm sorry that I can't tell you something more heartening. God knows I do empathize with you when you say that the weight gain makes it hard to feel very good about any response to the drugs. (Right now, it feels as if trying another drug would be worse than the depression: my life isn't worth living now, but the idea of gaining weight, getting constipated, feeling medicated all the time, etc, really doesn't sound like an improvement. I'm thinking of trying to schedule an appointment with the pdoc to try to talk about that aspect with him, see if he can offer more support than he has shown to date for that perception, since right now he's kinda implying that I just need to put up with any sort of discomfort in order to stay on the drugs. NOT helpful for my current thinking, you know?)
Good luck to you, and I hope that that website helps you.
poster:Racer
thread:353368
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040602/msgs/353383.html