“Do antidepressants cause weight gain?”
I am taking medication for depression and anxiety. I've noticed that I've gained 16 pounds.
2 Answers
Some can cause an increase in weight, many others do not. It depends on which one you are taking.
"Antidepressants" is a large category with about two dozen different medications. Weight gain can be a big problem with many of them, but not all. The worst offenders are tricyclic antidepressants like Elavil (amitriptylene), imipramine, Pamelor (nortriptyline), and especially doxepin. But drugs in this category are now rarely prescribed. Many SRIs (Celexa, Prozac, and especially Paxil) can cause weight gain, while Zoloft (sertraline) does so much less often. Desyrel (mirtazipine) can cause a lot of weight gain. SNRIs like Effexor and Cymbalta vary, but can be a problem. Wellbutrin (bupropion) often helps you lose weight and rarely causes weight gain. A good rule of thumb is that the more sedating any psychiatric medication is, the more likely weight gain will occur.
