Celexa, weight loss, PDD

[roxygirl]

I have been celexa for 3 weeks and I have lost 15 pounds! I know, i couldnt believe it either until i just got on the doctors for my check up on the meds. 15 pounds is alot.. but I was an emotional eater and was beinge eating and now i feel sick most of the time and i have cut my food intake in half, and I started exercising. I gained over 50 pounds of being depressed and ate alot, so I could loose another 20-30 pounds and I would be right where I used to be before I got depressed. I am the odd one of the family, i am the ONLY overweight person.. my family is tall and skinny.

[Supkat]

I have been prescribed celexa two different times and both times it has helped me to lose weight. It is the only anti-depressant I have ever taken to have this effect. All the others (respirdal, depakote, lithium etc) made me gain around 30lbs in total, and I am a small person (5"4. I was at around 150 and stopped taking the meds and lost the weight in like 3 months. celexa has helped me lose like 5lbs (now around 115, which is a healthy weight for my height), but I'm not perfect at taking it everyday, so I don't know if that's all I could lose. To whoever said you would rather be fat and happy...Isn't being fat a cause for depression? I know it is for me. Having people say rude things to you when you are eating anything, especially when it is not your fault (meds) is probably the worst feeling ever.

[chitown stress]

I've been on celexa for 6 days 10mg and I've lost 6lbs. I've completely lost my appetite. I thinks it partly because my body is getting used to this drug. But it's helped greatly with the anxiety and panic attacks.

[Laura]

Jenny wrote:

I have been on Celexa for about a month now and I have lost about 10 lbs. I have absolutely no appetite at all. The only reason I eat is to keep from getting a headache. Alot of people say that they have gained weight but that is not the case for me. I have lots of energy, I have lost weight, and overall I feel great!

Quote who="Laura" I too have been on Welbutrin for quite a while a month ago my Dr. prescribed me Celexa to add to my daily Welbutrin. I have no real appetite, I used to eat a lot. Always starving. Now in a month I have lost 12 pounds and went from a size 16 to 14. I feel as if I am loosing because I am eathing healthier and cut back on my red meat intake and incorporating vegies into my diet. Before I only craved high fat high carbs. Also my PMS symptoms have disappeared.

[Laura]

Quote who="Laura" I too have been on Welbutrin for quite a while a month ago my Dr. prescribed me Celexa to add to my daily Welbutrin. I have no real appetite, I used to eat a lot. Always starving. Now in a month I have lost 12 pounds and went from a size 16 to 14. I feel as if I am loosing because I am eathing healthier and cut back on my red meat intake and incorporating vegies into my diet. Before I only craved high fat high carbs. Also my PMS symptoms have disappeared.

[VanDyke girl]

Im getting ready to start taking this me celexa for post tramatic and anxiety. I am ready to feel better!!!!!!!!!!

[Ira]

I am on 20mg of citralopram, I wake up starving every morning then eat a small breakfast and fill totally stuffed and am bloated all the time. I have been on it for about three weeks. Do these side affects go away? I am exercising a lot more than I was so I thought maybe being so hungry then feeling so full was from the exercise and just being more aware of what I am eating. I feel better than I did before but am having a really hard time sleeping. anyone else feeling this? do the side affects go away? also wanted to ask about sexual libido? anyone experiencing side affects and does that go away or do you have decreased sexual libido the whole time you are taking it?

[Wendy]

I was on this for 3 years at 20 mg and the dr. just prescribed me 40 mg the other day and I feel very light headed and tired and wake up every hour on the hour at night. I am having a very hard time sleeping and hope this is a short-lived side effect. I never gained or lost any weight on the drug - if I did, I attributed 15 lbs. or so that I gained to life - getting older, working at a desk, not watching my diet,etc. Recently I am going through a divorce so I have lost around 10 or 11 lbs. so I cannot attribute it to the medicine. So it will be interesting what my body does with 40 mg.

[Ciarra]

i just took my first dose an hour ago. i am really scared about the side effects. I am only 15, and i am taking it for anxiety,and panic attacks, so of course im going to freak out about the side effects. Does anyone sweat really bad while on this, cause i think i already sweat enough as it is? and has this made anyone throw up, or is does it just make you feel like your going to? someone please answer me i'm really woried.

[LES]

I've had the same proublem with the nausea feeling,out of the blue dizziness and spaceyness. Ive only been on Celexa for a few days though so hopefully it goes away cause i like food alot.

Amber wrote:

Background:
First, I took Celexa about 7 years ago, without side effects. I also recall the benefits of the drug were not nearly as apparent as they are now. I've been on Celexa 20 mg for the past about 3 weeks. The first two weeks the nausea was almost unbearable. It's eased up now, but still nauseated. I've been treating insulin resistance for the past 18 months, and now that my levels are almost normal, the doctor, who also prescribes my Celexa, upped my dose of metformin to 1000 mg 1 week ago. I go back in 2 months for an evaluation.
Question:
Due to the nausea, I hardly ate. Even now, I just don't have the desire, which is so unusual for me. Normally, I can't stop. Has anybody else noticed that by taking Celexa, the "hunger mechanism" seems to be functioning? I understand Metformin can zap an appetite, as can Celexa, but this is just unsual for me. I left 2 pieces of cheesecake in the fridge, untouched....which...needless to say is nothing short of an act of God.
Has anybody else had this side effect?

[ljl]

lulu wrote:

Hey everyone today i went and saw my gp and she gave me a script for citalopram to help with what she thinks is depression and P.N.D, starting with 10mg for the first 6days thn 20mg after that.. I am actually very scared that i will put on weight..i am 5ft and was 46kgs before i had my baby and throughout my pregnancy i gained 25kilos, i am now about 57kgs which is still abit big for my height-most of the weight is on my thighs {im not proportioned good at all!} and my fear is that i will gain alot of weight if i take citalopram as i was reading about people who have gained a shit load of weight on it.. If i gain weight again its just going to make my depression worse! Does anyone have any ideas on what i should do?

Hi lulu. I too tend to gain all my weight in my thighs (although as I get older it is appearing in the middle as well). But I started celexa about a week and a half ago and although I had already been trying to lose weight, I have noticed I am not struggling to control my eating anymore. I have always been a binge eater,(not a purger though) so my weight fluctuated between extremes. Now, I have little problem with my carb cravings. I see that some people have gained weight with this med, but as someone else mentioned, I think it has to do with your mental state to begin with. If you are the type that eats to feel better, you will lose weight. If you are the type that loses your appetite when depressed, you will likely gain some weight. Either way, it seems like the best outcome.

[Ellie]

Hi there,
I just switched from 100mg of Zoloft per day to 20mg of Celexa, a few weeks ago. The Zoloft was working well in terms of my depression (much better than Wellbutrin or Effexor in my experience), but I gained about 20 pounds! At first I thought it was just from not getting enough exercise over the long winter (I live in Wisconsin- it's really cold!), but immediately when it got nice out, around April, I started biking everywhere, joined a health club, and modified my diet...but I haven't lost any weight. It was driving me crazy! I decided to switch to Celexa and I am hoping that this medication does not make me gain any more weight, or will at least make it easier for me to lose weight. I live a healthy lifestyle... I don't own a car so I bike for my transportation, and I eat a mostly vegan diet. Yet, I have all this excess fat on my body and I really don't know what's up! I'm hoping to see some results soon with this switch in medication.

[Kelly]

Celeste wrote:

I was just given celexa for anxiety and PPD, i am worried about weight gain. Anyone experience weight loss or gain on celexa. I was given 20 mg.

I initially lost between 4-8 pounds in the first month of taking Citalopram thanks to a huge energy boost and loss of appetite. That was last October. It's now August and I am up a good 8-10 pounds from where I started before the meds. I no longer have success trying to drop those pounds through Weight Watchers or calorie counting, and I've began running regularly in the past six months. I've always been an avid exerciser and not considered overweight, but getting close now! The only thing I can attribute this to is the meds and I am going to see what I need to do to wean off. I went on during my husband's year long deployment to keep me from losing it with my three little ones at home:) Love it but not the weight gain. Hoping to need nothing or possibly considering Wellbutrin if the "nothing" approach doesn't work.

[CAL]

Alisha wrote:

<quoted text>
Sunny today -
Don't be scared to take Citalopram. I started about a month ago and it was the first time I ever had anything for depression/anxiety.
My first week on the medicine was rough, I'll be honest. I got dry-mouth HORRIBLY the first day and for the first few days, I had this horrible tendancy to want to bear down on my teeth and grind them (while awake). It was totally weird. I called the nurse at my doctor's office, who then advised me to bring it down to 10mg (I started at 20mg and so I was taking half a pill before bed). It helped considerably and it was still a slight tendancy but it went away after about 10 days. At that point I began the 20mg again and I felt fine.
Since then, I've noticed that my moodiness and stress has decreased dramatically. I feel SO much better. I have lost a bit of my appetite and I think the cravings of being worked up were why I snacked so much before. I have lost 3-4 pounds and just need to watch the weight loss because I'm really petite (5'0" and 104lbs right now). It's nice to lose a little bit but definitely don't want to lose much. I wouldn't be too worried about weight gain, as the opposite effected me.
Anyways- I was freaked out the first week I took the meds. I didn't feel 'quite right,' and something just felt strange. It does go away and you really start to feel better. I don't feel like it's altered my personality or it's a "fake happy" - I feel like it's genuinely helped me combat my moodiness.
Good luck with it!

Alisha, this makes me feel so much better! Your story sounds so similar to mine. I was worried that others may not have felt as I did in the beginning.

I just started on 20 mg of Celexa about a week ago because of my anxiety. I do not feel that I have a high level of anxiety, but my doctor believes that my migraines and constant worrying about petty issues is because of a low but constant level. I was VERY against taking any medications, because I have dealt with this level of anxiety for about ten years since my first panic attack and had not had an attack in about 4 years. Also, I am very successful at work, am in a happy relationship, and am close with friends and family. I am very outgoing and energetic, but my anxiety keeps me at that level at all times, so I never relax.

Anyways, at first the Celexa made me feel even more "uppety" for about a day and a half and I felt a little sweaty and like I was walking in a haze. I was also moving very slow. I took the next two doses as half a pill (10 mg) and started to take the medication at night at the request of my doctor. Now, in the mornings I still feel a little strange but quickly snap out of that by the time I'm out the door for work. My husband says he can already tell that I am more easy-going and not as knit-picky about small things. I also can tell that I can rest a little easier. However, I haven't been sleeping as great and the sight/smell of most foods totally turns me off. I've lost my appetite and have to force myself to eat. What I'm also worried about is my social life - I do enjoy my weekends out at friends at bar/restaurants and having a few drinks, so I will see how that goes this weekend and repost.

Has anyone else taken Celexa for anxiety even though they didn't feel that they HAD to in order to cope with day to day life? Did it have enough of a positive effect on you that you were willing to deal with the side effects?

Thanks!

[CAL]

Ciarra wrote:

i just took my first dose an hour ago. i am really scared about the side effects. I am only 15, and i am taking it for anxiety,and panic attacks, so of course im going to freak out about the side effects. Does anyone sweat really bad while on this, cause i think i already sweat enough as it is? and has this made anyone throw up, or is does it just make you feel like your going to? someone please answer me i'm really woried.

Ciarra,

I feel for you, have the same anxiety about drug side effects. My first panic attack happened because I took ecstasy with some of my friends at 15 years old and had an unbelievable panic attack - fear I have never felt before in my life and what caused my anxiety to start with. Taking pills always scares me since this incident. With my first dose, I felt very strange, as if I was floating, and a little bit sweaty and panicky. That stopped as soon as I started taking the pills in the evening rather than the morning. Also, I went down to half a pill until I got used to the medication. Try to give this medication a try, it might be just what you need to ultimately feel much better.

[Kelly]

Does anyone take synthyroid for hypothyroid. I am about 148 lbs and am a little over 5'7. I am worried about weight gain taking synthoid. Any advice from you that take synthyroid. Thanks

[JJ Girl]

Been on this for the last 5 months. Initially it made me eat where I was not eating at all. After a while though, my appetite diminished as did my motivation. I am not so sure about this drug. I have halved the dose from 20 to 10mg and already feeling better. I think it affects you differently over time, you have to monitor it carefully and make sure its not the thing that is actually making you feel bad and not the depression you initially took it for!!

[Kelley]

Celeste wrote:

I was just given celexa for anxiety and PPD, i am worried about weight gain. Anyone experience weight loss or gain on celexa. I was given 20 mg.

I have been on Celexa 60mg since the birth of my daughter now 8 months old and have lost 35lbs. So it has drastically changed my whole outlook.

[Linda]

i am relieved to find out that others have lost weight on celexa. my dosage went from 10 to 20mg and i have lost 3-5 pound and am thin to begin with. i am not overeating as i did when my anxiety level was higher but i am eating my favorite sweets (not so good) without gaining weight. i assume my weight loss will level off as my clothes are now too big. my blood work is okay except for slightly low t3 which my doctor will be following.

[Linda]

I am now thinking that waking up several times during the night might be due to the celexa (20mg). I take the med in the morning. The weight loss continues no matter what I eat which should make me happy since I've always watched my calories carefully and gained weight easily. I decided to stop enjoying all of the sweets I denied myself and go back to "everything in moderation". Most important.......I feel better, less anxiety, less ocd, happier in general. Your comments have been so helpful. Thanks