Hi there, I've gained weight over the past 6 weeks after coming off of venlafaxine - I was on it on and off for 5 years.
I thought it was due to the supplements I started taking (5htp, l-tyrosine, vit b complex) but I've read a few reports of rapid weight gain after coming off meds.
Has anyone else heard of this??
Can the weight be lost?
I'm exercising and eating super healthy and gaining weight by the day......, help!!
From what I know weight gain is a common side effect of anti-depressants, so try not to stress too much, just keep a healthy lifestyle and it will be all good. Just give time for your body to become used to not being influenced by the meds and return to baseline.
Hi Jay
The weight gain is actually since i stopped taking it!!!
I didn't really gain that much weight while i was on them, so its so frustrating that ive gained since coming off them.
thanks
kerrie
'
Kezza
I pile the weight on when I take ADs
If you are putting weight on now and you are concerned ask the GP to put you on a diet. The Surgery will keep an eye on you
BOB
Ive heard of people gaining weight with Antidepressents but not after stopping them, maybe give them more time to leave ur system??
Are you having any withdrawal side effects?
Hi Kezza, you have been taking venlaflaxine for a long time and that changes your body and digestive system a lot. After you stopped the medication the body takes another turn so just wait for that to happen.
Did venlaflaxine help your depression? Why did you stop taking them?
Keep in touch.
Hi Kezza, why did you come off venlaflaxine. In 2008 I was on venlaflaxine for depression and I got over in one year - I came off it and it did not effect my weight.
If you are not depressed after coming off it is a great achievment.
You should not worry about your weight for now. It is better to be out of depression than to worry about your weight. There will be many ways to reduce your weight. You will have the time for it.
Keep in touch.
Did you ever find a way or why you gained weight AFTER you stopped taking effexor? (at least 10 pounds and I'm not eating any differently, in fact I'm eating healthier and less) I have gained weight and seem to be putting on more and I've been of it for going on 5 months, and every time since my close are tighter from one laundry day to the next and slowly but surely none of the clothes I bought when I lost weight taking lamictal and adderal (still on the 30 mg of it) but the weight still keeps piling on and I'm so frustrated I want to cry. I know it was awhile ago since you posted, and I hope you still belong to this forum as all the medical websites don't seem to have answers and only discuss weight gain WHILE taking them. You seem be the only other person with the same issue after going to more than five forums like this one, and since this is over a year old, I thought maybe you'd be able to help me... I tried to put on pants this morning that I wore two-three weeks ago when I last did laundry and they didn't go up past my thighs . I want to cry
I’m really sorry I haven’t got any advice except to say you’re not alone - we’re going through exactly the same thing and I’m desperately trying to find these answers for my 16 year old who’s gained a staggering 5kg in 2 months at least since tapering off this med. Even though she loves her food and hates exercise, nothing has changed for her to be gaining this weight so rapidly.
I’m furious with myself for letting a doctor to put her on this & that I didn’t research it. 3 years ago we were worried about her anxiety to try new things becoming a problem & she was put on Zoloft & CBT. But she started hallucinating and turned out to be the Zoloft so she was changed to Lexapro and she would hallucinate still in highly stressful situations. She was a mess and her weight ballooned. So I asked for an alternative and was put on Effexor and started losing the weight. The hallucinations stopped but she started dissociating in exams. Then she developed serious tachycardia and couldn’t even walk upstairs. We saw cardiologists who were baffled. Her doctor told them it was only anxiety and she wanted to double the dose of Effexor. Thanks to Google I read this could be a dangerous side effect so changed doctors and she started tapering off in September and took her last dose end of the year. As she tapered down her tachycardia and chest pain slowly and steadily went away but her tummy got very bloated. She went through the usual withdrawals but seems to be over them & her new doctor says her only mental issue is perfectionism & phobia of failure. Nothing a medication can help.
So my daughter would be fine but she is bursting out of her clothes, is carrying a lot of weight around her middle and her bmi is now borderline obese.
A friend of ours is a pharmacist and said Effexor pushes up adrenaline so it is a known danger to cause heart issues and it could have killed her. All I can be told, by a few open minded doctors, is that her metabolism is screwed, adrenaline probably took a nose dive and hopefully in time, patience and a good diet it will reset itself. Other doctors say after 3 months her body would have recovered & she isn’t taking any other medications. She’s had full blood work and ultrasounds of abdomen and pelvis (her periods stopped for 3 months) but all looks good.
I am as desperate as you are for answers. This is breaking my heart. She now has CBT to help with her fear of failure and the only depression is about her body image.
The bloating and weight gain only started as she tapered off, not before, and it’s increasing all the time now she’s off it.
I really hope someone out there can give us answers/ hope.
P.s since being off all psych meds there’s no more hallucinations or dissociation. I think all those meds caused that imbalance in her. Prior to seeking psychiatric help her only problem was this fear of failure. Otherwise she was a petite “normal” teenager
This is happening to me too. In fact I am now pescatarian and am eating more healthily than I ever have in my life, and yet my weight increases. I have no idea what's going on or why but I wish it would stop 😔😔😔😔
I'm so happy to see this isn't only me. 6 pounds in 2 months...reading that i'm not the only one helps. hopefully after a few more months, if I don't explode, my body will re adjust and start losing. I do know the side effects are finally gone. man, that was brutal. luck to all
I’m just starting this weight gain. I thought I was imagining it. I guess I need to fight back at this process to get through??
Snap!
I came off sertraline about a month ago and now all my clothes are too small!
I'm eating just the same and actually have more energy so I'm now more active. Oh and I'm burning off more calories in the bedroom! Lol
It's so annoying.
Hello ,just to let you know that I am trying to be out of affexor and I am putting weight day by day and I don’t know what to do, I have taking the antidepressants for 15 years and don’t think they are not doing much for me after a this long and I just want to be off
well it’s happening the same to me but I am afraid the weight it will stay
I Am afraid the weight will be permanent and I am exercising every day
It’s slightly comforting to know none of us are alone but it doesn’t solve anything. My daughters now been off that stuff for 7 months and since I posted 4 months ago I honestly don’t think she’s gained anymore weight and has maybe lost a little. She’s trying very hard and doesn’t eat much. She still has a little double chin she never had before and of course wants her old body back by November (graduation) but the weights not exactly dropping off.
Her hormones are all over the place, I think she’s had about 2 periods in 8 months and they were heavy. Her tummy bloats up like a balloon so she’s tried FODMAP diet ... everything. I’m hoping the longer she’s med free her body will eventually reset itself.
I’m starting to think the drug Pristiq has had the same effect on me (it’s similar to Effexor). I was only on it for a month a year ago - the doctor gave it to me to help me cope with my daughters issues!!!. It made me feel so bad I stopped cold turkey at the end of the first pack, which was a relief. Not long after stopping I just packed on weight literally overnight, none of my jeans would even go around my thighs. And then my periods stopped for 2 months followed by the heaviest period ever. I thought maybe it was the start of peri menopause but my cycle is completely back to normal now. My weight isn’t though. I walk the dogs and watch what I eat. I lose a little then I gain a little and I still can’t get my thunder thighs into my jeans.
I’m hoping with time all our bodies will return to how they once were. It would be great to know if anyone successfully loses some.
I can’t believe that for me it only took 4 weeks of taking this to stuff up my system.
Before taking venlafaxine my weight was dropping and I was really pleased but my gp put me on venlafaxine to help reduce my hot flushes I was only taking 75mg daily but they didn't work but since coming off them 4 weeks ago I have gained nearly a stone with no sign of it slowing down I am eating less than before I am so fed up but after finding this sight it seems I'm not alone.
My husband tapered off Effexor for 6 weeks. A few days after taking the last one he began to gain weight in his stomach. now 2 weeks out, his feet and ankles are swelling and he is retaining fluid in his stomach as well. Took him to the ER and they found nothing. ugh It appears from several post here this can be a common occurence. He is extremely frustrated. The withdrawals were a mess and now this!!!
It sucks having to play doctor and research myself. His doctors have been no help at all!!!
I am thankful for some answered but also very frustrated as I can see you all are as well. Within days of taking his last Effexor, my husbands stomach started expanding. He now has swelling in his feet and the doctors don’t know why. After reading your post I am understanding more (than the doctors apparently). The withdrawals were bad enough and now this…