Citalopram vs Sertraline for weight gain

[Whataplanker]

Does anyone have any experience of comparing these two anti depressants and weight gain e.g. which causes less gain? And if you were on one, did you change to another anti depressant because of weight gain and notice an improvement?

I am on citalopram currently and the weight is piling on, seems like every time I weigh myself it's gone up. I just wondered if changing the medication would help.

I’ve only ever been on citalopram long term and after about 8 months of weight loss/stabilising, I gained so much weight and it made my mood worse!
I’ve only ever had experience of short term sertraline, so can’t compare

I’m sorry you’re going through this, it’s horrible 🌺

I have just just stopped citalopram after 4 years. I put 4 stone on.

Have you replaced it with anything else? Has your weight reduced at all?

@Whataplanker I have literally just come off them - I had to reduce dosage but by bit until I finally (on Friday) took my last one.

I haven't replaced them with anything and nor did they help with my mood - they made me feel 'nothing' and I was fed up of feeling nothing and the weight gain was/is making me so miserable.

I've suspected they are to blame for my weight gain (citalopram), it's sort of like they make me not care enough, but I'm miserable about it at the same time.

The information I read didn't say they caused weight gain, but so many people say they do.

I'm reducing dose now, going to ditch them.

Sertraline never affected my weight but I’m now on mitazipine which has.

I haven’t gained weight on sertraline, if that helps..

I’m on sertraline and I don’t think I’ve put on any weight tbh. I don’t own a scale, but I’m still the same size I’ve always been.

Thanks. I spoke to the doctor today to review my medication. She seemed surprised that I thought it was the citalopram causing my weight gain. She said that is unusual but everything I see online suggests otherwise.

She is sending me for blood tests to check thyroid etc all ok and no underlying issues but she basically thinks it's because I'm 40 and my metabolism had slowed down.

I put on 2 stone on sertraline. Lost it easily after coming off it and have maintained the loss without effort.

I rapidly lost weight with Citalopram, which I am still on.
Sertraline I piled weight on so back on the above I went.

Also, if you look the medicine up, Sertraline is also used (not sure in what dosage though) to treat Anorexics.

Not for any weight gain aspect.
People with anorexia can also suffer with perfectionist tendencies & OCD which is what sertraline would be prescribed for.

I have anorexia & have been given a wide range of SSRI's & SNRI's over the years, none of which made me gain weight.

It's not necessarily the anti depressants that cause weight gain. If you don't change your eating habits when on them, there's no real reason for your weight to go up/down.

Thank You
Hadn't looked at it that way.
I tend to have the OCD part, yes.

I lost a bit on sertraline (wasn’t on it long, a year maybe, just gone back on after a pregnancy) but I was taking it for anxiety and I ate through stress/anxiety. So I was eating less because the drugs were working. Can they cause you to gain weight by themselves, ie if you eat the same as you always have? How does that work?

I mentioned earlier in response to the OP that I had just come off Citalopram - I did so with doctors advice 4 weeks at 10mg and then alternate days and then finished. OMG I feel like iv been trampled on. I feel sick, dizzy, achey and generally shit. How long is this going to last for? I just want to cry today.

I thought maybe they had some effect on metabolism. I'm on the pill as well which also has weight gain as a side effect.

I have put on a lot of weight on sertraline.

I've only recently realised that there might be a connection. I've only struggled with my weight for 2 years which is how long I've been on the drug.

I’ve put in 2 stone on sertraline . Normally find it pretty easy to manage my weight but feel like I have no control over eating .

Forgot to mention - I definitely eat less than I used to. All the strategies I used to use to lose weight are no longer effective. Also when I had really bad toothache last month I barely ate or drank for 2 days. In the past the weight would have fallen off me, this time I didn't lose anything.

So tempted to come off the sertraline but scared of all the symptoms coming back.

I have also gained 2 stone on sertraline. I have always been able to maintain my weight very easily but I just can’t and I suspect it’s the medication. It makes me feel better mentally but I just can’t resist eating. I used to have better self control. I have been on it 3+ years and the weight gain was only after I’d been on it a while.

Of course I can’t say for certain it’s that.

As crocodile says above, the other thing I find on sertraline is that all my usual ways of losing weight don’t work. I really, really can’t shift it, when previously I could have eaten a bit less for a few weeks and lost half a stone. I do really think this is due to the medication.

I’ve gained weight since starting Sertraline, and I’m finding it really difficult to lose it.

I gained 2 stone in sertraline, 50mg for about 6 months. I never lost it once I came off it. I think it made me crave sugar (chocolate and alcohol) and I couldn't cope with being hungry at all, a bit like morning sickness in the early days when you just need to eat all the time. I think it had a bearing on my motivation too, whilst it really helped with anxiety and depression, it sort of numbed a lot of (positive) emotions. I think it was a good reset for me at the time. But I have struggled to lose the weight I gained.

I’m on Mirtazipine and sertraline and I’ve put on over 2 stone in 2 years. I’m thinking of coming off them as the weight gain is actually making me more depressed!