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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

If you take/took anti-depressants, which one worked best and did you gain weight?

74 replies

user298472938 · 09/08/2017 15:59

Posting here for more traffic. My question is;

If you take/took anti-depressants which one was best in terms of helping with depression and anxiety and with the fewest side effects such as weight changes (did you put on or lose weight) and sexual dysfunction?

I am seeing my GP next week and would like to do research into which one will work best for my mental health without putting on weight as I normally do on anti-depressants. Thanks.

OP posts:
StinkPickle · 09/08/2017 16:01

Citalopram. No side effects.

Husband found it made it harder to ejaculate tho when he was on it.

Overall we think the stuff is amazing tho.

PlayOnWurtz · 09/08/2017 16:03

None of them. The side effects did/do me in too much. I'm better off not touching them and going straight to talking therapies asap. I take a low dose tricyclic for pain relief and tolerate that okish although it does alter my mood.

PlayOnWurtz · 09/08/2017 16:04

I'd recommend looking on Mind's website as it talks through medications on there

KingJoffreysRestingCuntface · 09/08/2017 16:05

I'm on Prozac and Propanolol and I've put on loads of weight.

I don't even eat that much and have a physical job but the extra weight stays.

TartanDMs · 09/08/2017 16:07

I'm on a hefty dose of Mirtazapine. Hasn't really made me gain weight, but has killed my sex drive. I have to force myself to want to do it, and sometimes I can really be in the mood until it comes to bedtime then all I want to do is be left to sleep.

shamoffour · 09/08/2017 16:07

Sertraline. I've stayed the same, after a rough first couple of weeks I feel great now.

Lottapianos · 09/08/2017 16:09

I was on Paroxetine for 6 months. I had nausea every day for the first two weeks and 2 weeks of 'brain shocks' for the 2 weeks I was coming off them. The brain shocks feel like electric shocks in your head and face - just as much fun as it sounds

I couldn't orgasm while I was on them but otherwise felt 'normal'. They served a purpose and gave me a break from the awful emotional pain I was in and on balance I'm glad I took them, but they weren't a long term solution for me

TravellingFleet · 09/08/2017 16:10

Mirtazapine saved my life - yes, I gained weight unless I kept an eye on what I ate, but given that I nearly died, I reckon that being a few kg heavier was neither here nor there.

Badbadtromance · 09/08/2017 16:10

Seroxat and mertazapine
Zero sex drive
Mertazapine made me put on 6 stone

MsBeeSting · 09/08/2017 16:10

I took fluoxetine and loved it to be honest. I was still thinking about the anxietys and sad thoughts but while I was thinking about them I just couldn't bring myself to feel actually sad or anxious about it.

MsBeeSting · 09/08/2017 16:11

Oh and I didn't put weight on.

VanellopeVonSchweetz99 · 09/08/2017 16:11

Citalopram has been great for me but oh boy have I put on weight.

Original poster
user298472938 · 09/08/2017 16:31

I was taking Mirtazapine and although I think it was a godsend for my depression and anxiety (best so far), the weight gain was just too much and I wouldn't want to take it again.

OP posts:
OnlyGodKnowsWhy · 09/08/2017 16:34

Sertraline, rough first week, feel good now and back to work. No weight gain last time I was on it and so far not this time either.

dollydaydream114 · 09/08/2017 16:34

I put on a bit of weight on Seroxat and Citalopram. However, putting on a bit of weight was infinitely preferable to being suicidally depressed, so I really couldn't give a shit. Better for me to be overweight, functional and feeling than slim but desperately ill.

dollydaydream114 · 09/08/2017 16:35

*feeling well

Loopsdefruits · 09/08/2017 16:41

I've been on quite a lot, mostly SSRIs and then a couple of SNRIs they all did nothing for me and had some gross side-effects, I am now on Mirtazapine, which is working amazingly well :) it makes me sleepy but that's not terrible because I was struggling to sleep. I have put on a bit of weight but not tons, and I can't say anything about sex-drive as I'm asexual lol

Original poster
user298472938 · 09/08/2017 16:43

Thanks for all your replies so far. From what I have read online, Sertraline looks like the best bet in terms of not putting on weight.

OP posts:
StoatofDisarray · 09/08/2017 16:43

Citalopram. Slightly reduced sex drive, and I have gained weight, but it's probably because I'm (i) a little sleepier all the time, and (ii) more relaxed and happier on the drugs, so I don't try to control my anxiety with food or excessive exercise.

StoatofDisarray · 09/08/2017 16:44

*should read "control my anxiety by limiting food or OTOH excessive exercise".

Bungleboggs · 09/08/2017 16:44

Escitlopram = 20 lbs gain but worth it to get my life back.

mirime · 09/08/2017 16:44

Prozac - side effects meant I only took them for a few days - sleepy/zombie like in the day, unable to sleep at night or waking and feeling really weak and like I couldn't breathe. Weird zappy feelings for months afterwards.

Sertraline - great except for the nausea. I actually lost weight as I wasn't eating much.

Effexor - best of the lot overall - for me at least. Didn't do much for my sex life though. No weight gain or anything like that.

Theresnonamesleft · 09/08/2017 16:49

Sertaline I lost loads of weight, side effects included migraines, extreme thirst, passing out, shaking, constipation. After several weeks 36 hours awake and 6 hours at the most sleep became the norm.

Mitrazapine- was on them for 2 days. Hallucinations increased, always had
My phone with me as I never know what was reality so would record loads of stuff.

Now on citalopram - no weight gain. A nice side effect is my periods have got a lot lighter so have been able to stop other meds.

madja · 09/08/2017 16:51

Effexor worked well for me.

MinesaBottle · 09/08/2017 16:56

Paroxetine (Seroxat) - I put on a tiny bit of weight but that also could be metabolism slowing down a bit as I got older. I can orgasm but not easily and the drug has definitely lowered my libido but I do still have one! I've been on the stuff a long time though.