On Sertraline and can't lose weight.

[shattered77]

Hi, apologies if this has been covered before, but I've been on 50mg for over a year since the birth of my second DC. Obviously I had pregnancy weight to lose but I cannot get anything off. I'm on 1500 calories a day and am active and in the gym 2-3 times per week. I'm expending over 2000 calories per day. I'm tracking on my fitness pal and using my fitbit. My jeans are much looser but I've put on 3lbs in the last two weeks and my abdomen is swolen and painful, full of wind etc. Is this the tablets? It's really getting me down to be working so hard and getting nowhere. Yesterday I bought five cookies, cos I just thought, what is the point? But obviously I don't want to go down that road. Any advice or similar experiences? I need to get this weight off. Shall I stop the tablets?

I gained about 20lbs on sertraline, I have been off them for about 6 months and it’s been a struggle to lose it, so coming off them won’t neccessarily help. There are other options so go back to your GP and explain your symptoms, they may be able to offer a different med to try and see if it has less side effects for you.

Either your calculation of how much you're eating/expending is not quite spot on, or you just need to stick it out for longer before you see results. You get fluctuations so your weight won't necessarily reflect fat loss straight away, but it will eventually. But not if you give in to 5 cookies every 2 weeks! (Harsh but true - losing weight is very hard and needs sticking at, the results never seem worth the effort until the end when you forget hw hard it was).

I'm on sertraline too. I lost a few lbs initially (but that might've been the anxiety/depression). Been on it about 4 months I think and haven't put weight on. I wouldn't risk mental health for the sake of a few lbs tbh. If you need to lose weight faster, unfortunately you just needs to eat less, maybe also do more, maybe have a fast day (500 Cals) to give it a boost - you can do that a couple of time a week - google 5:2. Good luck. x

That's really strange, setraline made me lose weight without even trying. I was on a higher dose though, 100mg if I recall correctly.

Thanks for the messages. I will try and reduce calorie intake further and see what happens. I would also like to come off the tablets and have been waiting for spring. How did you come off them? My gp told me to just stop taking them, which I did for a week last year and my whole life nearly unravelled . What schedule of tapering did anyone else use?

I was on 100mg and halved my dose to 50mg for 2 weeks, halved again to 25mg for 2 weeks then just stopped but it was physically rough for a week or so after stopping, same sort of dizzy/sick feelings as when you begin taking them.

Hi op I'm on 150mg and have put on over a stone in weight. I'm so bloody hungry all the time. So I went to gp 4 weeks ago and asked to slowly drop down the dosage but sadly I'm not doing so well the anxiety has crept back and I'm struggling to cope so think I'm will have to up the dose back to 150mg. Doesn't quite answer your question but thought I would just add my experience. My mental health is more important than my weight at the moment

Sorry to hear that susiedaisy. My last attempt at coming off them was very frightening. My heart was coming out of my chest. I have identified that the thing that makes me feel stressed, anxious and unhappy all day, every day is my weight. I need to sort it out.

Sorry, trexinginasda, but it's not so simple as eat less and move more. Some meds both make you hungrier and affect your metabolism. Sertraline isn't one of the worst, but it can really affect your body/weight. I found citalopram caused me to hang onto weight. Olanzapine is one of the worst---I've heard of people putting on 3 stone in 6 month, despite no change in their appetite. I would hVe thought it impossible for this to happen, but I've watched someone balloon in size like that.

It's so difficult as, esp for women, gaining weight can make you feel drepressed.

Hello! I have been on sertraline for over a year now, I initially lost weight when put on 50mg. Maionly because I started to have more energy and started going to the gym 4 times a week. As the dose was increased so did the weight. Sertraline does make you feel hungrier, or at least it gives you the sensation that you are hungry. I started taking rennie to take away the hunger feeling, it helped a bit. I have a personal trainer and go to the gym 4 days a week, I eat healthily, gave up alcohol and sweets. Still no luck. It really gets me down to see how my clopthes are so tight despite all the effort I put in. I started doing keto diet, it helped me to get rid of water retention just not sure how great it is to consume so much fat! My hubby keeps telling me that I look great and that it is only temporary.