Advice re Meds

[ChangeNameChangeLife]

Hi I have changed my name just in case anyone here recognises me. I am proving a bit resistant to many anti-ds and my dr suggested a combination. However she then went on to say the anti-ds can be a problem with weight gain. Now weight issues are a huge part of my anxieties and contribute massively to my depression. And now I am in a tiz about the meds. I never talk about my feelings re weight so did not say to her that this really bothered me. Does anyone know what is the deal re meds and weight. Do they prevent you losing weight, make you put it on, what is the deal?

I am currently on venuflaxine (or however you spell it). I don't like this drug and have asked to try a different one, an ssri. But I would like to know. Please advise me. Thank you

Just to add some detail. I have suffered from depression for many years. It goes up and down but recently I have crashed down and it has been appallingly hard. I find it very hard to open up even anonymously on a forum so you can appreciate that I have really isolated myself and I am scared witless of inflicting the misery on my children that I suffered being brought up by well-meaning but badly depressed parents.

I do see someone for CBT but it is a struggle to really open up and I never express how bad I feel. I am struggling now, it is like my mind goes blank as soon as I start to try and express myself. I have seen how amazing you all are on threads supporting each other except AIBU of course. So please respond if you can as I am very confused generally about the meds and scared that nothing will help me alongside all the regular self loathing of a seemingly eternal depressive, of which weight pays a big part.

ADs can make you put on weight i think because it changes your appetite. You could seek advice on any of the mental health websites looking at their meds pages. I also suggest you go back to your GP and explain you are anxious about your weight. You can ask to see a different GP.

good luck, sometimes you need to tackle one thing at a time

Hi I have been on AD's that were supposedly really bad for weight gain. I did put on a little - but it really was a little - and I could have stopped that happening if id just had a few hundred less creme eggs.
I know it must be really hard for you but as it is so important to your overall well being I think you should try and talk to your gp about this particular issue because then they can bear it in mind for prescription purposees.
Hope you start to feel better soon x

Poor you ChangeName, it's awful to feel isolated, on top of the depression and everything else.

I know about freaking out about medication, I was exactly the same. Whenever I got prescribed something new I would pore over the patient information leaflet and worry myself silly over all the listed side effects.

However, many of the side effects are extremely rare, and quite a lot of people don't get any side effects at all.

My AD is mirtazapine and the first side effect listed is weight gain (listed as "common") at first I was like, "no way am I taking these".... but in the end I gave in a took them.

Happily I haven't gained any weight really at all. In fact lately I have lost a bit of weight through careful eating etc. I think if you watch what you eat you will be fine - and this is true whether you are on an AD or not.xx

Hi thank you for your replies. I think I am getting worse. I won't leave the house now unless I have to and I think the reason is I can't bear anyone to see me with the way I look. I don't feel comfortable in my clothes and the depression coupled with my feelings about my weight have taken me to a really bad place. There are some family commitments this week that I have to go to and it is not even my family but my in-laws with whom I do not feel comfortable. I don't know how I am going to go and all I want to do is go to sleep. Has anyone had a similar experience and how did you get out of it. I feel so very alone, I don't really have family and certainly none near me and I am beginning to really hate my dh's family. But that is possibly more a reflection of where I am just now than their fault (though they are emotionless, cold and crappy anyway).

But I feel if I wasn't so heavy I could handle it better. How much do I sound like a pathetic teenager and nit a grown woman?

I may be way off the mark here but bear with me...

Sometimes you can kind of "project" all your problems and the negative way you are feeling onto one particular issue. This issue gets blown way out of proportion and becomes the focus of all your attention. You feel that if you could "fix" this one thing, all would be well again.

In my case it was sleep. I went through a phase of really bad insomnia. All I could think about was sleep. It would be on my mind 24/7. I would get so upset and frustrated and just despair thinking "if only I could sleep, I would be happy again and all my problems will go away"....

Anyway, eventually I did start sleeping better, and guess what? All my problems didn't go away (not at first anyway). The depression was still very much there.
Not until I dealt with some issues and starting taking the right medication did I start to get better.

Do you see what I mean? I just wonder if the weight thing has become the focus of your attention, thinking if only that were solved you would be fine, when actually there are other things going on too?

In my case, the sleep played a part but was not the source of my unhappiness. I wonder if the weight plays a part for you but is not really the heart of the matter?