Librax and antidepressants...weight gain ?

Q.According to my doctor weight gain is typical with antidepressants because content people tend to eat more. I don't know how true it is, but that is what I was told when I had the same problems.

A.Certainly if depression has taken away your appetite, as it does in many people, getting treatment for it will probably cause a weight gain -- but that would just restore your normal weight. On the other hand, some people eat more when they're depressed (it's the only thing that makes them feel better, or they have nothing else to do) and most people exercise much less. I don't think this is always the mechanism for weight effects of antidepressants, though. It would be odd if antidepressants *didn't* affect weight, because many of them manipulate the levels of neurotransmitters that affect appetite, satisfaction, and pleasure. Furthermore, there's an interplay between neurotransmitters, hormones, insulin, and weight that we're just beginning to understand. The SSRIs (Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil...) often suppress appetite, at least temporarily. They're also good at stopping compulsive behavior, which includes binge eating. The tricyclics (desipramine, nortriptyline...) often cause weight gain, either by increasing the appetite (over and above the restoration of normal undepressed eating behavior) or by some more direct effect. People have reported having more difficulty losing weight while dieting if they are taking tricyclics. But all I have on this is anecdotal evidence. Several anti-seizure medications, some of which are also given as antidepressants, can increase appetite and/or cause weight gain, even in someone who wasn't depressed to start with. Depakote, for example, makes weight control very difficult.

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