Prozac-weight gain ?

[hoover]

Hey all

I suffer from depression and binge eating disorder and have recently been put on Prozac 20mg ( im on day 5 and apart from extreme sleepiness and dizzy spells have been fine on it )

I have noticed that an alarming amount of people record substantial weight gain whilst taking the drug -I wondered if anyone on this forum has any feedback for me ? Especially positive?

Has anyone on this site used Prozac in treating an eating disorder ?

Obviously with binge eating disorder my weight is a huge issue and a factor in /result of my depression -- sudden and unexplained weight gain is definitely not going to improve the matter!
Thanks ,i really hope someone can offer some opinions!

[hoover]

so im now on day 11 and am ridiculously tired and feeling quite down. is it too soon to judge whether this drug is going to be beneficial for me ?i also havent managed to find anyone who can offer advice regarding the weight gain side of things so am still really worried about that !

[kitttykat]

Hi,

I think that prozac can be an appetite supressant, however the weight gain may be a psychological effect, as I too was quite looking forward to losing some weight, however have put on quite a few pounds, I think it is due to the comfort eating that I have been doing as a result of feeling down about taking fluoxetine, I am on day 12 and feel marginally better, though the overriding symptom that I am having is the exhaustion and the can't be bothered too. I have had one good day which was last week and am hoping that as the side effects go down and I am approaching the 2 week point it will just get better and that all the side effects I am going through will be made worth it by the end result....

[hoover]

thanks for your reply . do you mean you have put on weight in the space of time you have been on prozac?i have too although have been comfort eating for england! i really hope we start to notice positive changes quite quickly!! the first few days felt good,i felt quite detached but calm and stable which was great -but now i seem to be as anxious as before,if not more .

[kitttykat]

yes in the time that I have been taking the prozac, my weight was steady and I might lose a pound or so every so often but I have never ever put on weight like this before.

The first couple of days for me were really horrible in terms of side effects, but I did feel a little calmer, though I put that down to the relief from finally doing something about this (this bout of depression has affected me for about 3 months).

I had a really bad anxiety attack a few days ago that left me unable to get out of bed and I just kept on crying and I am still intermittently getting them though not so bad - though in myself I feel a little more like I am on an even keel but a little detached, but I am finally starting to get some sleep and I have noticed that my concentration is improving, though I am still totally exhausted. I just need to get the motivation back to exercise, I used to run 2 -3 times a week and havent since I have been taking the prozac, once I start to act healthier I think that my diet will follow again

But I have to say that if this works it will so be worth all the side effects as I couldn't have carried on as I was.

[hoover]

agreed. i hope you start to feel even more positive soon-you sound like you are trying hard to get on top of things . fingers crossed for the two week miracle breakthrough right?! hehe.also good luck with the diet -i would like to say that extra weight for the sake of a recovery doesnt bother me but realistically ,i dont see the two going hand in hand

[Oceanblue]

Hi,
I've taken various different types of med's/anti-ds etc in the past, Fluoxetine is one I have been taking for the last few years. I have not put on any weight, infact i've found Fluoxetine to be the only anti-d where I haven't.

I lost over two stone when I first began to take them, but this may have been to do with the amount of stress I was under, I found that I certainly didn't feel like eating to begin with. Over time, my weight has balanced out to a healthy level, I wouldn't say that it's increased though.

Hope this helps alittle.

[hoover]

thanks you both ,its reassuring to read your replies and hear some positive feedback.

[kitttykat]

I have found that my apetite has completly gone and I have started to lose the pounds that I gained, hope you do too! I had a really good day last Friday where I actually felt like myself and now I don't feel the need to constantly comfort eat.