Hello,

My last experience of taking an ssri was about 9 years ago, when I took 20mg of citalopram for just over a year. It helped me feel better, but it made me gain about 20-30lbs. It then took a while for me to lose that weight. I’m not claiming to be one of these people who swear down that they were eating less and exercising more, yet still gaining... I do remember a fondness for potatoes and chocolate at that time (though not together!) and I was still carrying baby weight, so it was more likely an increase in appetite combined with not shifting baby weight I already had. The same thing happened when I was a teenager taking the birth control pill - I went from skinny to pretty curvy almost overnight.

I do have a sweet tooth, but I’m a bit afraid I may just be one of these people who put weight on when on medication of any kind. When not on medication, I can eat a lot of junk without really putting on much weight, still some - about 6lbs, which I’d rather not have, but not a massive amount. I’m still deemed to have a healthy bmi.

Now I’ve been prescribed 50mg of Lustral... but I’m very apprehensive about taking it, because I don’t want to put on any weight. I actually want to lose about 14lbs now (thanks lockdown!) to get myself in really good shape, and so really don’t want things to creep the other way!

I know it must sound so vain, and I suppose in a way it is. But I already have such low self esteem and disgust for myself, that I would feel worse than I do now. I’m a highly anxious person, but I can slip into depression easily and this would push me that way, I know it would. Plus, I have several family members have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, none of whom are very overweight, maybe slightly but not hugely, so I’m concerned it could be detrimental to my physical health.

I have searched the internet endlessly, and mostly all I can find are scare stories from people who say the weight gain was inevitable, despite them being really good about eating less and exercising etc. Can this really be true? If I were to keep using MyFitnessPal, or even start something like Slimming World, so I am keeping my eye on it and holding myself accountable on a weekly basis, am I still destined to put on weight??

I’m sorry if this question has been done to death, I just can’t find anything positive about Lustral and weight loss. And not knowing anyone in real life who has been on it, I have no one to ask.

Please help if you can. But if not, please don’t judge my reasons for worrying about it. I definitely want my mental health to improve, but it’s deflating to think I’m doomed to have another issue crop up because of it.

Thank you,

Letti xx