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snowball12

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Morning!!
I have to lose 10kg. I eat a Low carb, high protein diet which is keeping my blood sugar good but not as good as some of you despite taking Metformin and Glicazide! I am struggling to lose this weight. I think it maybe my anti depressants which I have taken for 21 years and I need to continue!! Has anyone else had this problem??
 
Hi @snowball12, I've always wondered if my antidepressants (citalopram in my case) made it more difficult to shift the weight. Despite having lost 5 stone and having a perfectly healthy BMI I still have to really careful about what I eat, and if I don't do between 10 and 20K steps per day I know it will creep up. I'm aware that I'm immensely lucky to be able to walk so far as none of my friends are able to given their ranges of ailments.
I certainly couldn't do without my citalopram. Drugs are changing all the time...do you think it's worth a chat with your GP (if you can get an appointment!) to see if there are any new drugs which could be more suitable?
Best of luck x
 
Hi @Vonny. I was on Citalopram for a few years pre diabetes. Then GP changed it to Duloxetine, a few years later. I put on two stone exactly!! and couldn't shift it, I lost a stone when my mother died suddenly give years ago, put some back and I am still two stone overweight. It is impossible to see GP!! Hubby has been on the phone everyday for himself!!!! I have just started therapy which I have to pay for. So not a good time to change tablets. I did try Sertraline once!! It was awful I just stopped functioning. I think I will do some research. Thanks for replying
 
I'll start by saying I'm a light sleeper, it has to be dark and quiet and I wake easily. I've always been the same and describe myself as not being a skilled sleeper 🙄
Back in 2013-2014 I cycled through Citalopram, mirtazapine, Sertraline, and Venlafaxine over the space of a year, none suited me and all just made me feel worse as I became unable to sleep. I forget which one, but I noticed that I'd lie down, relax and a few minutes later realise my jaw was tensed (extremely tensed), that was weird.
Venlafaxine was the last one I tried, I'd lie down, sleep for about 2 hours then I'd be wide awake but knackered. I ended up going to bed and getting up about 3 times a day, spending my waking hours completely exhausted. it was a nightmare.

At that point (after approx 1 year of sleep deprivation) I decided I'd had enough of being the doctors guinea pig and figured I'd feel better if I just had the depression, but could sleep. I switched to st johns wort, and gradually reduced those. I still deal with depression, but I can sleep and I can function when awake.
I acknowledge that antidepressants can help some people, but personally would not go near them again.

Mirtazapine caused a huge weight gain, so avoid that one
 
s'nic said:
I'll start by saying I'm a light sleeper, it has to be dark and quiet and I wake easily. I've always been the same and describe myself as not being a skilled sleeper 🙄
Back in 2013-2014 I cycled through Citalopram, mirtazapine, Sertraline, and Venlafaxine over the space of a year, none suited me and all just made me feel worse as I became unable to sleep. I forget which one, but I noticed that I'd lie down, relax and a few minutes later realise my jaw was tensed (extremely tensed), that was weird.
Venlafaxine was the last one I tried, I'd lie down, sleep for about 2 hours then I'd be wide awake but knackered. I ended up going to bed and getting up about 3 times a day, spending my waking hours completely exhausted. it was a nightmare.

At that point (after approx 1 year of sleep deprivation) I decided I'd had enough of being the doctors guinea pig and figured I'd feel better if I just had the depression, but could sleep. I switched to st johns wort, and gradually reduced those. I still deal with depression, but I can sleep and I can function when awake.
I acknowledge that antidepressants can help some people, but personally would not go near them again.

Mirtazapine caused a huge weight gain, so avoid that one
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Sertraline caused terrible insomnia and I stopped functioning. Duloxetine makes me sleepy so I take it at night. Anxiety is my main problem but I have suffered four major episodes in my life. I am happy that you can manage without medication. I wouldn't wish my Anxiety on anyone, it is truly horrific
 
snowball12 said:
Sertraline caused terrible insomnia and I stopped functioning. Duloxetine makes me sleepy so I take it at night. Anxiety is my main problem but I have suffered four major episodes in my life. I am happy that you can manage without medication. I wouldn't wish my Anxiety on anyone, it is truly horrific
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I get anxiety as well which varies in intensity, and any stress seems to act as a trigger.
I've never slept well anyhow, even as a baby or child, so trying to cope with looking after myself and my house/affairs etc with raging sleep deprivation is just not an option.
As a baby I think I almost drove my mother insane, I'd be awake and crying by the time she wanted to go to bed and sleep. After trying every 'fix' she knew she worked out I'd decided I'd had enough sleep and wanted to get up and play :rofl:
 
Thanks for sharing these experiences, I have also over many years been misdiagnosed by NHS doctors and prescribed all kinds of medications like "Lucky Dip" as of course, mental health meds are "not an exact science" but more guesswork and guinea pig experimentation solely at the expense of the patient...

Personally my worst experiences were Prozac, Venlafaxine and period of "trying out" anti-psychotic medications which caused rapid weight gain, intense cravings and hunger pangs, shutdown my metabolism and made me constantly severely dehydrated with "cotton mouth" and this inevitably led me to develop very bad habits like drinking huge amounts of fruit juice, full sugar fizzy pop soft drinks, almost like switch had been flipped and nothing I did could possibly satusfy the cravings for high sugar high carb high calorie food and drink, which continued for at least year or so after I stopped taking all the terrible meds and was discharged by consultants with bizarre diagnoses, and at no point did any of the NHS staff discuss any meds side effects, I even got the performative "surprised to hear about all the bad side effects nobody else has ever reported" and when I looked up the drugs online, there's all kinds of evidence and accounts of the exact same unbearable side effects I had experienced...

So no, not an exact science, just throwing dangerous meds at complex mental health issues like throwing candy sweets at crying child and letting them eat huge volumes of sugar until they are silent and satisfied and declaring unanimously "it's medical breakthrough" ugh! I'm not qualified doctor and can't offer medical advice, but nobody has to live with very bad meds side effects because this whole process is saving the NHS money by not offering talking therapies or referrals to specialist consultants or clinics and being unable to offer the time or skills of qualified Psychologist - no instead it's just another cheap script for antidepressants as box ticking exercise, did you know one medication can treat depression, anxiety, phobias, insomnia, disturbed sleep and panic attacks as wonder drug?!

If it's too good to be true it usually is, and I was quoting NHS Psychiatriast pushing these "wonder pills" like Pharmaceutical Sales Rep ha! :(
 
www.independent.co.uk

Prozac one of 30 antidepressants probed by UK watchdog over links to suicide

Exclusive: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is to look at the effectiveness of side-effect warnings in relation to the most commonly prescribed antidepressants on the UK market
www.independent.co.uk www.independent.co.uk

Independent registered user log-in required for premium article, will try to find the MHRA press release for this to share, please seek medical advice from qualified doctor before changing any medication as these articles just highlight the possible risks FYI! 😉
 
@snowball12 I hear you and I am roughly in the same boat trying to manage all my medical conditions like fighting civil war inside my body, have you considered more exercise to achieve your weight loss goal so you can stay on the same meds? I have managed to get NHS referral to Physical Activity Referral Scheme for light exercise one hour classes, and think this leads to subsidised leisure centre and gym membership for year, so trying to be helpful and supportive and not judging as I'm in the same boat trying to lose weight from starting point of 160 Kg (I am over six foot tall, yes I'm a "suspiciously tall woman" head down, heavy powder, bangs over my face, keep walking fast, avoid spooks on the street!) 😉
 
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Sorry to hear you are struggling to lose weight despite working hard at a menu that seems to be working well for your glucose levels @snowball12 :(

Feels like you are between a rock and a hard place with your other conditions, starting of therapy, and the other meds you need. :(

And it can’t be helping that you find it so difficult to get an appointment with your GP :(
 
i am on dulox anti-depressant but def did not make me gain any weight. something you could ask about if you are really struggling to loose weight is Ozempic injection works really well for weight loss.

Please note that there can be shortages of Ozempic.

One thing if your docs ever want you off Dulox it can cause mini seizures i am having nightmares with it and now on epilepsy meds seems no where to get off the stuff after you have been on it for ages but i am talking years of been on it.

take care snowball.
 
@snowball12 I genuinely apologise if my comments were not the best advice, it's long hard slog for weight management, so congratulate your self for every bit of progress you make and you are not alone on your journey, please look after your self and ignore idiots saying unhelpful things (me!) with good intentions in the limiting medium of black and white text on screen with no tone of voice etc.
 
maryjaneholland said:
@snowball12 I genuinely apologise if my comments were not the best advice, it's long hard slog for weight management, so congratulate your self for every bit of progress you make and you are not alone on your journey, please look after your self and ignore idiots saying unhelpful things (me!) with good intentions in the limiting medium of black and white text on screen with no tone of voice etc.
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Hey, it's ok, I didn't even think that there was a problem.
 
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