Hi, I have social anxiety disorder and I've been debating with myself whether to talk with the doctor about taking Zoloft or not. One thing I'm worried about is the possibility of weight gain. I lost a lot of weight and I'd rather keep it off. I'm taking Dexedrine right now, so maybe I wouldn't gain any or just 10 lbs or so. But I don't want to gain ANY. Does anyone else know anything about the weight gain thing and Zoloft?

Serotonin is partly responsible for appetite regulation. This means that sometimes, Zoloft (and other SSRIs) will cause your appetite to be a little whacky, and thus, your weight may fluctuate. Personally, I have had no problem with that. My weight did not significantly shift following treatment with Zoloft, nor has it yet. I just went up from 50 to 100mgs, so I'll let you know how that works.

If anything, I think you would be more likely to experience weight loss, that was my experience on it.

Hi, Ive been on zoloft, paxil and wellbrutin and had no weight fluxuations. I also lost 20 lbs and was really worried about keeping it off. but since I think my gain was sugar cravings to "seek Seratonin" it only helped.

I have lost my appetite since I increased my dosage to 100mg. I trust, however, that the effect is temporary. Once your body realizes it needs food again, it will increase your appetite.

i was on zoloft then went off it and lost 4 stone in 3 months(no idea how much that is in pounds, i'm an aussie who still hasn't converted to kilo's as yet, but that still wouldn't help American's who do it with pounds,) ANYWAY, yes i did gain alot of weight whilst on zoloft.

I also gained when I was on Zoloft, for the entire 8 months I was on it.

Dunno...

Over the years, I've been put on psych meds, neuroleptics, vitamin supplements, herbal therapies, holistic therapies...pretty much everything but ECT to try to get my brain to work right so that I can think correctly. They even stuck me on antipsychotics for a while, just for the hell of it, to see what it'd do. I've been a lab rat for quite a long time.

But along with all the other stuff, a couple of SSRIs were test-driven, just to "see if it helped her cognitive and memory issues," and Zoloft was one of them. I wasn't really depressed; maybe people who are depressed feel better, and those who aren't just don't feel anything at all. All I know is that it did jack for my memory stuff, didn't really create some sort of improved happiness, and in the two months I put up with it (my docs at the time wanted me to try it--with some other stuff--for longer) I gained TWENTY pounds. Seriously. 20 pounds. My eating habits didn't change, my activity didn't change...I guess my metabolism just went to sh**. After 2 months, I just said, "Guys, it ain't workin', and if I keep gaining weight, I actually will become depressed and need antidepressants. Move on to the next theory!"

Didn't magically lose it when I got off that medicine, but that might have been because at the same time they were test-driving Depakote, which as you may or may not know is a medicine used to treat both epilepsy and mood disorders (the best epilepsy meds work for people who are bipolar and stuff too. Like Lamictal--it helps my seizures, as does my Klonopin. But it also works wonders for psych patients, it seems. It originally came out just for epilepsy, but now it's approved across-the-board for use with those who suffer from Bipolar disorder. Klonopin is used for psych patients, too, though I never really checked to see what it's supposed to do--is it a mood stabilizer, or does it have an antidepressant effect, or is it for anxiety, or what? Dunno.)

Anyway, I've known some other people who were on various SSRIs at some point for some period of time, some are still on them. But literally all of them that were or still are on Zoloft have indeed noticed weight gain issues, some extreme like mine, some not so extreme. And for the most part, save one, those other people were not on anything besides Zoloft. And they gained some weight anyway, so it's not necessarily all about the Depakote, though we don't have a way of knowing for sure.

I've spent a whole lot of time and typing and making you read all this to basically say one thing: yes, from what I understand, and what I've observed, Zoloft causes weight gain quite frequently. Some of my friends tried Paxil for depression and/or anxiety and didn't have the weight gain with that. Can't remember if it was an extended-release version or what (the Paxil, that is.) And I'm not a shrink. But I guess if I was going to go on an SSRI and was concerned about weight gain, just from what I've heard/seen, I would check out Paxil rather than Zoloft. Isn't Paxil supposed to commonly be better for/more likely to help in situations with anxiety anyway? I thought it was... Anyway, back to the weight gain thing: I'd lean toward Paxil if I was going to ask my doctor for something, especially since I already tried it (Zoloft) and whether it was that or the Depakote or both put together, I packed on, as I said, 20 pounds in two months for what seemed to be no particular reason. But then again, if you're like one of my friends who couldn't get off the couch until she got on some medicine, maybe it's worth gaining a few pounds (?) Was to her. But I think she went on...what was it? Crap. Can't remember. Not Zoloft, not Wellbutrin, not Paxil...maybe it was good ol' Prozac.

Please excuse my tendency to ramble.

Chrys

Hi, I have social anxiety disorder and I've been debating with myself whether to talk with the doctor about taking Zoloft or not. One thing I'm worried about is the possibility of weight gain. I lost a lot of weight and I'd rather keep it off. I'm taking Dexedrine right now, so maybe I wouldn't gain any or just 10 lbs or so. But I don't want to gain ANY. Does anyone else know anything about the weight gain thing and Zoloft?I was on zoloft for 2 years and gained 20 pounds(which is a lot when you normally weigh 125). I didn't realize it was the zoloft. I constantly ran, and watched what I ate, and nothing seemed to work. Then when I got off of zoloft I instantly dropped the 20 pounds i had gained without even trying. I then mentioned it to a friend (who happened to have been on zoloft in the past) and she said she gained a bunch of weight when on zoloft as well.

I haven't gained much since I started zoloft. In 6/7 months I've only gained either 4/5 lbs. (2/2.5 kg.) which is not a lot.
Don't take appitite supressants while taking Zoloft. It can cause severe anxiety when combined.

Hi addhil,

I took Zoloft for about 5 years, for stomach problem. It made me gain weight. About 20 pounds, and no amount of exercise would get rid of it. Once I stopped taking Zoloft the pounds just melted off. I've taken Lexapro and had no weight gain.

Deb

If you take zoloft w/ an ADHD medication, it should help the weight gain problem. I recomend starting with concerta, because it is well tolorated in meany people. :cool:

i was on zoloft then went off it and lost 4 stone in 3 months(no idea how much that is in pounds, i'm an aussie who still hasn't converted to kilo's as yet, but that still wouldn't help American's who do it with pounds,) ANYWAY, yes i did gain alot of weight whilst on zoloft. apparently 4 stone is 56lbs..

I was on Zoloft for about a year (I stopped using wellbutrin to quit smoking which threw me into a gnarly funk). I didn't gain weight when I was on it, but like frosty, I lost a LOT of weight for the following 4-6 months (about 40 lbs.. got down to 155.. too scrawny for a 6'1" guy w/ my body type...even though I increased to 4000+cal/day). I was (and am) taking adderall at the time, so there's a good chance that canceled any weight gains .