About 2 months ago I began riding my bike about 20-30 miles a week. I don't believe I changed anything in my diet or eating habits but when I went to the doc my weight had shot up to 212 from 197. obviously it can't be all muscle and maybe some of it is water. But thats still a lot of weight to gain and Im not sure what to do about it. Has anyone else experienced something like this? If meds have anything to do with it, I am on effexor, atenolol, and recently switched to short acting ritalin from the long lasting stuff.

How long have you been on your meds? Sometimes weight gain/loss is normal. What did you doctor say?

Remember - it might be just a flux in your water retension.

Maybe if I had more info ... but other than what I told you ... that Is all the info I can offer at the moment.

Sorry. :(

Effexor is a weight gaining med.
wellbutrin is a weight losing med.

My pdoc claims Effexor is weight netural. I have lost 2 whole pounds since starting it. At least 75# to go. :rolleyes:

meds are different for each person. some that are weight gainers for some people are weight losers for others (i'm not sure why). i was on paxil for close to 9 months and gained 60 lbs (that i am still trying desperately to lose), but i have a friend who loves being on paxil because she lost around 20 lbs over 6 months.

Yup. SSRIs are nasty for weight gain. Prozac made me lose weight in the short term, but i seriously gained inthe LT.

It gave me my life back, but i had to quit it eventually.

Building muscle helps increase metabolism which helps us lose fat and lumps. Muscle is tight and firm.

Would you rather have Madonna's body or Rosie O'donnell's?

'Nuff said.

My shrinkie SO once told me that the only people who need to stay on anti-depressants "forever" are people who have had 3 repeated episodes of Depression.

Since most of my "depression" is due to familial factors beyond my control, i have decided that pills can never solve everything -- and it was time to move on...

I needed Prozac at first, but now that i feel better after a few years of it, my best Curative Treatment for Depression and Irritability consists of:

A**hole Avoidance,
Angry People Avoidance,
Toxic/Whiney People Avoidance, as well as
Learning about Boundaries & Practicing them (which makes people Respect me More),
Getting into my Fave Activities and Caring for Myself.

Um, why are you on ATENOLOL??????

My doctor took me off of risperdal because of excessive weight gain. I picked up avbout 30 pounds in 6 month... not alarming in itself, but I have never weighed this much before, and the weight gain was continuous.

ME :D

The psychiatrist who insisted that I was depressed and did not have ADHD gave me a prescription for Effexor. The overall experience was so negative that I didn't go back to see her and just kept seeing my family doctor, but I was pretty desperate for things to get beter at the time, so I took the Effexor as she prescribed. I hadn't been exercising nearly as regularly as I would have liked, and I hadn't been watching my food intake that closely, but I'd been maintaining my weight for several months. After six months on the Effexor, I'd gained 20 pounds, and I honestly don't think my exercise and food intake habits changed appreciably within that period of time. I can't blame it entirely on the Effexor, but it may very well have been that I was just maintaining my weight and the Effexor was just enough to push me into a slow but steady weight gain.

Not to mention that it did balance out my mood... but it flattened it a a very apathetic level. I didn't have those really bad days where I would feel like crying, but I also didn't have any of the really good days. I'd much rather experience the whole range, rather than being stuck in a state of perpetual apathy.