Does weight gain subside after withdrawal from Lexapro?

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I took Lexapro for 8 years and my weight did not change at all.

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It sounds as though many people are contributing significant weight gain or loss to Lexapro, when in reality, although a possible side effect, the shift in weight may be a symptom of an unhealthy diet.

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I disagree. It has been confirmed over and over, weight gain is very typical of anti-depressants, particularly SSRIs.

Unfortunately, appetite increases which has a lot to do with the gain, but the hormones/metabolism are affected so the body does not want to let the weight go despite improved diet/exercise.

At least during use that can happen. Let's see how if changes after withdrawal. However, lifestyle changes will be necessary to get the weight loss started once all the chemicals leave the system.

Good luck to anyone dealing with this!

Doctors hand out meds like candy. They need to stop and not look at their patients as if they are clueless idiots. Doctors get monetary rewards and incentives from pharamceutical companies for handing out certain meds. Like my 90 year old perfectly healthy grandmother says: "everything in moderation" and "whatever happened to a good run to boost your mood?". Almost all antidepressants cause significant weight gain. Part of the reason is a change in the body's response to insulin. This is why some people gain and some people lose weight. These meds cause a sort of diabetic response. Many of the symptoms people report are very much like diabetes, high or low blood sugar. These meds also affect thyroid levels. The resulting symptoms lean either way: sluggishness, headaches, memory loss, inability to lose weight, losing too much weight, etc. I have read hundreds of scholarly articles on this subject. Patients when presenting symptoms need to do their own research. Test your blood sugar levels, liver enzymes, and TSH levels regularly. Weight won't be lost until these levels are back to normal and the meds are completely out of your system. A good supplement that helps improve mood naturally and adjust blood sugar levels is Chromium Picolinate. Cardio and diet are the only solutions to this. Drink a cup of coffee or green tea before a work out. These are natural stimulants and diuretics. Good luck everyone! And never take your docs advice at face value! Do your research and ask them questions, challenge them! Its their job to IMPROVE your health, not to make you sicker so they can make a few bucks! For those of who the meds work wonderfully for, congratulations and stay on your meds.

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I gained 30 lbs on Lexapro.

I eat an extremely good, well-balanced diet, do cardio for 1 hour every day, and work with a trainer 2 days a week. The trainer and my doctors could not explain the weight gain. I decreased my caloric intake and that still did not help. Now, 3 years after taking myself off the Lexapro, I am still having trouble losing the excess weight.

First answer by Yinzer. Last edit by Abbott01. Contributor trust: 0 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 103 [recommend question]