medication-induced weight gain.

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I hear and see a lot of mention of weight gain as a side effect of some medications. I believe it happens but I’ve never understood how it works. For example, could an athlete who eats perfectly still be struck by weight gain as a side effect? What’s the biological mechanism that would make weight gain happen in a person with a healthy balanced diet?

I’ve taken a medication for years that a doctor just told me they’d rather never raise the dose on because it can cause metabolic syndrome. My A1C, cholesterol, and virtually the rest of my labs were in the healthy range, but I have noticed some weight on me that seemed oddly persistent. My diet ranges from average to healthy nowadays and I’m moderately active. Yet I can think back to a time before the medication when I was eating horribly, never exercised, smoked and drank nonstop, and my labs were looking nasty – yet my extremely consistent max weight was a solid 20lbs under what it is today which a noticeably better lifestyle all around. I’m by no means the athlete in the perfect diet example, I’m more fascinated by how something like that is even possible. Definitely interesting.

In: Biology

12 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

As far as I know (both from personal experience and from what I’ve read) SSRI can affect your thyroid gland with long term use, which can affect how your body uses the nourishment from the food you consume (you’ll have to excuse my explanation, English isn’t my first language). This affects your energy levels etc, which makes you exercise less and so on.

You also tend to “level out” and feel less, which can make you want to eat more just to feel anything.

For me, SSRI just made me more depressed. It took away all my motivation and energy.

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