Lexapro, like venlafaxine, is notorious for causing weight gain. As a social work therapist, I see how well it works as an antidepressant, but I also watch fair numbers of my clients gain weight while on it. On Effexor for over a year, I gained no less than 30 pounds. An avid runner, I worked hard to manage my food intake all my life. I had absolutely NO CONTROL while on effexor, and even when I did manage my diet better after discontinuing the drug, it still took a good 3 months for my metabolism to reset itself and begin to drop the weight. I'm more and more convinced that nothing helps to control hot flashes, except limiting certain foods and drinks....and waiting for the body to adjust to the hormonal changes that come with menopause. Using antidepressants to control hot flashes is, in my opinion, wrong. And my own gynocologist had no knowledge of the discontinuation syndrome until I pointed it out to him. Thank God for the colleagues that were able to assist me in getting off the drug. Sorry for being so vehement about this, but it was bad enough for me to want to save other women from this nightmare.
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Lexapro, like venlafaxine, is notorious for causing weight gain. As a social work therapist, I see how well it works as an antidepressant, but I also watch fair numbers of my clients gain weight while on it. On Effexor for over a year, I gained no less than 30 pounds. An avid runner, I worked hard to manage my food intake all my life. I had absolutely NO CONTROL while on effexor, and even when I did manage my diet better after discontinuing the drug, it still took a good 3 months for my metabolism to reset itself and begin to drop the weight. I'm more and more convinced that nothing helps to control hot flashes, except limiting certain foods and drinks....and waiting for the body to adjust to the hormonal changes that come with menopause. Using antidepressants to control hot flashes is, in my opinion, wrong. And my own gynocologist had no knowledge of the discontinuation syndrome until I pointed it out to him. Thank God for the colleagues that were able to assist me in getting off the drug. Sorry for being so vehement about this, but it was bad enough for me to want to save other women from this nightmare.
November 25, 2011 - 5:29amThis Comment
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