weight gain with seroquil

Hi Everyone,

I a over a year out from GNY

IM having a problem with my anti depressant meds.  I am currently on 2mg xanax, x3 per day,  seraquil 200mg x3 times a day, and lexapro 20x 1 a day.  I saw my surgeoin and I've gained 20 lbs and he says its the seraquil.  Im in a panic because i have severe depression, panic disorder and PTSD.  My med doc has a hard time prescribing the xanax for the panic,  I can probably get through the depression but i know i can t get through the panic,   does anyonne else have the same poblems and what do you take...im seriously thinking of drinking wine at night to calm myself down.  It just seems easier to get than begging for a med that will help with the panic disorder.

Thank you for your help

Debbe

Quite a few antidepressants have the less serious side effect of weight gain. I have recently have added Remeron and my Dr and I are hoping that happens for me as I am now a little under weight. I looked at the web site that I usually go to with these kind of questions. For Seraquil it said that the weight gain for that is mostly in the first 12 weeks. 

You still have your tool and can use it, but I would strongly suggest that you do NOT add wine to what you are taking. That could cause another set of problems! If you aren't already, log everything that you put in your mouth. If you are getting too many calories then you need to cut back if the weight is going to be an additional stress for you. Your mental health is very important too. Don't exclude one for the other, you can have your physical and mental health. Try to get on a level field with your mental health and then you can work on the weight gain. Right now try not to gain more and after a little time goes by and you are feeling better you can take off the pounds that you already gained.

Please, don't drink the wine....

I suffer from Generalized Anxiety Disorder.  I am on Cymbalta and Welbutrin.  Have you tried different meds?  Sometimes others work just a well without the weight gain.  I still have anxiety issues on my meds but not even close to what I had before.  Good luck and wine didn't work for me.  After it wore off I was wide awake and my mind was racing.

It's very dangerous to mix alcohol and benzodiazapines (Xanax).  I would definitely stay away from alcohol as a coping tool.  What about breathing exercises, relaxation, meditation ... or being more active during the day to tire yourself.  Be very careful mixing meds with alcohol, that is how accidental overdoses occur.  I do hope you find some effective coping skills to help you feel better!

As others have said, drinking wine for anxiety is just a substitution for food to deal with anxiety, so is a bad idea in general, and is a really bad idea with the Xanax.  Mixing alcohol and benzodiazepines is dangerous. You could end up in the hospital or dead.'

MOST antidepressants don't just magically cause weight gain.  They may cause an increase in hunger, and if you don't control what you eat, the additional food intake can lead to weight gain.  When people are depressed, they often are not even aware that their hunger has increased, and don't really care what they are eating.  Hence the weight gain.  it is very possible to be on antidepressants without gaining weight, though.  (Remeron, which Martha mentioned, is one of the anti-depressants that is notorious for causing weight gain in the majority of people who take it, however, and the prescribing information from the manufacturer even indicates that it should cautiously be given to patients who are obese.)

Lora

Some possibilities instead of the Seroquel:

Abilify... an atypical antipsychotic like Seroquel but with a few key differences that seem to reduce weight gain.

Zoloft... an SSRI that has less of a weight-gain profile and seems to help with PTSD and anxiety as well as depression.  I wouldn't take it with lexapro though as they are from the same drug family.

There are others too... keep trying and you'll hit on the right stuff.  Eventually the xanax will stop working for you as your body builds up a tolerance to it, if you take it too often... so you really need to transition to something else for the longer term.

Audrey

I worked as a supervisor in a mental health agency for years.  2mg of Xanax 3X per day is a HUGE amount of Xanax and I can very well understand why your Dr. doesn't feel comfortable prescribing that much Xanax.  Drinking alcohol with Benzodiazepines can have deadly consequences (Whitney Houston had both Xanax and alcohol in her blood when she died).  

Sonja

Thank you so much for your reply Multi mom. My anxiety is sooo hard to keep under control.  i know the weight gain is probably because i don't eat right...its the addiction to food i miss i think.  I need to feel that calm feeling and my  therapist has a hard time prescribing xanax.  I have been on xanax for years but since surgery i have been relying on it a little more i am up to 2 mg 3x per day which i don't think is a huge amount.  Having the glass of wine gives me that calm chill feeling and and i don't have to fight to get it  im still on the fence about the wine but we will see what happens.

Thanks again :-)