Medications and Weight Gain

[Christina]

In a Lounge thread about weight management we were discussing how certain medications are known or thought to cause some people to gain weight and wondering why that was. We had several ideas and maybe someone in this forum can tell us more about them.

- Do some slow down your metabolism and does that cause you to burn fewer calories than you normally would?

- Do some increase appetite, and if they do how does that happen?

- Some have a sedative effect which results in decreased physical activity. That one seems kind of obvious.

Are there any other physiological reasons for weight gain due to medications?

[Goldie]

I know that if you look at the info that the pharmacy gives you, many drugs list weight gain as a side effect.
My sleeping meds increase my appetite to the point of insanity. I also saw a segment that showed people who took Ambian ate in their sleep and gained all sorts of weight and had no idea why. I've been on it before and I know that I did a lot of sleep walking when I was on Ambian.

I'm on 2 different sleep meds now and I have to be very careful not to give in to the intense hunger prior to falling asleep.
Last night I fell asleep with a full bottle of water. I woke up 2 hours later in a soaking wet bed.

[Puck]

What is the process that goes on with steroids that causes swelling and the causing of the brow ridges to become so prominent if taken over time?

[ofro]

What is the process that goes on with steroids that causes swelling and the causing of the brow ridges to become so prominent if taken over time?

The major reason for swelling up when you are on steroids (glucocorticoids, to be precise, i.e. the cortisone type used against for inflammation) is that there is also a related steroid called aldosterone (a mineralocorticoid) that is in charge of telling your kidney to conserve salt and excrete less in the urine. Unfortunately, the glucocorticoids can weakly bind to the mineralocorticoid receptors and make the kidneys think that they need to conserve salt. And at the same time that the kidneys conserve salt, they also automatically conserve (retain) water.

About those brow ridges, I have no idea.

[Goldie]

What is the process that goes on with steroids that causes swelling and the causing of the brow ridges to become so prominent if taken over time?

The major reason for swelling up when you are on steroids (glucocorticoids, to be precise, i.e. the cortisone type used against for inflammation) is that there is also a related steroid called aldosterone (a mineralocorticoid) that is in charge of telling your kidney to conserve salt and excrete less in the urine. Unfortunately, the glucocorticoids can weakly bind to the mineralocorticoid receptors and make the kidneys think that they need to conserve salt. And at the same time that the kidneys conserve salt, they also automatically conserve (retain) water.

About those brow ridges, I have no idea.

Thank you, Ofro... I remember my mother talking about people who were being treated for cancer developing a "moon-face." She was shocked when she ran into a cousin.

[dancer_rnb]

Most diabetic medicines have caused me to gain weight. That is the nice thing
about Byetta, it curbs the appetite.

[Christina]

A med that I'm taking is supposed to cause you to gain weight and most people do but I'm so determined not to let that happen that I'm eating a lot less than I normally would just to stay the same weight. I'm not sure what to attribute to the med and what is just middle age.

[sohy]

http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/index.php?term=pto-3764.html&fromMod=popular_foodndiet


I just found a little information in a Psychology Today article.


The metabolic pathway at work is a mystery, although current theories include resistance to the hormones insulin and leptin. One study found that those most vulnerable to antidepressant-induced weight gain are women and patients who were already overweight. On the bright side, gaining some extra padding is usually linked to the drug's efficacy. "A few extra pounds usually means the drug is doing something," says Raison. But he says many of his patients would rather be sad than fat.

That's about what I found the last time I looked for information. My nephew just started on Lexapro, which is listed as one of the drugs that may cause wt. gain. I hope not. He's the only one in his family that isn't already very obese.

[dancer_rnb]

......although current theories include resistance to the hormones insulin.....

As a diabetic :eek:

[Christina]

I just found a little information in a Psychology Today article....

Thanks. That looks interesting.

But he says many of his patients would rather be sad than fat.

Sad, sure because I can work my way out of that. Serious depression, no way. I can lose the fat again a lot easier than I can regain my sanity. If that was all that would work I would take it. I think. If it was happening to me now I would be really upset and want to at least try something else.

[hecaterin]

Seriously depressed vs fat? I pick fat, in a heartbeat. I'm now on the overweight/obese border, but even if I knew 100% that dropping my meds would make me slim again, I'd still keep the meds.

[Goldie]

Somethin' to be said for the saying "fat and happy." :)

[Ray Moscow]

One can be "fat" and still be fairly healthy, particularly if one exercises.

It's not ideal, but it sounds like a better option than quitting treatment of a serious illness.

[Christina]

I'm so frustrated. I found an article in pubmed the other day that was specifically about the meds that I take and weight gain but it was over my head and I was going to post it but I got interrupted. Now I can't remember what I searched on to find it. I think that the bottom line was that they don't cause weight gain but they do something that makes you feel like you're always hungry. That I can handle because I can override it with willpower. I have to admit that the idea of weight just showing up on my body without overeating and being unable to lose it scares the hell out of me.