SSRI medication

[john1978]

Hi just a general question I have Pure-OCD depression and anxiety all managed and under control I am on 15mg Mertazapine at night but play 5 a side soccer twice a week and love music production I find that when either playing sport with my friends my mind is in the game and anxiety and ocd are gone out the window the same with music production. I have found that Mertazapine has blown me up like a balloon weight wise and I cannot lose the weight no matter what I do my diet is good and I don’t over eat either I think the medication is causing the weight gain . I have completed CBT and use meditation and my ERP is when I play sport or write music instead of getting stuck in a pure OCD thought . Just wondering has anyone found an alternative to Mertazapine that doesn’t cause weight gain or supplements that help serotonin in the same way so I could maybe try instead of medication just looking for advice from my fellow peers . Thanks in advance 

[dksea]

Hi @john1978 glad to hear you seem to have things pretty well controlled with your OCD at the moment.  Weight gain is understandably a frustrating side effect!  While it seems to be a possible side effect of all SSRI's, whether or not it will affect you that way is unfortunately not something anyone can predict.  The results seem to vary quite a bit from person to person, so its sort of a try it and see situation.  For myself I didn't notice any particular weight gain when taking fluoxetine for about 10 years.  I currently take escitalopram, and though I am a tad overweight, I think my less than active lifestyle (I need to get more regular exercise) and not the healthiest diet (I am trying, but quarantine life has complicated that, lol) are more to blame than the medication

I wish I could say the same would be true for you, but as they say, results will vary.  I think your best bet if you are considering switching medications is to discuss it with your doctor, they might have a good idea what has worked for their patients in general and can help you figure out which one you might want to try first.

 

[ashipinharbor]

15 hours ago, dksea said:

For myself I didn't notice any particular weight gain when taking fluoxetine for about 10 years.

I've been on fluoxetine since December 2018, and I haven't noticed any weight gain, that I can attribute to it, either.