Will citalopram ruin your metabolism??

I'm so confused. I started back taking my citalopram again. I took it for 5months at the beginning of the year and I noticed weight gain but I honestly don't know if it was because I was happy and going out more or the drug that made me hungry. I also noticed when I did try to diet on it I would not lose AT ALL! I 'm 44 so I don't know if it is my age or the drug. I have researched citalopram and it gives soooo many different reports where most lose then others say it is not uncommon for people to gain 60pds in a year yikes!

I need real people who have taken citalopram to tell me their experience on it. I'm not as much afraid of the cravings I think I can control that. I'm terrified it will wreck metabolism forever!

I really feel so much better when taking it but I can not take it if it going to slow down my metabolism.

I can't say for sure it wrecks the metabolism but I can say I took it for 11 years and gained a total of 80lbs! Most of it was gained in the first few years. I didn't watch what I ate much but then after 3 years I tried to lose weight and couldn't! Then I tried again a few years later and still couldn't! I really couldn't lose weight on Citalopram until they added Ritain (which was added to help me stay awake not to lose weight). Then after they took me off Ritalin and Celexa I started dropping fairly easily without much effort. So I do believe it affects your metabolism but again I don't know if it wrecks it forever. I don't think anybody knows he answer to that unfortunately.

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I've been on it since 2007 and haven't gained any weight on it. I've also been able to lose weight while I'm on it.

I think it really varies a lot from person to person.

splitimage

I was afraid of that. The strange thing is I have been off it almost 4 months and I still could not lose. I got back on it because I was getting really depressed again. It sure does work I have not felt better in months then I do now. I just can't be on a drug that messes with my metabolism. I don't know what I'm going to do.

Your so lucky. I read that only 10% will gain weight and gee look at me I'm one of them.

Well I stopped taking my citalopram the last 2 days I have been hungry all day wanting to eat nothing but carbohydrates! I'm going to my dr next week there has got to be some thing out there for me. I heard wellburtin is good but I can't take it.

This kind of stuff seems so individual. FWIW a friend of mine lost over 50 lbs while taking it (intentionally of course, by monitoring portion sizes and walking regularly).

I would start keeping a log of what you are eating, maybe on something like MyFitnessPal. You don't have to do it forever, but perhaps for a few weeks. It could help give you a better sense of what you're eating and the breakdown (carbs/fats/protein) so you can better determine if the medication has impacted your nutritional habits or not.

I am 45. I was worried when I went on it this fall and my exercise level went down considerably vs. the summer. Although I have a normal appetite, I have not gained weight.

You know if the only issue I had on Celexa was weight gain and a difficulty losing weight I would have stayed on it. I would have accepted that side effect because not being depressed is so worth it for me but I had many other side effects on it that were worse so I had to go off of it because it was just not tolerable at that point.

I think tracking your food and changing your diet will help if you haven't already, otherwise if you really can't tolerate this side effect I do think talking with the doctor is a good idea. I just think any drug you take will have a side effect... It's just a matter of what you can tolerate. Maybe Celexa is one of the better ones for you and you don't know it.... Perhaps the others will have worse side effects? Just food for thought... No pun intended.

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Have only been on citalopram about a month. So far, decreased appetite (a little), and small weight loss.

Txchic, as the other contributors have pointed out, there is no clear association between Citalopram and weight gain or loss - it varies a lot from person to person though a small (1-2 pounds) average weight gain has been reported.

You might find this evidence-based link a helpful source of information;

Antidepressants cause minimal weight gain - Harvard Health Blog - Harvard Health Publications

What? I clearly stated it caused a huge weight gain for me 80 lbs!! Since I've been off it I've shed that weight rapidly. Not fun either. I know many people who have had weight gain on Celexa and it is listed as a known side effect so there is a clear association between weight gain and Celexa! It may not happen to everybody but it can and will happen to some.

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I am 42 years old and have never gained 30 pounds in 8 months until I started taking it. I noticed that I've slowed down a lot on eating and still have not lost ANY weight. I brought it to my doctor's attention and THEN he admitted to the slowing down of the metabolism is most likely due to taking citalopram and now has switched me to Welbutrin. I wished I would have known this from the start. Because I'm now even more depressed from my weight gain.

I have just started taking it and it somewhat curbs my appetite because I often ate out soothing anxiety. It is said to make you nauseous, but I think it affects people differently. My metabolism is slow already...s will have to monitor it closely.
It does take the edge off..

I don't know. One of the very severe side effects it had on me was appetite loss and nausea, so I basically didn't eat for the 2 weeks I was on it and lost about 10lbs!