Anti-depressants and Weight Gain

Unfortunately, antidepressants are one of the most commonly used drugs in the United States, and for that much, Europe, the world, everywhere. And that's alright, that life is tough, there’s no doubt about that. So as individuals get overweight or obese or seriously overweight, the rate and usage of antidepressants goes up. Well, it turns out there are some interesting mix there. There clearly are some antidepressants that drive up weight. There are also some clearly some -- what we call “antipsychotics”, heavier duty medications for bad, bad depression that really drive up weight. So part of the problem is, in treating depression, we’re driving up the weight with the medication. So the treatment options become one. Your physician may need to switch your depression medication to a different one to keep from gaining weight. They may not notice the weight gained but you do, so you need to let them know. “You know doc, ever since I’ve been on this medication, my weight just keeps going up.” So they need to help you up by making some adjustments because there are antidepressants that don’t cause weight gain.