Paxil and Weight Loss: Comprehensive Answers to Common Questions
What are the effects of Paxil on weight? Get detailed answers to common questions about paroxetine’s impact on appetite, weight gain/loss, and more. Understand the drug’s potential benefits and side effects.
Understanding Paroxetine’s Mechanism of Action
Paroxetine, commonly known as Paxil, is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant. These medications work by increasing the levels of a mood-enhancing neurotransmitter called serotonin in the brain. By regulating serotonin, paroxetine can help improve mood, reduce anxiety, and alleviate other symptoms associated with conditions like depression and anxiety disorders.
Timeline for Feeling the Benefits of Paroxetine
Patients may not notice significant improvements in their symptoms for the first week or two after starting paroxetine. It typically takes between 4 to 6 weeks for the full benefits of the medication to be felt. It’s important to give the drug adequate time to work and not stop taking it prematurely, as the full effects may not be immediate.
Potential Emotional and Personality Changes
Paroxetine can help improve mood and make it easier to get along with others by reducing anxiety. However, the medication is not meant to fundamentally change one’s personality. Rather, it aims to help the individual feel more like their true self again by managing troubling symptoms. Some patients may experience temporary worsening of symptoms during the first few weeks before experiencing the desired benefits.
Long-Term Side Effects of Paroxetine
For most people, paroxetine is considered safe for long-term use. Potential long-term side effects can include sexual dysfunction, such as problems with erection or decreased libido. In rare cases, these sexual side effects may persist even after discontinuing the medication. There is also a small increased risk of developing diabetes for those taking paroxetine for more than a year, which requires regular monitoring.
Comparing Paroxetine to Other Antidepressants
Paroxetine is not inherently better or worse than other SSRI antidepressants. Individual patient response can vary, so it may be necessary to try different medications to find the one that works best. If paroxetine is not providing the desired effects after 6 weeks, it’s important to discuss alternative treatment options with a healthcare provider.
Complementary Treatments for Depression and Anxiety
Antidepressants like paroxetine are just one component of a comprehensive treatment plan for conditions like depression and anxiety. Other effective therapies can include psychotherapy, exercise programs, sleep hygiene improvements, relaxation techniques, and support groups. The most suitable approach depends on the individual’s specific needs and preferences.
The Impact of Paroxetine on Weight
When first starting paroxetine, some patients may experience a decrease in appetite and subsequent weight loss. However, as the medication becomes established, appetite and weight often return to normal levels, and some patients may even gain a small amount of weight. If significant weight changes occur, it’s important to discuss them with a healthcare provider.
Effects on Sexual Function
Paroxetine can have both positive and negative impacts on sexual function. The medication’s mood-enhancing effects may improve sexual desire and satisfaction for some individuals. However, potential side effects can include difficulties with arousal, erection, ejaculation, or reaching orgasm. These sexual side effects typically subside within the first few weeks but can occasionally persist. Patients should inform their healthcare provider if sexual problems arise and persist.
Interactions with Contraception
Paroxetine does not interfere with the effectiveness of any type of contraception, including the combined oral contraceptive pill or emergency contraception. However, if paroxetine causes severe diarrhea lasting more than 24 hours, it may reduce the reliability of oral contraceptives. In such cases, patients should refer to the contraceptive pill instructions for guidance on what to do.
Driving and Operating Machinery
Paroxetine can potentially impair concentration and cognitive function, especially during the initial days of treatment. Patients should be cautious about driving, cycling, or operating machinery until they understand how the medication affects their abilities. It is the patient’s responsibility to determine if they are safe to drive, and they should consult with their healthcare provider or pharmacist if they have any concerns.
Alcohol Consumption and Paroxetine
Patients should avoid consuming alcohol while taking paroxetine, as the combination can increase the risk of side effects and potentially worsen the condition being treated. Alcohol can also interact with paroxetine and reduce the effectiveness of the medication. Patients should discuss their alcohol consumption with their healthcare provider to determine the safest approach.
Common questions about paroxetine – NHS
How does paroxetine work?
Paroxetine is one of a group of antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). These medicines are thought to work by increasing levels of a mood-enhancing chemical, called serotonin, in the brain.
When will I feel better?
You may not notice much improvement in your symptoms for a week or two, until paroxetine begins to take effect. It usually takes between 4 and 6 weeks before you feel the full benefits.
Do not stop taking paroxetine after a week or two just because you feel it is not helping your symptoms. Give the medicine at least 6 weeks to work.
How will it make me feel?
Antidepressants like paroxetine help to improve your mood, so you feel better. You may notice that you sleep better and get on with people more easily because you’re less anxious.
You will hopefully be more relaxed about things that used to worry you.
Paroxetine will not change your personality. It will simply help you feel like yourself again.
Do not expect to feel better overnight though. Some people feel worse during the first few weeks of treatment before they begin to feel better.
Are there any long-term side effects?
For most people, paroxetine is safe to take for a long time.
A few people may get sexual side effects, such as problems getting an erection or a lower sex drive. In some cases these can continue even after stopping the medicine. Speak to your doctor if you are worried.
Taking paroxetine for more than a year has also been linked to a small increased risk of getting diabetes. But you will be regularly checked for this.
Otherwise there do not seem to be any lasting harmful effects from taking paroxetine for many months and years.
How does paroxetine compare with other antidepressants?
Paroxetine is not any better or worse as a treatment than other SSRIs.
Some people respond to one SSRI better than to another, however, so talk to your doctor if you are not feeling any better after 6 weeks.
Are there other treatments that will help?
Antidepressants, including paroxetine, are just one of several approaches to treating depression or anxiety. Other potential treatments for these conditions include:
- talking therapy (such as cognitive behavioural therapy)
- exercise programmes
- help to get a good night’s rest if sleep is a problem
- joining a self-help group
- using relaxation techniques
Choosing a treatment that’s most suitable for you depends on:
- how long you’ve had depression or anxiety
- your symptoms
- whether previous treatment has worked
- how likely you are to stick with your treatment
- the potential side effects and your preferences and priorities.
If you’re interested in any of these treatments, talk to your doctor.
Will I gain or lose weight?
Paroxetine can make you feel less hungry, so you may lose weight when you first start taking it. But once you have been taking it for a while you may gain a little weight as your appetite returns.
If you start to have problems with your weight while taking paroxetine, talk to your doctor or pharmacist.
Will it affect my sex life?
The good effects of paroxetine may, after a while, improve your sex life as your mood improves.
Some of the possible negative effects include:
- painful erections, problems with getting an erection and problems with ejaculating
- vaginal bleeding and not reaching orgasm the same way as before
- a lower sex drive
Sexual side effects usually pass after the first couple of weeks.
However, very rarely, they can be long lasting and may not get better even after stopping the medicine.
If these happen and are a problem for you, go back to your doctor to see if there’s another treatment you can try.
Will it affect my contraception?
Paroxetine will not affect any type of contraception including the combined pill or emergency contraception.
However, if paroxetine makes you have severe diarrhoea for more than 24 hours, your contraceptive pills may not protect you from pregnancy. Check the pill packet to find out what to do.
Find out more about what to do if you’re on the pill and you have diarrhoea.
Can I drive or ride a bike?
Some people cannot concentrate properly when they’re taking paroxetine. If this happens, it might be best to stop driving, cycling or operating tools or machinery for the first few days until you know how this medicine makes you feel.
It’s an offence to drive a car if your ability to drive safely is affected. It’s your responsibility to decide if it’s safe to drive. If you’re in any doubt, do not drive.
Talk to your doctor or pharmacist if you’re unsure whether it’s safe for you to drive while taking paroxetine. GOV.UK has more information on the law on drugs and driving.
Can I drink alcohol while taking paroxetine?
You can drink alcohol while taking paroxetine but it may make you feel sleepy. It might be best to stop drinking alcohol until you see how the medicine makes you feel.
Is there any food or drink I need to avoid?
Apart from not drinking alcohol if it makes you feel sleepy, there is no food or drink you need to avoid while taking paroxetine.
Will recreational drugs affect it?
Cannabis with paroxetine can give you a fast heartbeat.
Cannabis can also make drowsiness worse with paroxetine.
Methadone can increase the risk of side effects in people taking paroxetine.
It can be potentially dangerous to take paroxetine with:
- stimulants like MDMA (ecstasy) or cocaine
- hallucinogens like LSD
- novel psychoactive substances (which used to be known as legal highs) like mephedrone
Find out more the side effects of some recreational drugs on the Frank website.
Important
Paroxetine has not been properly tested with recreational drugs. Talk to your doctor if you think you might use any recreational drugs while taking paroxetine.
Page last reviewed: 2 March 2022
Next review due: 2 March 2025
What does Antidepressants and Allergies Mean?
Q1.
Since I began using Paxil for depression three years ago, I have gained 75 pounds. Other people have told me of similar weight gain on Paxil. Do you know why or how this occurs? Thank you for your help!
Yes, Paxil can cause weight gain, as can other SSRI antidepressant medications. In its class, Paxil causes the most weight gain perhaps because it can be sedating, which tends to limit physical activity. Other antidepressants such as MAOIs and tricyclics can cause weight gain as well. We are not really sure why this occurs, and the reasons may differ among the various types of medications. In some cases, antidepressants can cause an increase in appetite, due to the effect on the brain’s appetite center. If there is no particular reason why your doctor recommended Paxil, you may consider trying another SSRI, such as Prozac, Zoloft, Celexa, or Lexapro. Sometimes physicians use Paxil to treat anxiety-based depression, so the others may not work as well for you if this is the case.
If you simply must stay on Paxil, I would start a diet and exercise program with the help of a reputable, hospital-based weight-loss program. The nutritionist may recommend a diet and exercise program along with an appetite suppressant to counteract the effects of Paxil. Another strategy would be to begin taking Wellbutrin as well, another antidepressant that will enable you to use a lower dose of paroxetine, the active ingredient in Paxil. Wellbutrin is one of the only antidepressants that does not cause weight gain and may actually help patients lose weight.
Q2. Do seasonal allergies cause you to feel tired all the time? What can I do about constant fatigue during allergy season?
When most people think of allergies, they think of the typical symptoms of sneezing, runny nose and itchy eyes. But fatigue, sinus pain and asthma also result from allergy. Symptoms may interfere with your sleep, which can cause fatigue, but an allergic reaction itself can release chemicals in your body that cause fatigue.
The best remedy for the fatigue is to get control of the allergies. Have yourself tested by an allergist to find out what you are allergic to, what to avoid and how to control your environment. An antihistamine and/or a leukotriene modifier may also help. If that’s insufficient, there are always allergy shots.
Another point to keep in mind is that many antihistamines cause drowsiness, which could be the cause of your fatigue if you take them for your seasonal allergies.
Learn more in the Everyday Health Diet and Nutrition Center.
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Rapid weight loss – Neurology – 17.02.2015
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anonymous, Male, 28 years old
Hello dear Mikhail Andreevich! I have a question for you, tell me in November 2014 the first strong pas happened within 2 days with a frequency arose pa barely survived these two days, went to a neurologist, did an MRI of the brain, blood vessels, neck, no pathologies were found, only they put cervical osteochondrosis protrusion 0.2 mm . The neurologist diagnosed somatoform dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system, pa, permanent paroxysmal course. Against the background of the stress experienced from pa, I lost 5-6 kg before the first dose of paxil (my weight was up to pa 91kg height 172cm) took Paxil at a dosage of 20mg per day. It got better, I decided to quit taking Paxil, but then again there was some kind of tension in the body and nervousness, the weight stayed within 86 kg, then again it began to fall to 82, I started taking Paxil again and now I take Paxil half, but the weight still drops by 700-800 grams per night .
I am on a diet because of gastritis, I eat everything only for a couple. Tell me, is it possible that I lose so much because of neurosis or is it something else ??
Answered by Yablonsky Mikhail Andreevich
neurologist
Hello, neurotic disorders can be accompanied by weight loss. However, taking antidepressants, including paroxetine (Paxil), is rarely accompanied by an increase rather than a decrease in body weight.
Most likely, this is the effect of your diet.
anonymous
Thank you very much for your reply. This means that Paxil is also partially involved in weight loss.
This conclusion does not follow from my answer. Thinking disorders?
anonymously
I didn’t seem to notice any disturbance in thinking, but my memory has been bad since childhood, in mathematics, physics, chemistry, Russian and literature I always had a score of 2. You just wrote to me: “however, taking antidepressants, including paroxetine (paxil ), in rare cases accompanied by an increase rather than a decrease in body weight.
So I concluded that when taking paxil, weight can also decrease, I even asked my wife to also read your answer, it seems that they agreed that it can also give the effect of partially reducing weight. I would be grateful if you could explain in more detail.
Yablonsky Mikhail Andreevich
With paroxetine, weight gain is a rare undesirable phenomenon of taking paroxetine (according to the American instructions – frequency
anonymous
thank you!
Yablonsky Mikhail Andreevich
Cheers.
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How to lose weight while taking antidepressants? Guest
If that bothers you, it’s bullshit antidepressants. Guest
to understand that pills did not inflate you to the size of a ball. here you gain 2 kilos and that’s it – depression and heaviness. therefore, you need the usual advice: the right fuel that gives energy, but not fattening and a lot of activity every day. 20 thousand steps of activity should wind up every day. in six months – a year the fat will go away. 9Guest
The drug is good, copes with depression.
#7
Olga
Good afternoon. I have been taking antidepressants for three years now.
On the contrary, I lost 20 kg. Antidepressants do not have the side effect of weight gain. I asked my psychotherapist.
#8
Diana
The author, I’m sorry for the question. What is the name of the drug?
#9
#10
Y awn
Amitriptyline
# 11
#12
Guest
You need to switch to another drug. Some drugs promote weight gain such as remeron, amitriptyline, paxil.
And some for weight loss such as Fluoxetine, Ixel, Cymbalta.
Talk to your doctor about switching to another antidepressant.
#13
Guest fuck you .
True, it costs somewhere around 3900 for a month of admission.
#14
Guest
What is your dosage of amitriptyline? How much per day do you take? November 16, 2020 He (the doctor) really does not like amateur performances terribly. His opinion is the only correct one)
Guest
50 mg tablet morning and evening.
#18
#19
Y awn
Then change the doctor, this is unacceptable the doctor sees a serious weight gain on amitriptyline and does nothing. If you take it, you will definitely earn type 2 diabetes for yourself. Then you will take metformin all your life and go on a diet. November 16, 2020 Are they not accepted by the course?
#21
Guest
We have the only psychiatrist on campus.
I must go to Nizhny Novgorod. My mom is diabetic and it’s scary. November 16, 2020
At these dosages, it has a very weak effect.
If it helps you in such ultra-low dosages, then you have mild depression.
Normal doctors prescribe amitriptyline only for severe depression. The dosages there are appropriate.
In your case, you need to change this drug, any antidepressant in therapeutic dosages will be stronger than 50 mg of amitriptyline.
But I would change the same doctor, because 50 mg of amitriptyline and without first trying SSRI drugs could only be prescribed by a not very competent doctor
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November 17, 2020 10:49 am0086
#24
Guest
In general, when taking amitriptyline, a patient prone to weight gain should adhere to a strict diet.
You need to count calories and not exceed your daily requirement. And it is better to have a small deficit (200-400 kilo calories). It is necessary to completely exclude foods with a high glycemic index and limit foods with an average one.
Preference should be given to lean meat, fish – you need more protein less carbohydrates. From carbohydrates – buckwheat, cabbage, brown rice (normal should be severely limited).
No sweets, bread, potatoes, sweet fruits, sugar, sweet drinks, honey, etc.#25
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#28
Olga
Good afternoon. I have been taking antidepressants for three years now. On the contrary, I lost 20 kg. Antidepressants do not have the side effect of weight gain. I asked my psychotherapist.
#29
Guest
#30
Guest
I have been taking antidepressants intermittently for more than 10 years and I can say for sure that they are recovering from them and all of my friends have encountered this. It’s just that everyone has their own set of weights. Personally, I have 7 kg for all these years. Gradually.
#31
#32
Y awn
Interestingly, and weight gain from tricyclics comes from why? because the appetite is not in yourself? or some other reason, don’t you think?
#33
Julia
The therapist told me that the weight gain is not from the drugs themselves, but from food, and when taking certain antidepressants, appetite increases.
It seems to me that in addition to appetite, the metabolism also slows down and it is more difficult to lose weight, so it is important to monitor nutrition. And regular physical loads never interfere, they also help to cope with depression, if it is not too strong.#34
Olga
Good afternoon. I have been taking antidepressants for three years now. On the contrary, I lost 20 kg. Antidepressants do not have the side effect of weight gain. I asked my psychotherapist.
#35
Olga
Good afternoon. I have been taking antidepressants for three years now. On the contrary, I lost 20 kg. Antidepressants do not have the side effect of weight gain. I asked my psychotherapist.
#36
Guest
Hello.
This is an excerpt from the annotation – “On the part of the digestive system: nausea, heartburn, vomiting, gastralgia, increased or decreased appetite (increase or decrease in body weight), stomatitis, change in taste, diarrhea, darkening of the tongue; rarely – impaired liver function, cholestatic jaundice, hepatitis.” You just got lucky apparently)New topics
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#37
Olga
Good afternoon. I have been taking antidepressants for three years now. On the contrary, I lost 20 kg. Antidepressants do not have the side effect of weight gain. I asked my psychotherapist.
#38
Olga
Good afternoon. I have been taking antidepressants for three years now.
On the contrary, I lost 20 kg. Antidepressants do not have the side effect of weight gain. I asked my psychotherapist.#39
Olga
Good afternoon. I have been taking antidepressants for three years now. On the contrary, I lost 20 kg. Antidepressants do not have the side effect of weight gain. I asked my psychotherapist.
#40
Guest
What is your dosage of amitriptyline? How much per day do you take?
#41
Olga
Good afternoon. I have been taking antidepressants for three years now. On the contrary, I lost 20 kg. Antidepressants do not have the side effect of weight gain. I asked my psychotherapist.
#42
Guest
Amitriptyline
#43
Guest
Also inflated by 20kg on amitriptyline
#44
Olga
Good afternoon.
I have been taking antidepressants for three years now. On the contrary, I lost 20 kg. Antidepressants do not have the side effect of weight gain. I asked my psychotherapist.#45
Guest
Also inflated by 20kg on amitriptyline
#46
Guest
Amitriptyline
Attention
#47
Guest
Amitriptyline
#48 9 0003
Guest
Hello. This is an excerpt from the annotation – “On the part of the digestive system: nausea, heartburn, vomiting, gastralgia, increased or decreased appetite (increase or decrease in body weight), stomatitis, change in taste, diarrhea, darkening of the tongue; rarely – impaired liver function, cholestatic jaundice, hepatitis.
…
How to destroy?
It seems to me that in addition to appetite, the metabolism also slows down and it is more difficult to lose weight, so it is important to monitor nutrition. And regular physical loads never interfere, they also help to cope with depression, if it is not too strong.
This is an excerpt from the annotation – “On the part of the digestive system: nausea, heartburn, vomiting, gastralgia, increased or decreased appetite (increase or decrease in body weight), stomatitis, change in taste, diarrhea, darkening of the tongue; rarely – impaired liver function, cholestatic jaundice, hepatitis.” You just got lucky apparently)
On the contrary, I lost 20 kg. Antidepressants do not have the side effect of weight gain. I asked my psychotherapist.
I have been taking antidepressants for three years now. On the contrary, I lost 20 kg. Antidepressants do not have the side effect of weight gain. I asked my psychotherapist.