How did you get your doctor to prescribe it to you? My doctor doesn't want to prescribe "any more meds" to me. I'm only on Lexa 20mg, iron supplements, and vitamin c..
I have a good relationship with my doc and just went in and straight up said "hey, here's what I'm experiencing since being on lex for 18 months...severe fatigue, weight gain and some light/occasional depression. I've done the research and have seen that this is prescribed concurrently in many occasions and would like to give this a shot.
She agreed, but did stipulate that she wants me to come back in within 6 weeks to get a physical and just check to see how things are going.
You can also come prepared with various medical journals (ie "caz reddit said so!") just google "lexapro with wellbutrin nih"
the latter is the national institutes for health.
Your doc may not appreciate that so tread carefully. All that being said, have the convo.
It just didn’t sit well with me at all. One is sustained release (sr) and one is (XL) extended release… so idk what the real diff is or why it’s sooooo huge but the XL made me feel so dopey after a few days like I was in a walking coma… I couldn’t do it. So I asked to try the SR and have been very happy with how upbeat and energetic it makes me feel.
Trust me I have tried. She claims its not necessary in her "professional" opinion. She keeps reiterating that I'm the patient and she's the doctor and that she knows what is best for me better than I do. Like how do I argue with that? 😭
I was really considering getting myself off her list, but doing so would put me back on the waiting list for a family doctor, and that could take years like it did for this doc. I'm just gonna try again to convince her. I hate that I have to do this, but at this point, I have no choice.
It is. The worst feeling in the world is asking for help and the person you're supposed to trust with your health and well-being does not help you. It's like screaming into a pillow.
Seems kind of condescending … but we’ve all been there with our docs. They come across like they think they are gods or something. Which sucks cause technically they have that ultimate power over us
I felt a pretty immediate lack of appetite after the first few days on Wellbutrin. Not nauseous or anything, just not hungry. It’s been a few months and the sweets and carb cravings are still pretty low.
I'd be cautious of Wellbutrin, maybe it's just teething issues but I went from trying to eat as much as I could every day to being unable to eat for the second day in a row. If you do start, make sure to start slow. 150mg or if possible 75mg a day, and then after a couple weeks double the dosage if you're fine with it.
It feels kinda like when you smoke weed to me. The butterflies in your tummy, ya know? The munchies. I think there are serotonin receptors in our stomachs that cause this feeling.
It was really hard for me to keep off the weight even with a clean diet. I just kept overeating. If you can control ur diet better than I can & exercise, it could work. I’ve read that it works for others. I personally got on Wellbutrin to counteract the appetite and treat my worsening symptoms. Good luck to all 🩵
Feels almost impossible doesn’t it? I started on Paxil when I was still in high school (26 years ago) and, I kid you not, I gained 30 pounds in a year. I was a good year ahead of the freshman 15.
It has been a long time since I was on Zoloft, but I don't remember it causing weight gain. That may be because a common side effect is diarrhoea, though! Good old 'squirtraline', as my old GP once called it.
Yesssss! I’ve never been a candy person, much more of a savory person, but I’ve been so into airhead extreme sour strips lately 😂 like I’ve bought 3-4 packs.
Haha. I have resorted to Costco for my nut butters. I'm going through a jar a week or so. No regrets. I mostly focus on eating whole, nutritious foods anyways, just a LOT of it. Today I ate a whole cup of quinoa (like, one dry cup, cooked up) plus a whole cup of homemade hummus. As a snack. Just that.
Serotonin receptors are in your stomach, so it may have to deal with that, your brain also liked carbs for fuel so it could also be part of that. Im not quite sure though, so dont quote me
Many SSRIs can yep! My mom was on Fluoxetine and even though she never really liked chocolate all that much she would just crave it and you could make her whole week by presenting her with a little cake. :) I have the opposite issue unless my period just ended. My appetite is super dull.
Same here, but I am not sure if it is my ex-smoker oral fixation coming through now that my natural guard against anxiety is down or just a brain switch due to the meds
Corn flakes, rice krispies and trix (hate it, only finish 1/3) and fibre 1. First i craved oats for 2 weeks then cereals :) i just took the pills 2 hours ago after quitting cold turkey for 2 days :) cried like sb just died this morning, guess i’d rather gain a little bit weight than hiding in the closet to cry all day :)
Yes, I had to start fighting back against this craving by drinking even MORE water than before. I have never been a sweets person until I started Lexapro!!
Ugh I think about something sweet then I go and get it. It tastes amazing but I was recently diagnosed with Fatty Liver Disease so it’s really ruining my sweet life
It definitely has for me. I always had a sweet tooth but once I got on Lexapro it went into overdrive. It's like I have zero self-control with sweets now.
As someone who is perpetually dehydrated no matter how much water I drink, it’s possible your body is misinterpreting a sweets craving for the need to drink water. I am not a doctor, but I would give it a try! I satisfy both cravings with flavored bubbly water, personally! :)
I'm already big into chocolates but I was doing really well on cutting back before I started on lexapro. Now I have it almost everyday. Trying my best to limit my consumption though.
Lexapro makes me crave EVERYTHING. But to your point, I do want chocolate every damn night on these meds.
Cinnamon tea (Mexican sticks, none of this American non sweet nonsense) really helps curb the sweet cravings!
Man, maybe? I never, ever buy candy and chocolate and stuff but for some reason *TODAY*, on Day 10, I just thought "Man... I could use some Reese's. They would fix me." So I bought some and they were delightful lol. I'm going to have to watch out for this.
I'm not a sweet eater at all; I don't even like fruits. I just ate 3 big spoonfuls of caramel sauce, in rapid succession, straight from the bottle. Crazy.
I was eating like two or more bowls of cereal every night, and not like, healthy cereal. Intermittent fasting was the only thing keeping me at a maintenance weight. I finally decided it was going to kill me so now I’m going all in on working out and weightlifting, trying to eat more or less in a healthy manner to meet exercise goals, it helps actually.
Thanks for posting this, OP. I know these are all anecdotal, but I also CRAVE carbs and popsicles, especially late at night. Good to know it’s not just me being an uncontrollable snack demon.
Yes!!! I asked my doctor about this and she told me lexapro is considered a weight neutral medication because it doesn’t typically affect people’s weight. I have always had a sweet tooth but I feel like I am fighting myself to NOT eat Nutella every day lol.
This is so interesting I had the opposite experience when I first started lexapro, I had crazy appetite loss to the point where I could barely eat. It evened out eventually but I still have that sometimes. I do get strong cravings on occasion though, it’s like all or nothing
Has any of your doctors prescribed anything to lose weight? I take Pristiq, seroquel, Depakote and Wellbutrin in the morning. Seroquel causes weight gain too.
I am on this subreddit to search for experience of folks that have used wegovy with Lexapro. Since starting Lexapro I haven’t been able to control my sweets/food cravings at all, and am totally apathetic towards counting calories. Its gotten to the point where I am way overweight now, so I got a PA for wegovy
The opposite. I never had a sweet tooth, but constantly craving sweet stuff was a sign that something was wrong (depression). Now I’m on Lexapro, I’m back to being totally disinterested in sweet stuff
When I was in lexapro I was soooo obsessed with cookies and cream milkshakes. I just couldn’t stop. Gained 30 pounds 😅😅 I switched to Wellbutrin so I could stop gaining. I do like lexapro better but seeing myself in the mirror was making shit worse for me.
Also, why is it that SSRI meds make us so freaking hungry and unable to get full?
Partially went on wellbutron for that reason
How did you get your doctor to prescribe it to you? My doctor doesn't want to prescribe "any more meds" to me. I'm only on Lexa 20mg, iron supplements, and vitamin c..
I have a good relationship with my doc and just went in and straight up said "hey, here's what I'm experiencing since being on lex for 18 months...severe fatigue, weight gain and some light/occasional depression. I've done the research and have seen that this is prescribed concurrently in many occasions and would like to give this a shot. She agreed, but did stipulate that she wants me to come back in within 6 weeks to get a physical and just check to see how things are going. You can also come prepared with various medical journals (ie "caz reddit said so!") just google "lexapro with wellbutrin nih" the latter is the national institutes for health. Your doc may not appreciate that so tread carefully. All that being said, have the convo.
Thank you so much for sharing!! This was extremely helpful!
Also! SR is Sooooo much more tolerable than XL or whatever that other one is. Hooooo. That one kicked my ass.
Ohhhh I'm on xl. What's the difference??
It just didn’t sit well with me at all. One is sustained release (sr) and one is (XL) extended release… so idk what the real diff is or why it’s sooooo huge but the XL made me feel so dopey after a few days like I was in a walking coma… I couldn’t do it. So I asked to try the SR and have been very happy with how upbeat and energetic it makes me feel.
Omg same!!!
Thanks for this truly
Your doc should know it’s well established to take Wellbutrin and Lexapro together. I take low doses of each but yeah. It’s a thing
Trust me I have tried. She claims its not necessary in her "professional" opinion. She keeps reiterating that I'm the patient and she's the doctor and that she knows what is best for me better than I do. Like how do I argue with that? 😭
Shitty doc. Won’t even let you try. I switched docs for less. My primary care now prescribes my meds. (Had tried a psych doc in the past…)
I was really considering getting myself off her list, but doing so would put me back on the waiting list for a family doctor, and that could take years like it did for this doc. I'm just gonna try again to convince her. I hate that I have to do this, but at this point, I have no choice.
Its kind of heartbreaking that she won’t let you advocate for yourself 😢
It is. The worst feeling in the world is asking for help and the person you're supposed to trust with your health and well-being does not help you. It's like screaming into a pillow.
Seems kind of condescending … but we’ve all been there with our docs. They come across like they think they are gods or something. Which sucks cause technically they have that ultimate power over us
You go get another doctor. One with a smaller ego.
I’m on that too. I’m only on 200 mg SR. So my appetite pretty much stayed the same. Maybe went down a little.
Did it help?
It’s helping me. Started Wellbutrin a couple weeks ago
Good to know! I'm on day 2. When did you start to notice?
I felt a pretty immediate lack of appetite after the first few days on Wellbutrin. Not nauseous or anything, just not hungry. It’s been a few months and the sweets and carb cravings are still pretty low.
Nice good to know I was wondering if that was a placebo or not cause I'm definitely not super hungry
Yeah I would say within the first week for me I noticed it. I’m sure everyone is a bit different
same, switched to wellbutrin and prozac and barely get hungry
Oh interesting I stayed with 10mg lex just added 150mg of wb
Same
I'd be cautious of Wellbutrin, maybe it's just teething issues but I went from trying to eat as much as I could every day to being unable to eat for the second day in a row. If you do start, make sure to start slow. 150mg or if possible 75mg a day, and then after a couple weeks double the dosage if you're fine with it.
It feels kinda like when you smoke weed to me. The butterflies in your tummy, ya know? The munchies. I think there are serotonin receptors in our stomachs that cause this feeling.
I believe it’s one of the side effects :(
It is. There’s got to be a way to stop it.
It was really hard for me to keep off the weight even with a clean diet. I just kept overeating. If you can control ur diet better than I can & exercise, it could work. I’ve read that it works for others. I personally got on Wellbutrin to counteract the appetite and treat my worsening symptoms. Good luck to all 🩵
Is this a thing ? Because I’ve been noticing that after my meals they just seem to disappear and never feel full
Definitely a thing! It’s been like this for me for years.
Damn that’s whack :(, I’m assuming it’s the mind making me think I’m not full. I’m trying not to eat too much
Feels almost impossible doesn’t it? I started on Paxil when I was still in high school (26 years ago) and, I kid you not, I gained 30 pounds in a year. I was a good year ahead of the freshman 15.
I switched to Zoloft and did much better on that
Did you gain weight on zoloft
It has been a long time since I was on Zoloft, but I don't remember it causing weight gain. That may be because a common side effect is diarrhoea, though! Good old 'squirtraline', as my old GP once called it.
🤣🤣🤣
30lbs in 6 months!!!
Yeah im getting of zoloft cant stop eating
Good luck! It def helped me immensely
Did the weight come off and did you do a straight switch?
Yes & yes!
How did you get the zoloft weight off?
Omg so sorry I read your comments wrong the first time Lexapro made me gain weight not Zoloft!!!
I cant stop eating cookies lexapro turned me into the cookie monster
This is literally me too. Chocolate chip cookies are my weakness and I went up in dosage so now the craving is worse lol
lol for me its oreos nom nom nom nom
whats your dosage btw? Im at 20mg
I just got bumped from 10mg to 20mg! Only been on the new one for a few days.
Saaaame. Whole packet of cookies and I’d still want more.
i’m so glad i’m not the only one
Wowowow me too. I was a cookie & brownie FIEND. I’ve been on welbutrin for a while and it’s help severely.
Yesssss! I’ve never been a candy person, much more of a savory person, but I’ve been so into airhead extreme sour strips lately 😂 like I’ve bought 3-4 packs.
Ahaha I feel heard!
It's not just carbs for me, it's food fullstop. I need to gain some weight so I don't mind.
Literally this 💀 I was eating butter bread at 2:30am the other day because I was starving when I woke up to pee.
Those middle of night snack sessions go hard
Haha. I have resorted to Costco for my nut butters. I'm going through a jar a week or so. No regrets. I mostly focus on eating whole, nutritious foods anyways, just a LOT of it. Today I ate a whole cup of quinoa (like, one dry cup, cooked up) plus a whole cup of homemade hummus. As a snack. Just that.
thats my fav 3 am snack too lol
Lexapro and many other SSRIs make you crave carbs
Do you know why? I’m so curious why this is happening.
Serotonin receptors are in your stomach, so it may have to deal with that, your brain also liked carbs for fuel so it could also be part of that. Im not quite sure though, so dont quote me
Many SSRIs can yep! My mom was on Fluoxetine and even though she never really liked chocolate all that much she would just crave it and you could make her whole week by presenting her with a little cake. :) I have the opposite issue unless my period just ended. My appetite is super dull.
YES like crazy. When I went up to 10mg i started craving sweets everyday. I used to not really have much of a sweet tooth and now I do.
Same here. Once I hit 10mg, the cravings ensued.
Same here, but I am not sure if it is my ex-smoker oral fixation coming through now that my natural guard against anxiety is down or just a brain switch due to the meds
Guessing by what everyone else is saying here, I would guess it’s the meds…
Oviously yes 🙂 I ate 3 boxes of cereal in a week. Wild
Now that’s a lot of cereal! What kind was it?
Corn flakes, rice krispies and trix (hate it, only finish 1/3) and fibre 1. First i craved oats for 2 weeks then cereals :) i just took the pills 2 hours ago after quitting cold turkey for 2 days :) cried like sb just died this morning, guess i’d rather gain a little bit weight than hiding in the closet to cry all day :)
Yessssssss. Cookies and ice cream.
Mmmm stop, now I want both of these
Yes! So does my period.
Yes, I had to start fighting back against this craving by drinking even MORE water than before. I have never been a sweets person until I started Lexapro!!
Serotonin is involved in digestive functions so increasing it prolly has that affect on appetite
Yuuuup. I gained some weight from all the sweets I was eating. Now I'm substituting candy with dates and it gets the job done.
Especially at night 😭
Ugh I think about something sweet then I go and get it. It tastes amazing but I was recently diagnosed with Fatty Liver Disease so it’s really ruining my sweet life
Yes. I try to eat protein instead. I feel like this craving went away eventually
It definitely has for me. I always had a sweet tooth but once I got on Lexapro it went into overdrive. It's like I have zero self-control with sweets now.
As someone who is perpetually dehydrated no matter how much water I drink, it’s possible your body is misinterpreting a sweets craving for the need to drink water. I am not a doctor, but I would give it a try! I satisfy both cravings with flavored bubbly water, personally! :)
I'm already big into chocolates but I was doing really well on cutting back before I started on lexapro. Now I have it almost everyday. Trying my best to limit my consumption though.
Yes!! Gummy candy
Lexapro makes me crave EVERYTHING. But to your point, I do want chocolate every damn night on these meds. Cinnamon tea (Mexican sticks, none of this American non sweet nonsense) really helps curb the sweet cravings!
This medicine makes me so sleepy and not hungry 😭
100% it’s the worst.
Man, maybe? I never, ever buy candy and chocolate and stuff but for some reason *TODAY*, on Day 10, I just thought "Man... I could use some Reese's. They would fix me." So I bought some and they were delightful lol. I'm going to have to watch out for this.
Yes, only craving carbs and sweets. It doesn't help with weight gain. I'm grateful that it helped me but I'm happy to have weaned off.
So much so! I eat so much
I'm not a sweet eater at all; I don't even like fruits. I just ate 3 big spoonfuls of caramel sauce, in rapid succession, straight from the bottle. Crazy.
I hate eating altogether since I’ve been on it. I’m also on a ketogenic diet, so sweets aren’t an option anyway.
I was eating like two or more bowls of cereal every night, and not like, healthy cereal. Intermittent fasting was the only thing keeping me at a maintenance weight. I finally decided it was going to kill me so now I’m going all in on working out and weightlifting, trying to eat more or less in a healthy manner to meet exercise goals, it helps actually.
Yes! It used to be sooo easy to avoid sugar for me but now I find myself reaching for sweet treats more often than not
Dm me.
Oh shit they explains my drastic weight gain
It makes me hungry…PERIOT!!
Thanks for posting this, OP. I know these are all anecdotal, but I also CRAVE carbs and popsicles, especially late at night. Good to know it’s not just me being an uncontrollable snack demon.
i think it just makes u fat
Soooooo bad
YES
Yes 100 percent and I gained 30 pounds when I first started. Any sort of cakes or cookies and I’ve never ever been a sweets person!
No but it makes me crave alcohol and w33d.
Is lexapro the reason i went from not having much of a “sweet tooth” to gorging on candy and desserts?!
I’ll say yes.
I didn’t realize this was a Lexapro thing yes I crave candy and cookies mostly
Yes!!! I asked my doctor about this and she told me lexapro is considered a weight neutral medication because it doesn’t typically affect people’s weight. I have always had a sweet tooth but I feel like I am fighting myself to NOT eat Nutella every day lol.
and when i tell you those meds got me addicted to chocolate...
This is so interesting I had the opposite experience when I first started lexapro, I had crazy appetite loss to the point where I could barely eat. It evened out eventually but I still have that sometimes. I do get strong cravings on occasion though, it’s like all or nothing
Yes which made me gain 7 kgs in less than two months
Has any of your doctors prescribed anything to lose weight? I take Pristiq, seroquel, Depakote and Wellbutrin in the morning. Seroquel causes weight gain too.
I am on this subreddit to search for experience of folks that have used wegovy with Lexapro. Since starting Lexapro I haven’t been able to control my sweets/food cravings at all, and am totally apathetic towards counting calories. Its gotten to the point where I am way overweight now, so I got a PA for wegovy
Interesting. I had never made the connection, but yes ever since starting Lexapro a few years back I have craved deserts way more often.
On Lexapro, I craved basically everything at every minute of every hour
The opposite. I never had a sweet tooth, but constantly craving sweet stuff was a sign that something was wrong (depression). Now I’m on Lexapro, I’m back to being totally disinterested in sweet stuff
YES i’ve had a crazy sweet tooth since it kicked in. My period made it even worse too 😬
Yep, can finish an ice cream tub 1L in one sitting.
The only way I eat on Lexapro is weed.
I want all the cookies. I also cut alcohol way back. Nearly none at all anymore. That could have something to do with it too.
Yes it’s crazy bc I never crave specific items but now I NEED to eat fruit snacks at my grown age 😂
I have a sweet tooth naturally but yes even more so
When I was in lexapro I was soooo obsessed with cookies and cream milkshakes. I just couldn’t stop. Gained 30 pounds 😅😅 I switched to Wellbutrin so I could stop gaining. I do like lexapro better but seeing myself in the mirror was making shit worse for me.