Losing Weight with Effexor: Fact or Fiction?

I have been taking Effexor for depression and panic attacks for about five years. I believe Effexor continues to address the physiological deficiencies my body no longer produces.

At the time I began to encounter multiple panic attacks in a day, a caring doctor explained to me the difficulties my brain was experiencing. He explained that due to years of use and abuse, my brain was no longer reacting properly to my body's "flight or fight" response. Unfortunately, the doctor was not certain which antidepressant would imitate this natural process in my body. I started with Paxil and later changed to Wellbutrin. Neither worked; the only thing I gained was weight!

As a new psychiatrist took over my treatment program a year later, he changed my medication to Effexor. It was too late; I had succumbed to the "Antidepressant Weight Gain." Since I have been taking Effexor I have lost a total of thirty pounds. However this was not from initially taking the medication as others have realized. I have struggled to lose every pound. Fact-I have learned that losing weight with Effexor is possible but I had to re-visit principles of good nutrition and exercise to do so.

In the fall of 2006, I was diagnosed as a diabetic. I was furious to have "another diagnosis" as well as two more prescriptions being assigned to my lifestyle. Consequently, I began researching more holistic diet plans and solutions. Regardless of the expense, I began using vitamin supplements again (I worked with my psychiatrist to determine which supplements were advantageous). By changing my diet I was able to manage a nervous bowel system without further medication. I quit my call center job to eliminate stress and work on my interest as a free lance writer. With those changes and a regular exercise program, I am beginning to realize gradual weight loss.

According to MedTV.com about seven percent of those persons taking Effexor will experience weight loss. Informally that "stat" agreed with all the people (family, friends) I know who are taking Effexor. Only one person (out of six) experienced that type of weight loss. Interestingly it was the person already living in a healthy weight range who didn't want to lose the weight. Go figure.

While it has been a small journey from the first of my panic attacks, I have found comfort in the process of discovery. This change has become the catalyst for my creative expression. Effexor is one of the tools I use to keep me emotionally and physically whole. It does not define me but provides me clarity of thought to communicate a life lived on purpose.