Relationship: Weight Gain And Psychoactive Drugs

The link between weight gain and psychoactive drugs is one of the side effects that patients worry about the most. It is a sensitive subject that you should think a little extra about.

The weight of each person can fluctuate and depends on the type of treatment in question, so it is difficult to generalize and establish common criteria.

Many of the drugs used to treat anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and epilepsy can cause weight gain or weight loss.

Studies have shown that patients are at greater risk of stopping treatment if it causes weight gain.

In these cases, it is important to help patients avoid it with a combination of a healthy diet and appropriate exercise.

Sometimes the doctor may modify the treatment dose to avoid these complications. The side effects of gaining weight can be serious, so it is important to take into account what the patient is worried about.

Many drugs can also have the opposite effect. Weight loss is also a problem, but patients tend to accept this side effect more than the weight gain itself.

Weight gain and antidepressants

People often associate antidepressants with weight gain and they are not wrong. Weight gain is one of the possible side effects that can occur when using antidepressants.

However, some medications used to treat depression may be more severe than others. For example:

It is important to keep in mind that antidepressants do not always have a direct effect on weight. During all treatments for depression, there may be various factors that play a role.

In some cases, it is the depression itself that causes the weight gain because the patient lives a sedentary lifestyle or eats too much for emotional reasons.

In other cases, it is the depression that causes the weight loss. Treatments with antidepressants improve the patient’s mood, which increases appetite and causes the patient to gain weight.

It is therefore clear that weight gain is a side effect that occurs with some antidepressants.

However, it is important to be aware that the medicine does not always have a direct cause. Before making any decisions regarding your medication, you should talk to your doctor.

Weight gain and antipsychotics

Weight gain and metabolic changes are one of the most worrying side effects for patients taking antipsychotics.

This is important because, as mentioned above, patients are less likely to take their medication if they feel that they will gain weight.

Classic antipsychotic medications tend to cause greater weight gain. Other antipsychotics such as

Schizophrenia is also directly related to metabolic changes. Patients with psychotic disorders, for example, are at greater risk of obesity.

Regardless of whether it is a result of the medication you take or the condition itself, you can counteract weight gain by changing your lifestyle. Exercise and diet are the most important factors.

Sometimes, however, the patient will need to use other medications.

Conclusions regarding weight gain and psychoactive drugs

Weight gain is a side effect of treatment with psychoactive drugs. However, patients can alleviate this effect if they change their lifestyle and seek the help of a doctor. If you have weight problems, you should talk to him directly.

It is important to follow the medication’s recommendations to prevent relapse, especially when it comes to treatments with psychoactive medications. It is always better to modify the treatment than to stop completely.