Weight Gain

Weight gain might just be one of the most annoying and unwanted medication side effect for most people. Actually, in some people, this particular side effect is used to help people who do need to gain weight but that's another issue.

Since people are all different, the increase in weight appears differently from person to person. Some folks tend to pack on the pounds (or kilograms, as it were) in certain areas of the body whilst for others it may be evenly spread out, whereas some folks may gain weight rapidly and in others it may be a more gradual process. If being overweight is already a health issue for you then you will most likely need to sit down with your healthcare provider to come up with a plan for how to tackle any potential increases in weight. Simply starting a workout regimen and controlling your diet and food portions may be enough for some but for others they may need a bit more intensive medical intervention. Sometimes, simply stopping the medication may result in a reversal of the weight gain but this is not always the case.

Medications That May Cause Weight Gain

Amitriptyline (Elavil)
Aripiprazole (Abilify)
Atorvastatin (Lipitor)
Buspirone (BuSpar)
Carbamazepine (Carbatrol, Epitol, Tegretol, Tegretol XR)
Chlorpropamide (Diabinese)
Clonazepam (Klonopin)
Clozapine (Clozaril)
Desogestrel (Apri, Cesia, Desogen, Ortho-Cept, Reclipsen)
Doxepin (Sinequan)
Drospirenone (Angeliq, Yasmin, Yaz)
Escitalopram (Lexapro)
Esomeprazole (Nexium)
Estradiol (Estrace)
Etanercept (Enbrel)
Fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem, Selfemra)
Fluvoxamine (Luvox)
Gabapentin (Neurontin)
Glimepiride (Amaryl)
Glipizide (Glucotrol, Glucotrol XL)
Glyburide (Diabeta, Glynase, Micronase)
Haloperidol (Haldol)
Imipramine (Tofranil)
Insulin (Humalog)
Levonorgestrel (ClimaraPro, Levlite, Levora, Lybrel, Mirena, Nordette, Plan B, Seasonale, Seasonique, and many other birth control pills)
Lithium (Eskalith, Eskaltih CR, Lithobid)
Loxapine (Loxitane)
Medroxyprogesterone (Depo-Provera, Provera)
Metoprolol (Lopressor)
Mirtazapine (Remeron)
Noregestimate (Ortho-Cyclen, Ortho Tri-Cyclen, and many more birth control pills)
Norethindrone (Ortho-Novum, Ovcon, and many more birth control pills)
Norgestrel (Lo/Ovral, Low-Ogestrel)
Nortriptyline (Aventyl, Pamelor)
Olanzapine (Zyprexa)
Paroxetine (Paxil, Pexeva)
Phenelzine (Nardil)
Pioglitazone (Actos)
Prednisone (Deltasone)
Pregabalin (Lyrica)
Risperidone (Risperdal)
Rosiglitazone (Avandia)
Sertraline (Zoloft)
Terazosin (Hytrin)
Tolbutamide (Orinase)
Tranylcypromine (Parnate)
Trimipramine (Surmontil)
Valproic acid/Sodium valproate (Depacon, Depakene, Depakote)

They are called miracle drugs because they enable a doctor to turn
the illnesses of his patients into a fur coat for his wife.

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June 13, 2009

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