medication and weight gain

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when a side effect of a medication is weight gain, does it mean that it's probably a one-time thing of 10 or 20 lbs or is it a constant, thing where you continue to gain weight so long as you're on the medication?

I'm on Geodon and Wellbutrin. Anyone know if the Wellbutrin causes weight gain?

I took wellbutrin to quit smoking (smoking also tending to make you gain weight) and I didn't gain a pound. In fact, it took away my appetite so I didn't really want to eat. I will note that antidepressants mess with my head and I can't take them.

My son is on Risperdol and he has gained 8 pounds in the last 2 months, which is a lot for a 9 year old. His appetite has not increased, but his weight has so I have to watch what he eats now. I'm hoping that he won't gain much, if any more so I'm hoping that will level off. I also fear that he won't be able to shed it once he's off, but I guess we'll see.

Years ago when I was on zyprexa and hadal, I went from 158 to about 224 in less than 2 months. Geodon made me loose a little bit. Same with the wellburtin. Stay away from depakote though.

Antihistamines (H1 antagonists such as mirtazapine, risperidone, and trazadone, among others) tend to stimulate appetite, but you should level off after a few months. I gained 40 lbs on mirtazapine which I lost again after cessation.

Some medication, especially mental health meds, have this side effect. My girlfriend was on zyprexa and later ability and her weight shot through the roof. It did stabilize and she got put on geodone later on which seems to be less prone to causing weight gain. I don't think they'll make you gain weight forever, per se, but your "stable" weight being on them is a lot higher than off them, and your weight will rocket up to that new stable weight. When you get off the meds, you're gonna have to do a lot of diet and exercise to get back down to where you want to be cause its just not gonna go away on its own, unfortunately.

When it says "weight gain" it basically makes you hungry. So you eat more. Eventually you gasp at your huge gut and make a mental effort to slow down your eating. You're still hungry like before. You're just more scared of gaining weight.

Each medication is different, and also, people respond differently to them.