Antidepressants are used in unconventional weight loss treatments by people, who failed to succeed in traditional ways of losing weight. Anti-depressant drugs are among the new tools used in weight loss programs. The drugs, which prevent seizures, although have not yet been approved by the FDA for use in weight loss programs, are used by many doctors to help their overweight patients.

But the fact that such drugs have not yet been approved by FDA for weight loss is not the only problem with their use. When you decide to chose using antidepressants for weight loss, you have to remember that drugs, such as Adderal (used for treatment of attention deficit disorder), Wellbutrin (used for treatment of depressions) or Topamax (used for treatment of migraines and seizures), usually give serious side effects. Such drugs can sometimes cause insomnia, heart problems, aggression, fatigue, and hyperventilation. Some of such drugs can even cause increase in suicidal attempts.

Antidepressants help people control their food cravings, thus help reduce weight in obese patients, as weight loss is a very common side effect of many of these drugs. Such drugs are especially effective, when combined with a healthy nutrition diet and physical exercises. But the main disadvantage of the use of such pills, is that many people use them simply because they don’t want to lose weight in a regular way, by eating healthier food and exercising. Such drugs are available for purchase on the internet, so in many cases you do not even need to consult your doctor to purchase them, but this way you can pick a wrong dose or combine the drug with other medications, which might be not allowed.

I do not advice you to do this treatment yourself. If you want to exercise off-label use of some medicine, consult with your doctor first. He should be informed about other drugs you are taking and about the results you want to achieve from this medication. Self-treatment in the case of using anti-depressants for weight loss is not a very good idea, as it can do more harm than good to your health.

You should also be aware that there are lots of antidepressants, which actually will make you gain weight, not lose it. Among them are: tricyclic antidepressants, MAO inhibitors, Remeron and some other. But antidepressants, which involve selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and Wellbutrin are likely to cause weight loss. It is unknown, how antidepressants cause weight gain, but it can be caused by certain affect of metabolism and appetite.

If you are choosing the right antidepressant for weight loss, first consult your doctor. The first medication, which you should consider is bupropion, which works for weight loss with limited side effects, but also gives insignificant weight loss. If you require more serious and visible results, ask your doctor about Adderall or Dexedrine, which is often prescribed for loosing weight (traditionally used for treatment of deficit disorders), but it should be used with cautions, as the medication is highly addictive. Another option is antidepressants, which increase metabolism, like dopaminergic antidepressants, such as pramipexole, selegiline and other. Such medications influence the functions of thyroid, thus reduce the prolactin levels, which help increase metabolism. If you want a medication, which will help you reduce the cravings, Reboxetine might be your choice, as this medicine increases the norepinephrine levels, which reduce appetite. SSRI medications are not the best choice for antidepressant weight loss. Do not try such medications as Prozac, Paroxetine or Lexapro, as they will only make you gain more weight.

If you decide to use antidepressants for weight loss, don’t forget to combine this kind of treatment with healthy nutrition diet and regular physical exercising. We recommend you to consult your doctor and not start managing your overweight with antidepressants without his advice.