I am wondering if Cymbalta has the side effect of weight Gain , I suffer with Anxiety I only take 30 mg and don't feel good at all on this dose , I was told maybe the dose is not high enough, but I am worried if I increase I will put weight on , I was on Zoloft and Effexor and gained weight
Do all Antidepressant tablets make you gain weight . Thanks
Cymbalta and Weight Gain?
Question posted by Missybon on 8 Oct 2013
Last updated on 4 March 2023
The information on this page reflects personal experiences shared by our community members. It is not reviewed for medical accuracy and should not replace professional medical advice.
40 Answers
Spendor
3 March 2023
I used to think these drugs would cause weight gain if you did not constantly do excersise each day.
After 8 years i now know--- I WAS TOTALLY WRONG!
If you go on a strict diet, eat not a bit of starch, a piece of bread a day and fish, chicken and vegetables, you will LOSE WEIGHT, faster than you think...
Anyone who is not watching every thing they eat is lying about weight gain. WATCH YOUR FOOD AND CALORIE INTAKE,,, for me, as an older man,, no more than 900 calories a day!! YOU WILL lose eight pounds in 3 weeks!!!
WildcatVet
3 March 2023
You may be able to prevent or eliminate normal weight gain but these drugs affect your metabolism in such a way that a certain amount of weight gain... or loss... is inevitable for some users. This is not responsive to diet or exercise.
cindy-59
4 March 2023
Thank you! I agree 100% Wildcat. I don’t understand why people still say that gaining weight on Cymbalta always has to do with calorie intake. Sure some people lose weight, some people stay the same weight but some people gain weight, even though they eat healthy, count calories and exercise every day. I know that Cymbalta changed my metabolism. I was always a size 5 before Cymbalta but I went to a size 14 during the years I taking it. I’ve lost almost all that weight since tapering off Cymbalta. My eating habits haven’t changed. If anything I ate less for a while when taking Cymbalta because of the nausea and other side effects. I wish more people could understand that just because they had a certain experience with a medication that doesn’t mean it happens that way for everyone. We are all different in many ways, including how medications can affect us. And to go as far as saying if we eat a certain amount of calories we will lose a certain amount of weight!!! I just don’t understand it.
WildcatVet
4 March 2023
"Is A 900-Calorie Diet Safe?
No, it is not. The 900-calorie diet plan can be referred to as a very-low-calorie diet. Very low-calorie diets, aka VLCDs, are eating plans that restrict caloric intake to 800 to 900 calories per day. For an adult, such small quantities of food cannot give you enough energy to properly sustain you."
"Women should not consume less than 1,200 calories a day, while men should tailor their intake to at least 1500 calories"
"Going below the recommended caloric intake has multiple side effects. Some of them include fatigue, constipation or diarrhea, nausea, a dry mouth, cramps, headaches, and dizziness, as well as feeling of extreme hunger (21). While these symptoms may disappear in a couple of weeks, some people will have more severe side effects, such as gallstones.
Gallstones. These are pieces of solid material that form in your gallbladder. When you do not eat enough, your body turns to burn fat as a source of energy. This forces the liver to secrete more cholesterol into bile, which then can form gallstones. Rapid weight loss puts you at a higher risk of gallstones (6).
Nutrient deficiencies. They occur when the body doesn’t absorb or get enough vitamins and minerals from food. These nutrients are crucial for both body development and preventing disease. Without them, we are at a higher risk of health issues such as digestive and eye problems, skin disorders, anemia, stunted or defective bone growth, dementia, and more"
Anyone with an ounce of common sense will consult with a PROFESSIONAL about any weight gain they may experience on a psychotropic medications rather than taking advice from online comments.
cindy-59
3 March 2023
I gained over 80 pounds during the years I was taking Cymbalta. I believe the medication changed my metabolism because I had no problems with my weight before.
WildcatVet
3 March 2023
As with most psychotropic medications there's the potential for weight gain in a small number of patients but statistically Cymbalta is more apt to cause weight loss:
"Metabolic
Very common (10% or more of users): Decreased weight (up to 16%), decreased appetite (up to 16%)
Common (1% to 10% of users): Anorexia, increased weight"
ashleynave16445
3 March 2023
I'm on Latuda, Strattera, and Cymbalta generic at 60 mg. each, and Strattera will soon be at 60mg Each medication is kind of weight neutral for me. Latuda I obviously gained only 10 pounds from 145 to 155, however, I am managing to lose the gained weight. Not sure if Cymbalta has caused the 10-pound difference in weight gain or not. I love Latuda because it's not like Seroquel.
CHoward99
30 Dec 2022
This is very helpful! I started Cymbalta in March of this year and gained 40 pounds (mostly around my middle) ! I have severe sweating, insomnia, dental problems, lethargic, flat affect - no at all myself AND my neuropathy is not better. My dose recently increased and after reading some of these responses I am very worried. My doctor never told me about the withdrawal potential and even said it causes weight loss. Pretty clear this drug is at least partially causing my problems. I am not on FB but I am interested in learning more!
Thank you to all who opened up and shared.
Mangipani
21 May 2021
I have never had a problem with weight gain while on Cymbalta and I have been on it for 15 years now, at a dose of 60mg. Actually I have have experienced no side effects what so ever. I wish I could say the same for the other medications I have been on. I still have days where the depression is off the chart, but they are few and far between.
Treasuredjems
20 April 2019
Please! Look at all the Facebook support groups (there are at least a dozen) just dealing with getting off Cymbalta. I thank these woman tremendously for warning me not to take this drug made by satan himself. Listening to their stories will bring you to tears. If you have been given an RX this by a doctor please join those groups first. And if you really think Cymbalta doesn’t make you gain weight then the devil got you again. There is no magic pill and this might feel like it for a while... but there’s always a price to pay. Are you willing that price with your body, your memory, your emotional state? I’m not.
cindy-59
20 April 2019
Hi Treasuredjems. Yes you are correct! I am in one of the groups. It’s called Cymbalta Hurts Worse. We have almost 19,000 members now and many of us have gained weight from this medication. Along with many other horrible side effects. I was prescribed Cymbalta for chronic nerve pain but it caused me to experience anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts. And dizziness, confusion and exhaustion. It causes apathy and it’s a miserable way to live. I had memory loss, hearing loss and blurry vision. Along with hair loss, excessive sweating, many cavities caused from dry mouth and muscle loss with muscle weakness. And many more side effects. It never did help me with the pain. My pain actually was worse than before I started taking Cymbalta. Some people have said that weight gain has a low percentage (like 1%-10%) as a side effect but personally I believe it’s much higher. Just check out the group/groups and you will see for yourself.
Then when you decide you don’t want to take it anymore because of all the side effects or because it stops working many people have to taper off very slowly. The advised tapering process is by no more than 10% of the last dosage taken every two weeks. Many people have to go slower; such as tapering by 5% or 2.5%. I started taking Cymbalta over 10 years ago and I started tapering off in 2017 and I’m down from 60 mg to 1.2 mg and I’m hoping and praying that I’m completely off by the end of this year. Cymbalta has ruined many lives. It has taken over 10 years from me. Please look for the side effects and be careful. The longer Cymbalta is taken and the higher the dosage can have an effect on your tapering journey. In my opinion and experience Cymbalta should never have been approved by the FDA and should not be on the market. I wish you all the best. Take care. Cindy59
cindy-59
20 June 2019
I just realized that I forgot to add that I gained over 80 pounds during the time I’ve been taking Cymbalta!
WildcatVet
22 Aug 2018
ALL psychotropic medications have the potential to cause weight gain by metabolic and fat storage changes. Cymbalta is considered one of the more weight neutral of the antidepressants. From the literature and listed in the product insert that comes with your prescription:
"Metabolic
Common (1% to 10% of users): Decreased appetite, weight increase/decrease"
ShanonT
22 Aug 2018
YEs, yes and yes. I can speak for myself. I'm in my 50's and have never gained weight before. I too am on only 30 mg/day. However, I've gained 20lbs over 20 weeks and feel like I'm wearing a fat suit. None of my clothes fit me... so I had to buy "fat clothes" and I cry every day about it. I'm NOT eating sweets or eating late at night like some of the others have replied. It just happened on it's own. So, I began myself on 1200 cal/day for 30 days. NOTHING!!! I didn't loose one stinkin' pound. I dropped it down again to 1000/day and NOTHING!!! I then went on a 10 day juice fast. STILL NOTHING!!! I have no problem with self control. I simply can't lose weight. I began running 3-4 days a week for 40 min. each day. NOTHING still. I'm going crazy with self loathing. I'm seeing my doc and getting off this crap asap before I can't walk any more.
bkbkj
2 June 2018
I was on cymbalta and I did gain weight but I think other ad's can also make you gain weight
WildcatVet
2 June 2018
CYMBALTA:
Metabolic
Common (1% to 10% of users): Decreased appetite, weight increase/decrease
Eag
2 June 2018
I started February 27, 2018. Was on 30mg for 6-8 weeks, then 60mg. It is now June 2, and I have gained 10lbs, which is a big problem because I am already obese. I am very upset, especially since weight gain is said to be uncommon, my doctor won't believe me that nothing has changed except this medicine.
cindy-59
15 April 2018
Hi everyone. I believe that Cymbalta and other antidepressants DO cause weight gain. In my experience I’ve been on Cymbalta for 8-9 years at 60 mg. I went from size 9 to size 13. Cymbalta did seem to help a bit in the beginning; but then it all went down hill from there. I started to get many side effects; but I thought it was all from my illness getting worse. I was dizzy, confused, forgetful, depressed, and couldn’t concentrate on anything for very long. I started gaining weight and continued to have bad falls. Once I fell down a flight of stairs; another time I fell and broke my leg. I was losing my hair in clumps and my eyesight and hearing were getting worse. I was sweating all the time and I had to have a fan on me even in the winter. My perfect teeth started to get cavities and falling out. One tooth broke in half and another one broke off at the gum line. I became a miserable overweight angry woman.
I was weak and tired all the time. I lost interest in everything and everyone. I had no interest in sex anymore and when my husband and I would have sex I could never have an orgasm. I realize this might be tmi for some people; but this was my life on Cymbalta. Once I realized that the problem was this drug I started tapering in June last year (2017) and I’m down to 25 mg now. It’s been very hard; but I’m losing weight and I’m getting ‘me’ back again. It will be worth everything once I get this drug out of my body. Take care everyone and I wish you all the best. Cindy59
WildcatVet
15 April 2018
It can go either way for a very few users (<10%):
"CYMBALTA
Metabolic:
Common (1% to 10%): Decreased/increased appetite, weight decrease/increase"
ALL psychotropic drugs (antidepressants, anti-psychotics, anticonvulsants) have the potential to influence weight... it just depends how your individual metabolism reacts. I wouldn't be afraid to start any of these medications because the benefits far outweigh the slight risk. If you DO find that you are gaining/losing MEDICALLY SIGNIFICANT weight you can always try a different medication.
Sabra1
15 March 2019
It's not that easy. And a horrific withdrawal when you come off. I was on 15 years. NEVER again.
cgl6477
15 April 2018
No, I don't think Cymbalta causes weight gain. My doctor prescribed it for me 10 years ago when Effector finally wore off after five or six years. I started at 30mg in 2008, and am now at 120mg daily.
My current dose is very high, and took some getting used to about a year ago. But I feel better now than I ever have. My only complaints are dry mouth & profuse perspiration. I have gained weight over the years but I attribute it to menopause and inactivity since I am now retired due to medical issues. I am a 62 year old woman.
Related topics
cymbalta, weight loss (obesity/overweight), anxiety, side effect, weight
Further information
- Cymbalta uses and safety info
- Cymbalta prescribing info & package insert (for Health Professionals)
- Side effects of Cymbalta (detailed)
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