Medicines that relieve autoimmune diseases, chronic pain and depression help people live fuller lives. But many have unwanted side effects, including weight gain.
Changing your medication regimen, lowering your dosage, and drinking more water can help people lose the weight that comes with therapy. Gaining excess weight due to medications can be a frustrating problem. Understanding that this is a possible side effect is the first step in dealing with it. There are several ways to lose weight gained from taking medications, but these should be discussed with your doctor first.
Types of medications that cause weight gain
- Antidepressants, including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), and tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs).
- Antipsychotics and mood stabilizers.
- Corticosteroids, such as prednisone, methylprednisolone and budesonide.
- Diabetes medications, such as insulin and sulfonylureas.
- Medicines for epilepsy are valproate and gabapentin.
- Beta blockers, such as propranolol and metoprolol.
- Opioids.
Weight gain doesn't always happen instantly. A 2018 study found that people are more likely to gain weight 2-3 years after treatment with antidepressants. When taking antipsychotics, most weight gain occurs in the first 6 months of taking the medication. It is important to note that not everyone gains weight while taking medications that do not cause weight gain as a side effect. However, some antipsychotics are more likely than other drugs to cause weight gain.
How to avoid gaining weight during hormonal therapy for UC and CD?
Girl with a burger
It's no secret that Prednisolone, Metypred, Medrol and similar hormonal drugs contribute to excess weight gain. This is especially true, perhaps, for the fair half of humanity.
How can you help your body not gain excess weight while taking synthetic glucocorticoids?
I don’t know how things stood with this issue for you, dear readers, but during hormone therapy in 2013 I looked like someone unknown.
Thin arms and legs, but a huge moon-shaped face and a belly, which I never had at all (let me remind you , my body type is closer to an ectomorph, and then during an exacerbation I lost 20 kg).
While taking Prednisolone and Metipred, either intravenously or orally, I developed a wild appetite. Despite the fact that even during the most difficult moments of exacerbation I always wanted to eat, hormones increased this need by 3 times. I ate everything that is allowed on the “table No. 4” diet, only in much larger volumes. The result of all this “gluttony” was the situation described above.
Abdominal obesity
As I wrote in the article about hormonal therapy, glucocorticoids affect metabolism. It is coupled with an increased appetite that a person risks gaining absolutely harmful kilograms. Why harmful? Yes, because excess visceral fat is always bad. In the case of me and many other people on hormone therapy, there is a high risk of developing abdominal obesity, in which fat is deposited in the abdomen and upper torso.
Visceral fat protects internal organs from various negative influences. However, if the volume of this fat exceeds 10-15% of the total number of fat cells in the body, there is a danger of certain pathologies, including:
- Varicose veins
- Myocardial infarction.
- Oncology.
Here we come to the topic of today's article. So how can you avoid gaining weight during hormonal therapy for UC and CD?
The main concept for solving the problem is to revise the diet, namely:
- Minimizing the consumption of animal fats (butter, fatty meats).
- Refusal to consume trans fats contained in substitutes for natural oils (on store shelves you can find cheap analogues of butter, so-called “spreads”). Also, these substitutes are very often found in various bakery products, cookies, gingerbread, cheese, etc., so pay special attention to the composition of the food you buy.
- Limit the consumption of foods with “fast” (quickly digestible) carbohydrates (sugar, bananas, candies, marmalade, marshmallows, honey and other sweets).
- Do not eat a lot of salty foods (salt retains water in the body).
- Minimize your potato consumption (starch helps you gain “bad” weight very quickly).
I did not include such obvious things as alcohol and carbonated drinks in the list, because, I hope, patients with UC and CD understand that these drinks are strictly prohibited for them. Although, in my case, the wine I drank at the wedding had no effect on my intestines.
Try to eat 5-6 times a day, as when gaining weight, but “standard”, i.e. Breakfast lunch and dinner.
I advise you to pay attention to fiber, because... it helps cleanse the gastrointestinal tract from various harmful deposits and decay products. In addition, according to a recent study, plant fibers protect the intestines from infections and inflammation.
In addition to correcting nutrition, it is necessary to dilute the gray everyday life with some physical activity. Regular walking or swimming is fine for this.
Some patients on a course of hormones are helped to cope with excess weight by diuretics, incl. herbs. In addition, many people with UC and CD prefer to drink chamomile infusion instead of regular tea, which, in turn, is a diuretic. In any case, before taking any medications (even if of natural origin), be sure to consult a specialist.
In conclusion, I would like to note that, in any case, you will gain weight. However, you must admit, it’s one thing to gain 15 kg, and another thing to gain 3 kg. By following the simple recommendations described in this article, you can reduce the risk of obesity during hormone therapy.
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How is weight gain from medications diagnosed?
Not everyone who gains weight from medication notices it, especially people who were deficient at the start of treatment.
However, the doctor will usually notify the person that they have gained weight since their previous appointment. Your doctor may ask about lifestyle changes to evaluate whether the medication is causing your weight gain. It can be difficult to confirm the connection between weight gain and medications, especially if the weight gain occurs gradually.
In some cases, other lifestyle habits and environmental factors can contribute to weight gain, including supplement use and poor sleep quality.
The newest contraceptive drugs that make you lose weight: effects on the body and weight
Traditional medicine recipes cannot be used by people with vascular problems, cholelithiasis and urolithiasis. In order not to gain weight during hormonal treatment, you must adhere to a diet. But, if excess weight does appear while taking hormonal contraceptives or medications, then it will be difficult to lose it. In this case, you cannot do without consulting an endocrinologist and nutritionist. These specialists will take into account possible hormonal imbalances and make the following recommendations:
Calculation of glomerular filtration rate. These contraceptives are intended primarily for insertion into the vagina and are not taken orally. The composition includes spermicides that destroy sperm. The active ingredient is nonoxynol. Contraceptives have some advantages over OCs, although they are less effective. Some oral contraceptives contain hormones that promote weight gain.
But this happens more often when they are not taken correctly. Birth control pills are not able to break down fats already formed in the body, they do not affect the areas of the brain responsible for saturation, and do not speed up metabolism. Some contraceptives have a gentle effect on hormonal levels, which leads to normalization of body weight.
That is why doctors sometimes prescribe these drugs for weight loss, and not for their main purpose. OK should normally not affect a woman’s body weight at all. If the product is chosen correctly, then it corresponds to the hormonal background and cell structure. But an increase or decrease will be observed if the pharmaceutical is chosen incorrectly. It also depends on the individual reactions of the body. Oral contraceptives can reduce weight if the reason for weight gain lies in excess male hormones in the blood.
Weight loss occurs due to fluid excretion, not fat burning.
Why women blame pills
Only a gynecologist can prescribe a contraceptive drug. He will take into account the results of the tests performed, correctly select a remedy that will help slightly reduce body weight, and explain the dosage regimen. Not all hormonal drugs can reduce weight. The product should contain drospirenone, a synthetic hormone with properties similar to natural progesterone.
It is he who controls body weight by removing excess fluid, but fat cells are not affected. Scientific studies have shown that a contraceptive containing up to 20 mg of drospirenone can promote weight loss. However, this will only be a side effect. They are not classified as targeted means for losing weight. If any symptom appears while taking the drug with drospirenone, you should visit a doctor and stop taking the OC.
Statistics say that today every fourth adult woman on earth chooses hormonal contraception; Hormonal pills have been used as a method of preventing pregnancy and getting rid of many women’s ailments for more than 50 years! But many people, especially women, having learned that they need to start taking hormones, are horrified to think that they might get better from it. Is it so? And we must admit that over the past three decades very serious results have been achieved in this area. The mechanism of development of weight gain in some women with long-term use of hormonal contraceptives has now been thoroughly studied.
There are a number of contraceptives that do not make you fat. They contain a minimum of hormones and are produced using advanced technologies.
Why do some medications cause weight gain?
They change the body's metabolism and affect water and electrolyte balance.
Antidepressants may cause mood changes, leading to increased appetite. Antipsychotic drugs stimulate appetite and may cause food cravings. Other side effects of some medications, such as shortness of breath, make it difficult to exercise, which can lead to weight gain.
Contraceptives
When the question arises whether it is possible to gain weight from pills, doctors remember drugs in this category as the first potential threat. Selecting contraceptives is always a difficult task. These medications change hormone levels, affect blood viscosity, metabolism and other biochemical processes in the body. An incorrectly chosen remedy, too high or low a dose can lead to serious problems.
Obesity due to hormonal imbalance when taking contraceptives is a common situation and not always reversible. It can occur due to an increase in progesterone, which increases appetite, due to water retention, disruption of lymph flow, and problems with metabolism. If the pills cause these side effects, you can try changing them. Estrogen-based contraceptives in low doses are almost safe for your figure. Another option is an intrauterine device, but it also has disadvantages.
- Allergy to gel polish
- The unemployed will be offered a new form of employment instead of benefits
- Operator by mobile phone number
Stop playing, hormone! How not to gain weight while taking hormonal drugs
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Why does weight gain when taking hormonal drugs?
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Mandatory exercise every day. And stable weight gain every day. I think what would have happened if I had also eaten everything, plus swelling and insomnia.
I stopped drinking and everything went away within four or five weeks. I spent a long time selecting pills with a doctor. Early painful menopause. I was afraid to take hormones. I was collecting information about why people get better from hormonal medications. And I’m very glad that I listened to the doctor. Same weight, even lost a little weight. The appearance has improved, and my health is 5 plus.
On the contrary, my appetite decreased. I believe that hormones can be taken only after a thorough examination and consultation with a doctor. Review text Guest I took thyroxine and thyroid hormones. I lost weight for a long time and painfully. By the way, the instructions indicate side effects, including weight loss and weight gain.
So the author of the article is wrong in asserting that thyroid hormones cannot lead to weight gain.
Hormones and weight loss
Guest spent a long time selecting pills with the doctor. Anastasia I've been on the pill for a year, my weight hasn't changed much, but my breasts have grown by 2 sizes!!! So glad. The page will close automatically after 5 seconds. Most commented. Most popular. User of the Woman website. Use and reprinting of printed materials from the woman website. The use of photographic materials is permitted only with the written consent of the site administration. RU All materials from the Woman site.
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