Medication and Weight Gain

So many of us who are on several medications suffer from unwanted side effects. One of the most common is weight gain.  It isn't fully known why some medications cause us to pack on the pounds.  Maybe doctors can lower the dose or change the medication to a different class to help curb the increase in weight.  I was reading the latest issue of Reader's Digest and they had a helpful chart of weight gain causing drugs and alternatives to those particular drugs.  A lot of these I noticed are common among many of us and I felt it helpful to share them so that we can stay informed and ready to make changes, if necessary.

DRUGS FOR	COULD CAUSE WEIGHT GAIN	SKINNY ALTERNATIVE	READER'S DIGEST EXPERT SAYS
Depression	SSRIs such as paroxetine (Paxil, Pexeva), citalopram (Celexa)	Bupropion (Wellbutrin, Aplenzin)	Some researchers believe SSRI-style drugs increase appetite.  Antidepressants that affect dopamine, such as bupropion, may actually reduce hunger.
High blood pressure, coronary artery disease	Powerful beta-blockers such as metoprolol (Lopressor), atenolol (Tenormin)	Mixed alpha- and beta-blockers such as carvedilol (Coreg)	With the single-effect beta-blockers, it can be harder to lose weight, possibly because they reduce metabolic rate.
Allergies	The antihistamine diphenhydramine (Benadryl, Alka-Seltzer Plus Allergy)	Antihistamines loratadine (Claritin), cetrizine (Zyrtec)	The alternatives contain different, less potent active chemicals, decreasing the chances that the drugs will boost appetite.
Insomnia	Diphenhydramine (in over-the-counter brands Sominex, Unisom, Nytol)	Zolpidem (in prescription Ambien)	Occasionally taking an over-the-counter sleep aid shouldn’t cause weight gain; for every night help, consider switching to prescription.

You can find more weight gaining medications at http://www.rd.com/health/gaining-weight-maybe-its-your-medicine/.

Nuzzo, Regina. "Gaining Weight? Maybe It's Your Medicine | Reader's Digest." Reader's Digest: 38. Health Tips, Food and Recipes, Funny Jokes and Cartoons, and Sweepstakes | Reader%u2019s Digest. Reader's Digest. Web. 08 Feb. 2012. <http://www.rd.com/health/gaining-weight-maybe-its-your-medicine/>.