Can The Medication Paxil Cause Weight Gain
According to Dr. Daniel K. Hall-Flavin of the Mayo Clinic, not all anti-depressants cause weight gain; however, Paxil can and often does. He explains that serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), of which Paxil is one, don’t normally cause weight gain whereas MAOIs, tricyclic antidepressants and monoamine oxidase inhibitors, are more likely to result in added weight. In this case, Paxil, which is an SSRI, is the exception, particularly if taken for a long period of time. Immediate Weight Gain Dr. Hall-Flavin notes that if an individual starts to gain weight the very first week that she is on the antidepressant, this may be a strong indicator that she will gain a significant amount of weight while on the drug. Anxiety-Based Depression Dr. Apovian, director of the Nutrition and Weight Management Center at Boston Medical Center and associate professor of Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine explains that Paxil does, in many cases, cause weight gain because it can have a sedative
