Weight gain with anti-depressant/anti -anxiety medication - arghhhhhh....!

dustyangel I'm so scatterbrained at the moment that I can't even find your PM (or work out how to get to it!) let alone remember whether or not I've read it or replied! Many apologies - I'll try and find your message.
I too don't need food. I look like a very flabby elephant whale. I could feed a whole zoo with my carcass. I'm only 5 foot nuffink and around 81 kg (I daren't translate that into old money!) so not a pretty sight. What dose were you on for pain? I'm on 75mg, rising to 150 sometime next week and then up to 300 a few weeks later [h'mm]
Ana thank you - I know I'm panicking now, I can feel it happening, and it'd be too easy to abandon it altogether and leave myself with no clear plan, so I will resist the temptation to act precipitously and try and moderate my food cravings a bit more in the meantime. With these meds, you're between a rock and a hard place, as the saying goes - and doctors never seem to tell it as it is, however good they are. But if they don't, it's almost impossible to make an informed choice.

Rowantree I saw your thread the other day and then couldn't find it when I wanted to post a reply so I PMd you.
I was on Pregabalin for neuropathic pain for a while and had no weight gain or increased appetite.
Ironically the medication I'm on now does relieve pain but definitely has increased my appetite. Especially for starchy, sweet things. I keep telling myself that I don't need food but it's a permanent struggle.

Some of these medics don't seem to know much about the side-effects of the drugs they prescribed, as others have said on various threads on the forum!

Try not to worry about it (sorry, silly thing to say, I know) and see how you actually feel, mentally, when you go back to see him next time. Good luck.

An exercise bike might help - good idea. Though I used to have one my brother gave me and it ended up being used to drape clothes on, so we gave it away! I will post something in Freecycle (haha) and see if anyone has one they don't want.
And yes, I did see the leaflet - but only after he'd prescribed the drug, and I can't believe he told me that weight gain wasn't a problem. He's someone I normally trust. I am still on the lower dose to get used to the drug, so goodness knows what will happen when I have to take two a day....

Rowantree, didn't your tablets come with an expanatory leaflet? I've looked up the possible side-effects of Pregabalin, and it does seem that increased appetite and weight gain can be a problem for some people.

www.nhs.uk/medicine-guides/pages/MedicineSideEffects.aspx?condition=Anxiety&medicine=pregabalin&preparation=

I should mention this to your psychiatrist the next time you see him/her, but in the meantime give the medication time to kick in, and I do hope you feel an improvement soon. Don't give up on the exercise - how about an exercise bike?