When your doctor prescribes some medications for you, you use them for a few months. Your symptoms improve, but you don't know why you gain weight every day after that. You think your lifestyle hasn't changed. Your eyes fall on the medicine box and you say to yourself, It might be this drug! Yeah; you are right.
Weight gain is a side effect of some medications. Of course, this is not a reason to stop taking medications and endanger your health, but you can prevent it by slightly changing your lifestyle or substituting your medications for others. Your doctor or pharmacist will guide you in this regard.
How and why drugs cause obesity and weight gain?
Many medicines cause obesity and weight gain because some of these medicines increase the appetite and cause overeating. Others affect the body's ability to absorb and store glucose, thus accumulating mid-body fat and gaining weight.
Medicines don't often cause obesity on their own, but their side effects are linked to weight gain. For example, some medications increase the appetite and cause you to overeat. Others affect the body's ability to absorb and store glucose, and thus the accumulation of fat in the middle of the body.
Some also reduce your caloric metabolism rate by altering the body's metabolism. Another group increases shortness of breath and sleepiness, making it difficult to exercise. Some medicines also retain water in the body, but this type of extra weight is not caused by an increase in adipose tissue and is only a result of the accumulation of water, so the weight gain is not permanent and whenever the course of medication ends and the underlying disease disappears, your weight will return to the previous level.
How much weight is likely to be gained by medication?
The amount of excess weight varies depending on
which medicine different people use. Of course, this also depends on the type
of medication. Some may gain as much as a kilogram or two kilograms per month,
while others gain 5 to 10 kilograms or more.
In fact, because most of these drugs are used for
long periods and for chronic conditions, they are more common. However, you
shouldn't compare yourself to people who use similar medications. Side effects
of the drug are not the same for everyone. A certain drug may cause weight gain
in one person and weight loss in another person, so be sure to talk to your
doctor about this.
Different medications can be associated with side
effects of obesity and weight gain, of which we will list 10 groups here:
The most important drugs that cause obesity and weight gain
Insulin makes you happy ... And we are named too!
Insulin, such as lispro, aspart, and glucosin, can cause weight gain, but long-acting insulin has less effect on obesity. Unfortunately, many patients believe that with insulin injections, they can eat as much as they want; Some of them gain the same weight in 6 months to 15 kg!
Some doctors also prescribe high doses of insulin to control high blood sugar in the patient at the start of treatment, which may lead to symptoms of hypoglycemia, which can lead to overeating and obesity, while insulin must be prescribed gradually.
Diabetes pills make you fat too!
Some type 2 diabetes medications cause weight loss, while others cause weight gain. Medicines containing sulfonylureas, including diabinis, insulase, glypizide, glyburide, glimepiride, chlorpropamide, and tolbutamide, stimulate insulin production and activity. Insulin also lowers blood sugar and increases appetite. These medications usually cause more than 5 kg of extra weight in the first 3 to 12 months of treatment.
Thiazolidine Dion (Pioglitazone) is another diabetes medication that can help you gain weight. In contrast, drugs such as metformin, Exenatide, Sitagliptin, permillin, and Acarbose help weight loss or are ineffective.
Blood pressure-lowering drugs slow down the burning of calories
Beta-blockers such as atenolol, metoprolol, and propranolol, which are used to treat high blood pressure, can cause weight gain. For example, people who take atenolol gain an average of 2.5 kilograms in the first few months. In fact, it slows down your calorie burning and makes you feel tired and lethargic. Increasing the intake of fibrous and lower-calorie foods can be effective in modifying the side effects of these medications.
Corticosteroids retain water in the body!
Corticosteroids, including betamethasone,
dexamethasone, hydrocortisone, triamcinolone, clobetasol, fluocinolone, etc.,
are commonly used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, allergies, or other
autoimmune diseases and relieve painful inflammation. But at the same time, if
consumed for a long time and infrequent doses, it increases the body's
absorption of water.
In addition, because a person with these diseases
is less active, they burn fewer calories and gain weight. Used to treat
rheumatoid arthritis, prednisolone, and cortisone cause 2 to 13 kg of weight
gain in more than 50 percent of patients within the first year of use.
Inhaled corticosteroids for asthma, such as
budesonide, cyclosporine, and fluticasone, also have weight gain effects.
Exercise, diet, and sometimes concomitant use of metformin can reduce the extra
weight of these medications.
Antipsychotic drugs are both sedating and starving!
Antipsychotics such as haloperidol, luxabapine,
clozapine, chlorpromazine, fluphenazine, risperidone, zazapine, and quetiapine,
which are commonly used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar depression, can also
increase appetite and weight. But don't worry, you can take metformin or a
placebo at the same time as your doctor to prevent it.
Anticonvulsants and migraine .. 15 kg weight gain
in 3 months!
Taking anticonvulsants such as valproic acid may
be associated with 15 to 20 kg of extra weight. Valproic acid is a medication
used to treat bipolar disorder, epilepsy, seizures, and to prevent migraine
headaches. However, this medicine may cause weight loss in some people.
Carbamazepine and gabapentin can cause up to 15 kg of extra weight during the
first 3 months of treatment.
Anti-allergy drugs ... drowsiness and exercise
escape!
Antihistamines are an important component of
antiseptic drugs and cannot be ruled out. It disrupts the activity of the body's
appetite-regulating enzyme. Medicines containing diphenhydramine also reduce
physical activity by increasing sleepiness, so long-term use could be
associated with weight gain.
Anticonvulsants increase fat storage.
Most birth control pills consist of the hormones
progesterone and estrogen and prevent ovulation. These pills can cause some
extra weight because estrogen increases the body's ability to store fats, which
is necessary during pregnancy. If you are taking these medicines it is best to
change your method from time to time with the advice of your doctor and to look
for other methods of contraception.
Hormonal and estrogenic drugs slow down the
metabolism.
During menopause, the secretion of the hormone
estrogen in women's bodies decreases, so a person experiences symptoms such as
hot flashes and night sweats. To treat this condition, your doctor will usually
prescribe estrogen therapy, but this method will help you retain water and gain
weight. And with weight gain, the metabolism will slow down, so people
undergoing hormone therapy will need to change their diet, etc. Exercise regularly. Do not be fooled.
Antidepressants and psychotherapy, drugs!
Psychotherapy and antipsychotics, including
antidepressants for 3 courses, often weigh about 4 kilograms per month. A small
number of people gain between 15 and 20 kilograms within two to six months.
These include amitriptyline, doxepin, imipramine,
nortriptyline, trimipramine, and mirtazapine. Serotonin reuptake inhibitors
like sertraline, fluoxetine, paroxetine, and fluvoxamine also cause weight loss
in a small number of people and cause weight gain after 6 months. Lithium also
causes about 10 kg of excess weight in 11 to 65% of people over the age of 6 to
10 years.
4 important tips to prevent obesity when taking medication!
If your diet and physical activity haven't changed in recent months and you are overweight and think the medications are to blame, there are four things to keep in mind:
- The first and most important thing is not to stop taking your medication without consulting your doctor. Do not lower their dose. This medication may be more important to you than an overdose.
- Always ask the pharmacist if he or she has prescribed a medicine for you before. Sometimes, your doctor may replace your medications with others so that you do not become overweight and at the same time have a therapeutic effect.
- An overdose of the drug is usually indicated during the first six months of treatment. If you are overweight, be sure to talk to your doctor because obesity can worsen your condition and increase your risk of metabolic syndrome, diabetes, high blood pressure, raised fats, and arthritis.
- If you have to take over-the-counter medications, make a notebook to prevent obesity or help you lose weight, and write down everything you eat over time. This will give you much better control over the calories you eat.
You should also try to be more active; Instead of watching TV or drinking coffee with family or friends, go for a walk. This activity burns calories, and it, in turn, combats the weight gain of any drug.
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