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Underground > Laboratory >

Trazadone

14:30 / 25.03.03

Question 1: Does trazodone actually encourage weight loss? Online resources seem very vague about it.

Question 2: Are appetite suppressants like Reductil really still amphetamine based?

14:47 / 25.03.03

No, it doesn't encourage weight loss. In keeping with pretty much all antidepressants it causes weight gain; with trazodone, the amount of weight gain is probably fairly minimal compared with the others.

Don't know much about Reductil; it's pretty new, and not really my area. It's highly unlikely that your GP's gonna prescribe anything amphetamine-based, though...

14:51 / 25.03.03

I don't believe it. So basically he was either wrong or just trying to shut me up? Doesn't exactly bode well that he mispelled it too, I guess. I think it might be time to get a new psychiatrist. Bloody hell.

Thanks, 'Nesh.

14:53 / 25.03.03

Well, having skimmed Google, Reductil seems to be marketed as a non-addictive, anti-craving drug...

pointless and uncalled for

14:55 / 25.03.03

I'm not sure about the weightloss thing but I seem to remember that this is one of the things my father was not too keen on. He's a pharmacist and subsequently has a vested interest in it. This is of course vague hearsay at best.

The trouble is that a lot of new drugs come into this country from America having undergone a name change, in part to suit national preference for names and in part to ensure that if there is fall out in one country then there is no immediate link to the other before it gets re-engineered and renamed.

*Warning to the concerned - always be careful if a drug that you are on suddenly gets renamed and remarketed as a better version. The better can sometimes be because it's less likely to harm you*

However, to the point that I was aiming at. One thing to do is see what the manufacturer calls it in other countries and see what kind of response there is to it.

As for the weightloss drugs, the manufacturing industry is under a lot of pressure to move away from products that may prove to be addictive or psychotropic and subsequently has displayed a decrease in the amphetimine based suppressants. I also understand that discipline is shown to be a more effective treatment as there is less of a potential for post-medicative relapse. I'm aware that this is not always easy.

*Note - the scaremongering stated above is designed to advise you of slim possibilities and not to create phobias regarding taking medication*

15:00 / 25.03.03

Thanks, folks. And Ganesh, I suspected that Reductil was not amphetamine-based. But now I really am worried about my psychiatrist. I mean, being told it would interact badly with the drugs I am taking I can deal with, but completely erroneous info is a bit, er, disturbing.

15:00 / 25.03.03

Well, I can sort of see his reasoning. I'm guessing he was weighing up how unhappy you are with antidepressant-induced weight gain against how unhappy you're likely to be if he takes you off antidepressants altogether, and attempting to compromise by shifting you to one which causes 'minimal' weight gain - so, if the switch is from trimipramine to trazodone, you actually should lose some weight. In theory.

16:14 / 25.03.03

It's not the same thing as leaving me misinformed though... but yeah, I know where you're heading with that reasoning.

16:39 / 25.03.03

Mmm. Suggesting it encourages weight loss - if those were his words - seems something of a stretch.

Personally, I think trazodone's quite a good antidepressant. It causes drowsiness, so I tend to prescribe it in situations where someone's depression includes a marked insomniac component. It's also one of the few that doesn't affect sexual functioning too much.

16:51 / 25.03.03

He said it suppresses appetite and that the appetite suppressing effect would take place immediately I started taking it.

Thanks for your help, y'know. Appreciated.

19:43 / 25.03.03

Well... try to give the stuff a fair go. It's a decent antidepressant, and might just surprise you by working. Both paroxetine and trimipramine (and, for that matter, carbamazepine) are more known for causing weight gain and, despite what you say, might well have been contributing to your problems. Don't decide the new combination's worse before you've tried it...

19:53 / 25.03.03

Fair enough. I just know that when its bad it's really fucking bad - and I can't always think, ah, that's just the change in meds, or whatever... but yeah, I'll give it a go. Danke.

19:54 / 25.03.03

Oh yeah, and there's always the possibility that your psychiatrist's just read some shit-hot-off-the-press research suggesting that trazodone is of value in this particular arena. Unlikely, but tread carefully before bawling him out...

21:21 / 25.03.03

Thought of that already, actually...but thanks.

22:21 / 12.04.04

I work nights as a psychiatric nurse and noticed that all the docs/NPs were perscribing it for insomnia. I started taking Trazadone 50 mg every morning (when I need to sleep) 2 months ago and I've lost 15 pounds. I had no idea that this was a side effect and I didn't need to lose weight to begin with. I know Trazadone has decreased my appetite, in fact I have to remind myself to eat.

You can find lots of information on the internet regarding Zoloft and Wellbutrin and their effect on weight loss. Also, Glucophage, an oral hypoglycemic, is being used successfully in weight loss. The drug does not act on the pancreas, and therefore does not effect insulin production/secretion. It sensitizes cell receptors to glucose in the blood stream. Blood sugar levels should not be affected with this drug. Also, ask your doctor about Phentermine. This drug isn't classified as an amphetamine, and supposedly doesn't have any addictive qualities.

13:46 / 13.04.04

i lost weight on wellbutrin, but that's cos it made me happy, so i didn't eat a gallon of ice cream and sleep for 12 or 14 hours a day.
i just found this website yesterday that i like a lot: crazymeds.org. it's funny and opinionated and written by a guy who's not a doctor, but researches "crazy meds" intensely.