Can Medicine Make You Fat?
By Jennifer Acosta Scott
In a word, yes. Heres what to do when the drugs you need also put on the
pounds.
When you start putting on weight, you look to the usual suspects: the dusty
treadmill or that stash of chocolate in your desk drawer.
But for 30-year-old Chelley Thelen, the culprit sat in her medicine cabinet.
In six years, Thelen gained 60 pounds from taking prednisone, a steroid used to
treat her arthritis.
Thelen is just one of a growing number of women who can blame their excess
pounds on the drugs theyre taking for everything from allergies to migraines.
The chances of finding yourself on a drug that can lead to weight gain have
more than doubled in the last 20 years.
In fact, the number has increased from one in ten to one in four, says
George Blackburn, MD, associate director of the Harvard Medical School Division
of Nutrition. The problem is so critical that Blackburn teaches a course for
physicians on the weight-gain side effects of medications.
The drugs were most concerned about are drugs for chronic diseases, like
diabetes and psychiatric problems, because you have to be medicated for life,
Blackburn says. But even innocuous-sounding meds like over-the-counter sleep
aids can cause snug-jeans syndromesome by slowing your metabolism, others by
altering the hormones in your body that control your appetite.
And the problem isnt just affecting womens waistlines: Some are even
choosing not to take drugs critical to their health for weight-control reasons.
If you suspect that meds are making you gain weight, check our list below for
the most common culprits and expert advice on what to do about it.
Drugs that can pile on pounds
Antihistamines
The fat effect: Allergy drugs containing diphenhydramine (such as Benadryl)
have a sedating effect that saps your energy if you take them regularly. Youre
not as active, so youre burning fewer calories, Blackburn says.
What to do: Ask about another antihistamine like Claritin or Zyrtec that
doesnt include sedating ingredients
Antidepressants
The fat effect: Some antidepressants affect neurotransmitters in your brain
that control appetite and mood, both of which can make you eat more.
What to do: See a psychiatrist instead of a family physician or internist
and ask about antidepressants that dont typically cause weight gain, such as
Wellbutrin or Zyban.
Birth control pills
The fat effect: Birth control pills may add up to five pounds because the
estrogen in them can cause you to retain water.
What to do: Ask about a low-estrogen pill like Yasmin, or the progestin-only
minipill. Or consider trying the NuvaRing, which releases lower doses of
hormones than the birth control pill, or try an intrauterine device.
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