We take anti-anxiety medications to help us cope up with the extremes of emotions. However, because the world we are living in now is molding us to become vain and beauty-conscious, we also want to know which meds would affect our weight. It is quite certain that there are medications for anxiety and depression that can cause weight gain. But let’s learn more about anxiety first and find out if there are antidepressants and anti anxiety meds that cause weight loss. For more information, visit this useful blog www.homedoctorsgoldcoast.com.au/blog.
What is anxiety?
We all have the tendency to be anxious at some point in our lives. This is an emotion that can be temporary and does not have any effect on a person’s daily activities. However, there are some people who develop anxiety attacks that can cause distress and may sometimes cause physical problems like muscle weakness, headaches, migraines, and chest pain. If you have this type of anxiety, it is always good to talk to your doctor to find out if you are suffering from anxiety disorder.
What are anti-anxiety medications?There are many medications that can affect an anxiety attack. The most common are antidepressants and anxiolytics, a term for anti-anxiety meds. They control and manage the right amount of neurotransmitters, or brain chemicals that affect our emotions. Doctors can also give beta-blockers that can address the physical symptoms of an anxiety attack. It lowers down the heart rate and blood pressure so chest pain and muscle tension also reduce. Doctors can also use anti-allergy medications simply for their sedative effects, making the patient calm and rested. |
Anti anxiety meds that cause weight loss
All medications have their own benefits and side effects. For anxiety and depression medications, common side effects include seizures, drowsiness, dry mouth, and palpitations. Some regard them to affect a patient’s weight to either loss or gain some pounds. Here are some anti anxiety meds that cause weight loss as a result of their side effects.
Benzodiazepine
Benzodiazepine is a popular type of anti-anxiety medication that affects gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a kind of neurotransmitter that can suppress nerve activity. This causes the body to relax and reduce panic attacks and other problems like sleep disturbance. Common benzodiazepines used to treat anxiety and other psychological disorders are alprazolam, diazepam, lorazepam, and clonazepam. Common brands known for benzodiazepines are Xanax, Valium, and Klonopin. This type of medication can have side effects such as dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and gastrointestinal upset, which may lead to weight loss.
Venlafaxine (Effexor) and desvenlafaxine (Pristiq)
Although these medications are SNRIs or serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors which are actually antidepressants, they affect a patient’s anxiety attacks and nerve pain. Venlafaxine (Effexor) is more commonly used than desvenlafaxine (Pristiq) since the latter is not yet approved in the US to treat anxiety disorder, but some doctors prescribe both to control the chemical imbalance that happens during an attack. Weight loss may be associated with these drugs because they can cause loss of appetite. However, the weight changes may not be too noticeable and may be regarded as insignificant at times.
Buspirone
Buspar (popular brand name of buspirone) is a common anxiolytic used to treat general anxiety disorder. This drug may cause gastrointestinal problems that make a patient feel nauseous, dizzy, constipated or suffer stomach pain, vomiting, or diarrhea. These symptoms would lead a patient to lose appetite, thus lose weight.
Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs)
These are antidepressant medications that are also used in anxiety patients in conjunction with their meds. What makes them affect a patient’s weight is caused by their side effects, which may include gastrointestinal upset. Although some patients complain about these side effects and lose weight, many would actually gain weight. Because nutritionists advise patients that MAOIs can have the tendency to cause weight gain, they limit their food intake, which is also a reason why patients can lose weight while taking this drug.