the weight gain group/too fat

[[ba...]]

Gained 35 pounds so far. I have never been overweight in my life. I am physically active, and I do eat kale salad and the like. I think its xanax induced IBs, xanax induced metabolism chaos, and stress causes us to pile fat around the Middle.

 

With too much stress, the body thinks your malnourished, and starts adding pounds, especially in the tummy.

 

sigh.

[[NJ...]]

I just found this thread!

 

While I have not gained weight during the taper, pre-taper while on lexapro and klonopin I gained 60 pounds. I am so disgusted with myself. I work out consistently but cannot seem to get the eating under control. I am on remeron, a known weight-gain drug, and while I have not gained weight since adding it, cannot lose unless I cut the klonopin too much and start vomiting all the time, which is not the way to get weight off. I was thin for my whole life before this craziness.

[[Gr...]]

This is so frustrating because I am trying to cut out the one thing I am craving the most- SUGAR.  UGH.  I'm trying to go for nuts instead of candy...it's sort of working.  Popcorn is good too. 

[[Sa...]]

Merry christmas everyone....any success so far? For me my 37th months started...very frustrating.. i am emotionally totally down...and no weight loss so far

[[in...]]

hello buddies

just wanted to tell you my weight gain story.

 

before benzos i weighed 76 kg  (i am 1,77m tall) after stopping xanax i lost about 15 kg in 1,5 months after that i gained everything back plus more. 4 months ago i weighed 79 kg and the last 4 months it went down again. i have 73 kg now. i didn’t do anything special, so yes it will be normal again 

[[Gr...]]

Hey so I'm down about six pounds since this summer, but I am back to about where I was a year ago.  I am starting to think that my weight is coinciding with my holds and cuts.  I did a long hold this time last year and I did lots of cuts this summer.  This may not regulate until I am done cutting.

[[nm...]]

Right here.

 

I started taking benzos because, unlike antidepressants I'd tried, they didn't make me gain rapidly. Of course, once I started trying to cut my dosage down from .5mg Klonopin daily, I gained 15 in a few months (plus experienced a lot of unpleasant stomach symptoms). Right now, I've packed on 25/30 and I can't take this anymore. I'm over 8 months off Klonopin and thought the pounds would have started coming off by now.

 

I have a history of body image issues and disordered eating (mainly binging and purge/restrict) and it's SO HARD not to fall back into those behaviors since I obsess about how much I hate the gain so much. Before I started coming off of K, I could have occasional cheat days and the small amount of weight gain was manageable, without taking unhealthy measures. Unfortunately, I still binge eat sometimes, but I think I've done well with avoiding purging or restricting, since I think it'll just delay my healing. BUT I NEED THIS GAIN TO STOP! Even when I eat healthily and exercise, the scale barely shifts and one day of overeating sends me back to square one.

 

Sorry for the venting, but you're not alone!

[[Be...]]

I am so glad I found this group.  I was on Xanax for close to 15 years.  The last 8 years anywhere from 2-6mg a day.  I know it is awful.  I entered rehab in August and have been off Xanax 5 months and counting --- along with other prescriptions.  I have never had a major issue with my weight.  I am short 5' 3' and now weight the most ever besides my two pregnancies at 145lbs.  I am so upset.  I have exercised, dieted, drinking water... you name it.  My dr has offered to put me on phentermine.  Has anyone else taken this after coming off bentos?  I honestly think I would feel so much better if I got this weight off of me.  I can't fit in any of my clothes and I am in the process of looking to go back to work since last August.  Help!! Any advice or love for this fat girl would help. 

[[NJ...]]

I would not take a drug to get the weight off. I weigh a lot more than you and am the same height. I was thin until I took these pills (110 lbs or less) so I know how much this sucks!! But there is no way I would take something. I just googled this drug and it has very serious side effects and is a "psycho stimulant." I personally don't think this would be good for someone recovering from benzo usage.

[[ka...]]

Benzos can throw off or alter how many of our glands works, wh/ translates into hormone issues as well. Also depending on your age - for females mainly, we will also have sex hormones declining and this can cause weight gain as well. May consider checking out your TSH, FSH, Estrogen/estradiol, ..... levels.  Just a thought and may be an easier fix than adding another medication that may cause issues or difficult side effects or prohibit healing from your benzo's.  I know it can be so very frustrating, you have been through so much and now this. so sorry!

[[Li...]]

Hi everybody!

 

I had gained my weight almost 15 lbs in 2 months, it started right after the first acute wd hell was gone. My weight was 204 lbs.

I am so addicted to chocolate and sugar. Chocolate was my tool to handle the bad thoughts and especially bad waves.

Now i've been almost a month without any chocolate, and the weight is still 198 lbs. I've jogged almost everyday now for a week and trying to eat healthy, and little less. I now it is not good to excercise everyday, but the runs are pretty short. Trying to not control my feelings with food, that is the main thing for me now.

 

All the best, we don't have to hurry!

 

Samuli

[[Sa...]]

Hello i am now 3 years and two months and still zero sucess ....so desperate

[[Aj...]]

I've gained about 14lbs since withdrawal.

 

It's really getting to me because I had lost 8 stone (112lbs)  before I started tapering - it took me two years.

 

For the last 2 months I can't feel my body properly. This applies toall sense of touch but also to any internal sensation. I could eat and eat all day but have o sensation of being full. There is literally no feedback.

 

Prior to all this I was eating paleo/low carb and a small meal would make me feel full.

 

At some point during withdrawal my brain got vey messed up and could no longer work out what was food or not food - it was very frightening. I would be cleaning my teeth and my brain would be telling to eat the toothbrush, or I would pick up a a pen and before I knew it it was in my mouth - at the same time I could no longer bear to eat the healthy stuff I have always eaten even when I was fat. I was getting horrendous compulsive sugar and carb cravings that previously I only ever got when pre-menstral.

 

Now I am still having the compulsive need to constantly put things in my mouth but only food. It starts from the moment I wake up and I am finding it very difficult to control.

 

Combined with the complete loss of sensation of any sense of fullness and it is horrendous.

 

I am trying hard to not give in to it but it is a minute by minute struggle all day every day.

[[wa...]]

I am depressed, too, for I lost about 50lbs over the course of about 4 years -- mostly from exercise like treadmill. 

 

When I was in tolerance, the weight snuck back up a bit.  But once in acute w/d I couldn't eat anything high in histamine.  Awful. Although I was glad about weight loss -- it was a hell of a way to lose weight.  I was very afraid I'd become too thin -- something I have never, ever been concerned with.

 

Now with an appetite, I'm yo - y o ing back up.  Whoa -- put on all the weight I lost years ago!  I'm tired all the time and find that I am searching for energy with food.  I developed osteoarthritis in w/d, too, and so my activity is very limited making it very difficult to return to exercise to control weight. 

 

I hear everyone's frustration.  I am not a clothes horse -- but I am looking at a closet full of clothes 2X smaller than what I am squeezing into.  I am so glad not to be in acute anymore but still depressed and frustrated by the weight.  WBB

[[gi...]]

I haven't gained any weight in withdrawal, but I have a problem losing, the weight loss happens, but it's slow.  I didn't have that problem before withdrawal,  I could always lose weight quickly.  Now it requires a lot more effort.

[[or...]]

This benzo trip has been really crappy for my weight.

 

First I was sick as a dog and lost 40 lbs. (I was normal weight B4 my taper). I couldn't eat much at all for 3 years.

 

Than my taper was over and verrrrrry gradually I began to put on weight. Food tasted good. I actually could eat pizza and ice cream. Now . . . I'm 20 lbs overweight. Jeez, Louise. So I am trying to cut back on my intake. (Sob. No more ice cream). And I am saying no to sugar. Learning to love Truvia in my coffee.

 

My doctor is giving me grief for gaining weight. Hah, but where was she when I was getting thin as a rail, hmmm?

 

It's very damned hard. Ah benzos . . . the gift that keeps on giving.

 

Katz

[[az...]]

At 17 mo. I am now thin again.

[[Ma...]]

Hello everyone, I think it's the valium acting on me and of course no exercise because my back and neck hurt so bad.  But I had no trouble maintaining my weight til the crossover to valium

Valium sux, it also sedated me and makes me dizzy.  I can not wait until this is over and I have a long way to go..........

[[Cl...]]

Nice to find this group.

I am on my 2nd go round. First time I was so skinny during taper. Started dropping weight when I got prescribed K —I liked that because I have always struggled with weight.

Then I quit smoking and gained a lot. Joined My Fitness Pal and recorded every bite and step - lost most of it- fit my clothes but a mess mentally from post taper derealization, etc

Fast forward 2 years:  I had a family disaster and went back on the benzo and off MFP- disaster is over and I am a few days off the benzo AND I am so heavy I will not step on the scale...

 

I am uncomfortable in my clothes, do not want to go out of house and be seen like this.

Thinking about how I started eating wrong: it started with a Vegan diet— I started eating so many carbs ( bread, crackers...) fats as in  avocado oil olive oil I never fried with oil before! I ate all  the things I would not dare eat before. ( now I know why)

 

I am back to walking and trying to be more mindful as well as not eating after 7pm or before 11am.

Justing getting off the benzo the thought of being on a diet is too much.

[[Gr...]]

So I think I really did lose five pounds when I cut sugar and carbs, cause it has not come back.  I actually went up 2 bra sizes, but no weight was gained...That was very strange, but I'm glad I figured it out cause it was very uncomfortable trying to fit into these tiny bras. 

 

I can't cut all sugar and carbs now.  It would be unrealistic, but I am going to try and limit them.  I have been exercising less in the last month and I have not noticed an effect on my weight with that, though I would like to get back to it. 

[[ni...]]

I gained around 20 pounds during my taper and finally jumping off. No change in my diet or exercise. My metabolism has to be messed up.

Now I am sick with a cold and cough so have been eating chicken noodle soup and think I've lost a pound or two. Long road to go.

 

[[nm...]]

Azalea, that's reassuring to hear!

 

I'm at 11 months now and hoping that the weight will start creeping off in the near(ish) future. I've been much better over the past month or so with keeping to keto and not overeating (only on some special occasions). I've managed to lose about 8 lbs from my highest weight but sadly it gets really difficult to lose much weight past that unless I am restricting calories to an unhealthy extent.

[[ni...]]

cliffdweller, I won't get on the scales either. When I go to the doctor, I refuse to look when they weigh me. I can't wear my clothes. Last year I bought two pairs of larger size slacks and a couple of tops, so that's it. I found a sweater and a couple of sweatshirts my son left in his closet when he finally moved out after graduating from the university that I can wear. That's it. I look rather forlorn.

I sleep so little that restricting my food intake is not an option. I'm not willing to lay awake and listen to my stomach growl all night. I will try once start sleeping consistently for more than a couple of hours at night.

[[Gr...]]

At 14 months off I've lost maybe 15lbs from my maximum weight (very very slowly). I finally got under 150 lbs but it fluctuates. I'll lose over a few weeks, then get hungry and gain the third week. It wouldn't be so bad if the weight would spread out evenly over my body, but it's all in the belly. It sticks out like I'm six months pregnant and it feels really uncomfortable. At least some of the weight loss has happened around the middle since the sweatpants I lived in last winter were way too loose on me this winter. It's still ugly though, I just look six months pregnant instead of seven months.

[[ni...]]

Grapejuice, mine is in my belly too, which was always flat! I look 15 months pregnant. 

My husband eats more than  I do as well as he drinks alcohol daily. I stopped drinking wine/alcohol when I began my taper.

Anyway, he has no stomach and is skinny all over. Go figure. There was a time when he was on steroids that he gained a lot of weight, but that eventually came off, when he tapered back off of the steroids.

I'm glad your pregnancy look is starting to go down. Hopefully mine will too.