Fibromyalgia Support Group

You're not alone in your pain. Fibromyalgia is a condition that can be difficult to diagnose and manage. If you're trying to cope with pain throughout your body, sleep problems, general fatigue, or other common fibromyalgia symptoms, you're in the right place. The community is here for you to talk about therapies and share your challenges.

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Effexor and weight gain

4everyoung1
4everyoung1

Hello fibro friends,   quick question !  I'm taking Effexor which is actually helping lessen some of my fibro symptoms :)  but I have been on a really clean diet and am slowly gaining weight.  I exercise moderately because if I overdue the exercise then I have bad fibro flare-up.Does anyone else have this problem ??  So frustrating !!!  Thank you = blessings,  PJ

Fantod
Fantod
Weight gain with medication is a pretty common problem for Fibromyalgia patients. It's a trade off. Somewhat better quality of life with an extra 20 pounds or suffer. If you have not run the gamut of meds available to us, go back to your doctor and tell them that you want to try something else. Just an FYI, Lyrica is pretty notorious for rapid weight gain.so I'd probably stay away from it. Not everyone gains weight with it but at least move that option to the end of the lust. Take care.
4everyoung1
4everyoung1
Fantod - I appreciate your response and will have a discussion with my doctor. And you are right - is feeling and little better worth 20 pounds of weight.
I wonder why it's common for fibromyalgia patients to gain weight ?

You're always so helpful and knowledgable . Thank you for sharing. Blessings.
Fantod
Fantod
It seems to be the c!ass of medications that we are limited to for pain relief. And, the doctors are not proactive about making a change when they see the patient has put on weight. They seem to assume the trade off of having less pain is just dandy. Somehow, the fact that we are now suffering doubly with an image problem along with Fibromyalgia seems to be a mystery unless you are your own best advocate and speak up. Talk to your doctor and see if they can offer another option. Take care..
CatinMichigan
CatinMichigan
I have bipolar too and have gained weight on psychotropic meds as well. I don't take anything for my fibro on a regular basis. I take things on a prn (as needed) basis. I'm stable though, mentally, so it's worth it I guess! My fibro was really bad today. I had to take tramadol 50mg. and a couple migraine meds too. The weather was sucky...cloudy and overcast. Oh well, I made it through the day of work. It was tough though.
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