"Adderall is a stimulant, it makes you hungry and crave food. It causes weight gain."

[yellowlovesgray]

Have you, like, ever heard this...from a doctor? Or, like, anywhere?

I'm seeing a new endocronologist and she somehow didn't see my Hashimoto's in a full blood workup, and I had some RAPID weight gain this fall - like 50 lbs. in 6 weeks, and for a while I thought it sounded like Cushing's but my cortisol levels are fine. I even researched Adderall and its relation to cortisol long-term to see if there was a connection, and I can find some evidence of it, but not a ton.

The endo felt like she was grasping at straws when I asked about any other ideas about what might have caused the rapid weight gain. My calories are below 1200/day, I eat gluten-free and whole foods, low carb. Anything else and I'll gain even more rapidly. I'm at least slowing it down.

I have, like, no appetite most of the day. When I do get it back, I eat a normal food portion. She thinks I'm closet binging and didn't believe my food journal.

She said Adderall was "notorious" for weight gain. She said "That's what stimulants do - they make you hungry."

I have never had a stimulant NOT suppress my appetite. Even coffee does. Sudafed does. 

[Velvet Elvis]

Um.  Adderall and Dexedrine were originally marketed in the 60 and 70s as weight loss drugs.  Adderal went by a different name at the time.  

 

I don't like to question what people are told by their physicians but this is just weird.

Do you take any other meds?

[Blue Toad]

It's notorious for weight loss, not weight gain.  Badly misinformed doctor.  However, it can sometimes cause weight gain in a round about way, by interfering with sleep, which screws up your metabolism.  

[Mary123]

from multiple experiences of watching people I'm close to start Adderall there is significant weight loss on all four counts.

Massive appetite suppression.

I also don't like to question what a physician is telling his/ her patient. This, however seems backwards.

I wonder if it would be a mix of adderall plus another med you're taking?

weird.

[hagar]

Physicians aren't infallible. I've been fed plenty of flat-out wrong misinformation from doctors who didn't know what they were talking about. I've never taken a stimulant that made me hungry, personally. 

[jt07]

Honestly, if my doctor told me this, I would be looking for a second opinion. Though I would be tempted to make a bet with the doctor and prove her wrong.

[Mirazh]

I laughed out loud, literally, at the title.  I don't take Adderall but I do take Dexedrine, I've previously taken Concerta, and methylphenidate IR, and I have a history of illegal stimulant abuse as well.  Soooo yeah.

 

The appetite suppression is something I do get used to on the med but it never makes me hungry and I also sorta learn how to "eat around" the appetite suppressing effects.  

 

The only thing I can think of is how my appetite subjectively *seems* when I am no longer on my stimulant, comparatively and all that.  And I don't mean when it wears off at night or something.  I mean when I can't afford it for weeks on end after it runs out, for example.  I don't actually eat much more than I would while on the stimulants (other than the first couple weeks back on them while I re-adjust to the appetite suppression, perhaps,) but it just subjectively *feels* like it.  My weight doesn't really change around on me though, in either direction.  My BP mood episodes are much more likely to mess around with my weight.

[yellowlovesgray]

OK, thank you guys for replying LOL. I thought I was going insane when I heard this. 

I DO believe in a round-about way it CAN maybe be responsible for gain, but from what I've read it takes a few things to have to happen to create the "perfect storm" of stuff to create this gain.

I'm on a cocktail, but I quit Geodon for good about a month ago. Geodon was where my problems with weight (and a bunch of other things) started to happen, but it was all that could kill my depression.

I have Hashimoto's hypothyroidism, too, and I'm being treated for that and have been reading about psychaitric manifistations of thyroid issues, and I'm overwhelmed by information and kinda freaked out. I don't know *how much* of my depression in theory could be attributed to the thyroid problems.

I'm taking Cymbalta, Adderal, and Xanax. I have, like, no appetite. I eat gluten-free low carb, less than 1200 calories daily. Excercise isn't where I want it to be yet, I'm taking baby steps back up - but the weight collected in my trunk (I don't normally collect there, weird) and I  now get sciatica back pains while walking or standing for long periods of time. Jogging actually hurts less than walking, but I do have Chronic Fatique Syndrome (or at least, the diagnosis) so my energy level is HORRIBLE. Still, I'm working back up.

I don't trust this endocronologist. I had some gut feelings about her when she made the Adderall statement. I felt like she was grasping at straws. If she's said "In a complex roundabout way..." and tried explaining, I could get that, but she flat out said "That's what stimulants do - they make you hungry." That strikes me as beyond weird. And this feels like a really common-knowledge thing about stimulants.

Edited March 6, 2014 by yellowlovesgray

[AnnaBanana]

You do realize that by eating LESS than 1200 calories a day your body is going into starvation mode and will keep everything you put it in? If you want to lose weight, you need to eat at least 1200 calories a day. That is the minimum your body needs to keep it functioning. Eating less than 1200 a day can have the opposite effect and actually make you gain weight.

 

 

 

Edited to add: I don't know if you are male or female. For a female, it's a minimum of 1200 calories a day and for men it's 1500 calories a day I believe, but am not sure on that. I know it's more than female anyway.

Edited March 6, 2014 by AnnaBanana

[jt07]

You do realize that by eating LESS than 1200 calories a day your body is going into starvation mode and will keep everything you put it in? If you want to lose weight, you need to eat at least 1200 calories a day. That is the minimum your body needs to keep it functioning. Eating less than 1200 a day can have the opposite effect and actually make you gain weight.

 

 

 

Edited to add: I don't know if you are male or female. For a female, it's a minimum of 1200 calories a day and for men it's 1500 calories a day I believe, but am not sure on that. I know it's more than female anyway.

Anna, I don't believe this. I believe it is a myth because it goes against the laws of physics, i.e. no matter how many calories you take in, your body needs X amount per day to live. If you don't take in enough, your body has to burn fat. Perhaps your metabolism would slow down somewhat, but you would still be burning fat. If you could provide a scientific reference, I'd be much obliged.

[yellowlovesgray]

You do realize that by eating LESS than 1200 calories a day your body is going into starvation mode and will keep everything you put it in? If you want to lose weight, you need to eat at least 1200 calories a day. That is the minimum your body needs to keep it functioning. Eating less than 1200 a day can have the opposite effect and actually make you gain weight.

 

 

 

Edited to add: I don't know if you are male or female. For a female, it's a minimum of 1200 calories a day and for men it's 1500 calories a day I believe, but am not sure on that. I know it's more than female anyway.

I'm female - I know about starvation mode but this is the ONLY way I've been able to slow down the rapid gain. I was gaining about 10-12 lbs. a WEEK for 6 weeks or so. I've slowed it down to about 1.5-2 lbs. Endo said I could safely go to 900 cals. I eat REALLY well, too, I used to be really into studying nutrition, etc. when I finally found out which way of eating worked for me years ago and got to goal and maintained easily for years and felt great. 

But something just "broke" when I started taking Geodon. I took it off and on for years because it was all that worked. At first it was just some weight I could *sort of* deal with, but then randomly in September/October (and TBH, this part of time is such a blur, I don't even think I was on Geodon at the time possibly) I get on a scale and BOOM - 20 lbs. higher than I'd been in years. Then next week, another 10 or 12. And so on. I couldn't possibly eat enough calories to make that legit "I got fat" weight. 

[yellowlovesgray]

 

You do realize that by eating LESS than 1200 calories a day your body is going into starvation mode and will keep everything you put it in? If you want to lose weight, you need to eat at least 1200 calories a day. That is the minimum your body needs to keep it functioning. Eating less than 1200 a day can have the opposite effect and actually make you gain weight.

 

 

 

Edited to add: I don't know if you are male or female. For a female, it's a minimum of 1200 calories a day and for men it's 1500 calories a day I believe, but am not sure on that. I know it's more than female anyway.

Anna, I don't believe this. I believe it is a myth because it goes against the laws of physics, i.e. no matter how many calories you take in, your body needs X amount per day to live. If you don't take in enough, your body has to burn fat. Perhaps your metabolism would slow down somewhat, but you would still be burning fat. If you could provide a scientific reference, I'd be much obliged.

 

TBH I don't believe it, either. I've always had issues with it. I do think it will slow your metabolism but I don't believe it would cause RAPID weight gain, and eventually the body would NEED to burn SOMETHING. People DO starve to death. Those with disordered eating DO get unhealthily thin. 

[AnnaBanana]

I'm looking for some material, but when you drop your calories drastically, you don't lose fat, you lose muscle because it has more nutrients in it. Is my understanding, but I'm researching. I learned it in College Anatomy class.

[yellowlovesgray]

I know all the material that's out there and how it slows down your metabolism that way, but I've always questioned it. How does anorexia "work?" And why does cutting off a feeding tube on a person kill people rather than make them fat?

A different doctor has even told me I can go down to 700 cals daily. I don't doubt it slows down your metabolism but I really, really question it causing RAPID gain. Like, 10-12 lbs. a week gain. And it slowed down when I cut cals. I wasn't eating much more than 12 to begin with.

[yellowlovesgray]

Oh wow, and apparently it was a topic on Mythbusters. Curious to find it.

Honestly, I can never say I heard about starvation mode in school ever - not high school health class, not college health or nutrition classes, nothing. I got sold the food pyramid, but nothing about starvation mode. The first time I heard about it was in a teenage girls magazine in high school, and then every other women's magazine on the market. 

If you google "the myth of starvation mode" there's a lot of people who don't believe it. 

I think you'll lose SLOWLY on very low cal but I don't think you'd gain rapidly.

Edited March 9, 2014 by yellowlovesgray

[jt07]

I lost a lot of weight on a very low calorie starvation diet. I do NOT recommend this because it can be dangerous. It's better to work with a dietitian to get on a healthy diet. However, something in my brain liked my strict diet. It led to a remission in symptoms that lasted only as long as I was on that diet.

 

Edited to remove numbers. 

Edited March 9, 2014 by jt07

[yellowlovesgray]

Update

I saw my pdoc today and weighed there for the first time since seeing my endo last and starting the Armour, and I've lost 15 lbs.!!! It cleared up so many little issues and I started physically feeling better and I'm actually able to take long, fast-paced walks again so I'm resuming my workout routine and slooooowly working back up. I had INTENSE back pain before with sciatica that is no longer an issue. 

My non-existent appetite is still the same and I'm still eating gluten free low carb, it's nice to see the scale not creeping up and moving in a direction that finally reflects the lack of...food in my diet. lol.

I'm just happy to not get the "closet binger" looks from my pdoc right now.

[melissaw72]

I'm glad you are doing so well!

[yellowlovesgray]

Thank you! It feels really, really comforting to have seen the number today. Having no control over the ever-growing girth made me feel like I was losing my mind.

Edited March 27, 2014 by yellowlovesgray

[Squish]

Woo! Congrats!

 

I also don't believe the starvation mode thing. When I lost a lot of weight through disordered eating I lost both muscle and fat (my dietician had a fancy scales that showed muscle and fat as a percentage of body weight). My metabolism slowed down a lot so I stopped losing weight despite still not eating enough but I didn't gain weight until I started eating quite a lot more calories.

[AtomicMel]

I've been on different stimulant drugs for ADHD for years and have always noticed that they suppress, not simulate appetite.
Never heard of any medical professional professing that they induce a weight gain or increase in appetitie. Very odd indeed.

[Bizzartist]

I LOL'd at the topic title, too... And ditto, I don't like to question too much what other folks' doctors say, but DAMN- is this doc licking toads on her break time or something?? I seriously want to know where she "learned" this about stimulants.

[Timbukthru]

Are you sure it isn't related to retaining water?  I'm not sure it's physically possible to gain and, in particular, lose body mass at those rates.  Water retention could do it though...  (A 20 oz bottle of water weighs ca. 1.3 lbs.)

[yellowlovesgray]

So, thread is old but I'm still struggling with this - it's SO FRUSTRATING.

I picked up my swimming exercise routine from college, and I've been pretty consistent with it. I was shocked to see a new endocronologist and weigh in at exactly what I weighed in at 2 years ago when I had the rapid weight gain. I'm so confused.

I'd gone back on and off Geodon (it's all that keeps me out of the hospital...and I have a full-time job again now), but right now I'm tapered to a very very small dose and hopefully off for good very soon, and I switched off Adderal to Vyvanse at a much lower dose it feels like, in proportion, and I'm just crossing my fingers I guess and hoping when I begin my new cocktail (I still have horrible depression and anxiety) that I'll feel healthier when it kicks in.

The last year I've felt pretty terrible. My Adderall would wear off TERRIBLY fast and I'd have impending feelings of doom and horrific paranoia if I didn't take at least a small dose of Geodon.

Also, I'd had a Hashimoto's diagnosis that had been confirmed at a hosptial but 2 endocronologists have sworn I don't have it. So I was taken off Armour. I feel terrible off it.

I feel weird and hopeless about my large, distended hard belly and have no idea what to do about it. I googled pics of people with Cushings and I've NEVER had this body shape and I got it RAPIDLY. It wasn't years - it was weeks. And it never completley went away. My weight fluctuates depending on what I'm taking at the time. I feel so unstable most days of the year. I'll have a good week or two at best but that's it.

I feel like the combination of Adderall and Geodon might be the cause of my problems. We'll see. This has all been so bizarre. I mean, I'm getting older - this is true - but can that account for 10-12 lbs. a WEEK suddenly for 5 weeks?! That doesn't seem humanly possible. I feel too big for my skin and do feel like some of it is water retention but nobody will give me a diueretic. OTC ones make me nervous and jittery and don't work. I've cut out all caffiene.

Not sure why I'm posting, I guess I just want it here to remember it for my records or something. Or venting to feel better. I feel stuck in a body I don't recognize and feel like nobody is willing to help me professionally.

[melissaw72]

Thanks for posting and following up. 

I would definitely, definitely find another endocrinologist.   If you do have a thyroid problem not being treated, it would help being on meds, IMO.  Especially if you are gaining weight that rapidly and no matter what feel like crap (I'm assuming low energy too?).

[yellowlovesgray]

Oh definitely. But it's strange that Hashimoto's was confirmed twice, then 2 endocronologists said I didn't have it. The first time it was caught by a psychiatrist who's wife does hormone replacement therapy so it was in his best interest financially to run more extensive tests than my doctors usually do -- then I had an ER visit a few weeks later and the ER confirmed it and found another autoimmune disease.

But both endocronologists (one right after the ER visit, one a few weeks ago) said I didn't test positive for it. I feel worse off the Armour.

But, on a positive note...I did have a cocktail change I woke up this morning feel pretty amazing in terms of anxiety and depression. I'm a little zombie like and really sleepy/tired but I can't believe how bad my anxiety was before in relation now.

[jt07]

. I feel worse off the Armour.

Thyroid medication is sometimes used to augment antidepressants for patients with treatment resistant depression.

[melissaw72]

I'm glad your cocktail change is helping!  Anxiety sucks.  Hopefully you'll start to feel better soon (not as sluggish, etc).