Medications that May Affect Your BMI

You are taking some medication for some totally unrelated health issue. Suddenly you find that the very same food you’ve always eaten is leaving you with more around the middle than ever before. The culprit in this can may very well be your medications.

Below is a list of the kinds of drugs that can lead to additional weight gain. Always consult with your doctor if you have a concern about a specific medication and its side effects. Check out this link for more specifics.

Antidepressants

• Certain monoamine oxidase inhibitors, including phenelzine, isocarboxazid and tranylcypromine.
• Certain tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs). Tertiary TCAs including amitriptyline, imipramine and doxepin1 tend to cause the most weight gain. Secondary TCAs desipramine and nortriptyline may cause mild weight gain.
• Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) may less commonly cause weight gain (paroxetine in particular, in addition to fluoxetine or citalopram).
• Tetracyclic antidepressant mirtazapine.

Antipsychotics

• Many antipsychotics, including chlorpromazine, clozapine, fluphenazine, haloperidol, olanzapine, risperidone, sertindole, thioridazine, mesoridazine and rarely quetiapine.

Anticonvulsants/Mood Stabilizers

• Medications such as valproic acid, carbamazepine (rarely), lithium, gabapentin and vigabatrin.

Migraine Medications

• As mentioned in above categories, certain medications that are also used to treat migraines, like gabapentin, valproic acid, SSRIs and TCAs.

Beta Blockers

• Beta blockers including propranolol, atenolol and metoprolol, which are used to treat a variety of cardiac issues, may cause weight gain, possibly due to fluid retention or other factors.

Calcium Channel Blockers

• Flunarizine, which is not available in the U.S. One study suggested that verapamil may cause weight gain in some people as well. Anyone who rapidly gains weight after starting a calcium channel blocker should consult their doctor right away.

Alpha Agonist Anti-Hypertensive

• Clonidine rarely causes weight gain.

Diabetes Medications

• Insulin
• Most sulfonylurea medications including tolazamide and glipizide.
• Non-sulfonylurea secretagogues repaglinide and nateglinide and thiazolidinediones like rosiglitazone or pioglitazone have been reported to cause weight gain.

Hormones

• Many studies have debunked the idea that birth control pills cause weight gain, but they may cause a slight increase in water retention. However, medroxyprogesterone acetate (also known as Depo-Provera) or the etonogestrel implant, other forms of birth control, may cause weight gain.
• Megestrol acetate, a hormone sometimes used to stimulate appetite in cancer patients or other conditions that cause weight loss.
• Corticosteroids such as prednisone that are used to treat inflammatory conditions, especially if used long-term.

Cholesterol/Lipid-Lowering Drugs

• Clofibrate may cause slight weight gain, but is not commonly used.

Antihistamines

• Chronic use of antihistamines such as loratadine, cyproheptadine, fexofenadine, cetirizine and diphenhydramine.

Antiretrovirals

• Protease inhibitors often used to treat HIV, including stavudine, zalcitabine, didanosine, lopinavir/ritonavir, indinavir, nelfinavir, saquinavir/ritonavir.

Cancer-Fighting Agents

• Cancer-fighting drugs cyclophosphamide, methotrexate and 5-fluorouracil, aromatase inhibitors and tamoxifen.