Dosulepin

[hopeful]

Is anyone on this, and has been taking it for a while?

It has had some benefits for me, particularly in getting me to sleep, but I'm fed up with what I think is the major side - weight gain. I was always naturally fairly slim (no Kate Moss, a normal size 12) but I've gained 3 stone and I don't think my age, habits and intake can fully account for it. I also never had a sweet tooth before, but now can devour sweets like they're going out of fashion. I think from research it affects your insulin levels and that's why?

I'd be interested to hear if anyone has had this side effect, and if they found stopping it helped them lose weight or at least stopped it getting worse.

And are the effects of the drug worth this?

H x

[Catbrian]

Sorry, I haven't heard of this one.  However, devouring food and weight gain is a common side effect to many anti-depressants and mood stabilizers.. Talk the the Doc, maybe you could try something else.  I'm on Quetiapine and Martazapine.  Most people on that combination of drug, gorge with savoury and sweet food, but I don't... well... nothing more than usual 

Good luck

[SteveW]

I have taken Dosulepin several times during my depressive career.  It isn’t so popular now. It has a particularly toxic effect on the heart in overdose and I think NICE recommend that it shouldn’t be prescribed . They go for Lofepramine from that group,much safer in overdose.

Weight gain and Sedation are pretty much standard and I got both in spades. The sedation I coped with by taking my days dose at night. I was pretty much OK during the day like that. But nothing  coped with the weight gain, I just got bigger and bigger. In the end I had to go on quite a strict diet, this eventually halted the weight gain and then reversed it. But it was a strict diet- 1000 calories a day at one point- two slices of lettuce and a tomato.

Is it worth it is really the wrong question. The correct question is are you going to take something from that chemical group, because they are all going to give you some degree of weight gain, sedation is optional some are some aren’t

Your doctor must have a pretty good reason for choosing Dosulepin because it should be the exception these days. I don’t know where you are in your anti-depressant career so I can't advise whether it’s a good thing for you.

However it is an effective drug, as effective as any. It also comes with side effects of a more minor kind that I won’t go into. Good luck with it. If you want to know more just ask. I ended up taking it for 6 years and I hate salad.

[Got]

I ended up taking it for 6 years and I hate salad.

Ha ha.

[hopeful]

Thanks Steve, I agree these things are always a balancing act of benefit against side effects.

I have quite a long history with it. When I had my first bad episode 10 years ago, I was given Sertraline. I had a very bad reaction to it (what I now understand to be symptoms similar to serotonin syndrome) and because I mentioned my life long insomnia, I was given dosulepin to help me sleep. I took it for less than a year without any serious side effects. So when I had another episode 2 years ago, I asked for it again seeing as it had seemed to work in the past.

I've been on it for over 2 years now, been constantly gaining weight, and it hasn't stopped several mild episodes and the recent very serious one. As I posted in the depression general forum, my very unhelpful GP has now simply increased the dose. I now feel the addition sedation this has quickly caused will be a barrier to my being able to participate in therapy and address my almost complete anhedonia.

So I will be more insistent about exploring options at my next appointment, I'm sure not all SSRIs will have the same effect?

[hopeful]

ps. I'm also on gabapentin for pain, another sedating weight gain med, so the two together seem like a terrible idea, let alone giving someone with suicidal ideations access to many drugs. Can't believe my GP didn't consider that when I asked for help.

[SteveW]

Two psychiatric drugs aren’t really exceptional. I take 7 myself and I am suicidal as hell.If you do get to the point of OD don’t take the Dosulepin, take a decent quantity and you could well succeed.