Medical Questions » Medicines Questions » Question No. 635
| Question: | I am taking Endep and Epilim for the prevention of migraine, but I have found that i have put on a lot of weight since starting these medicines. Why is this so? |
| Answer: | Many medications can cause you to gain weight, and a few can have weight loss as a side effect.
Weight gain is due to one of four effects:
— retention of fluid
— increasing appetite
— reducing the body' s metabolic tate
— increasing the absorption of food from the intestine.
Normally a combination of two or more of these effects is responsible for a gain in weight, and if this is a problem for you, you should discuss the matter with your doctor, as alternative medications may be available.
Retention of fluid can be overcome by giving diuretics (fluid removal medication), but this is far from the ideal situation, as using one medication to remove the side effects of another is only appropriate if the first medication is absolutely essential. The second medication may also have side effects.
|
|
|
