Amitriptyline, Weight Gain and Carbohydrate Craving: A Side Effect

Abstract

Increase in weight is a well-known side effect of phenothiazine drugs (Dally, 1967). There have been scattered reports of weight gain on tricyclic antidepressants (Arenillas, 1964; Dally, 1967; Kline, 1969), but this possibility has received little systematic study. Investigation is confounded by the fact that depression itself often produces weight loss. Crammer and Elkes (1968) reported weight gain in responders to desipramine, but regarded this as a limited phenomenon which never built up to obesity and was due to reversal of depression-induced weight loss.