Cymbalta Weight Gain
“I have
taken Cymbalta for 5 years. The last 2 years I have gained a
considerable amount of weight. I still have a good diet, no
fast foods and I keep up on my exercise. Now; that statement
is from my past.
Today – I
have lost one half of the weight I had gained, feel great
and know the other half of this weight will not be on me
much longer. My family and physician are impressed. So is my
blood pressure! Now; 118/70 almost every morning. That is
down from 145/80 most mornings.
The only
difference in my day to day life has been taking two
supplements,
JNK 5 and
Optimum Solace.
I agreed
to closely keep track of my food intake and exercise over a
3 month period. And to not change either, diet or exercise
from what I had been doing. This part was easy.
I did not
experience any weight loss or change during the first 30
days. I did not have my hopes up so no big deal for me. The
Cymbalta weight gain is what it is.
The
second month I noticed a little wiggle in my weight. I
weighed every morning before breakfast and I suddenly lost 2
pounds from the previous day. I know our body can fluctuate
weight but mine was always the same or an extra pound or
two.
The new
normal was a pound or two less most mornings. By the end of
the third week of my second month I was turning into a
believer. I never would have guessed. My Cymbalta weight
gain nightmare was coming to a quick close.
I have
now finished my 90 days of tracking for Jim Harper and still
send him updates from time to time. It has now been 6 months
since I first started this program and I feel great, 40
pounds still to go and a bright light at the end of my
tunnel. I feel I will need to continue taking the JNK 5 and
Optimum Solace after I lose the weight I want but I do not
care. Until I am ready to stop the Cymbalta this is an easy
decision for me.”
Angela K.
Des Moines, IA.
Weight
gain caused by the usage of Cymbalta was disputed in 2004.
Weight loss was listed as an adverse reaction with Cymbalta
but not weight gain. The Road Back was receiving 100’s of
emails daily from people that suddenly began to gain weight
while taking Cymbalta. Some were aerobics instructors,
athletes of various types and more.
Common
sense told me the weight gain was not being caused by diet
or a sedimentary lifestyle.
These individuals were in exercise mode at least 6
hours each day and they had not changed their diet. Dieting
and exercising simply did not work.
In 2004,
I started the company Advanced DNA Testing and we ran 100’s
of DNA test on individuals that were experiencing a wide
variety of symptoms. Weight gain was one area we
investigated but the data was never conclusive. To put this
in simple terms; something was happening to the body that
turned on weight gain and that “thing” was not a poor diet
or lack of exercise.
It took
another 9 years before I finally found the source of
antidepressant induced weight gain. We have a gene that is
called the JNK gene that is the ultimate cause of
antidepressant weight gain. The antidepressant turns this
gene on too much and that starts the cascading weight gain.
The JNK has also been called a kinase enzyme/protein and
various other names by researchers to make this a little
more confusing.
This is a
rather complex subject and I will do my best to make it easy
to understand. I want my readers to know what happened and
is happening within their body.
For some
people; when the antidepressant is first taken the chemicals
used making the antidepressant actually turn the JNK off
even more. These are the people that initially lost weight
when starting an antidepressant. However, within a period of
time this changes and the antidepressant begins to activate
the JNK gene. This can be caused by the antidepressant
activating proteins that reside upstream of the JNK. These
activated proteins move downstream and activate the JNK. The
activating proteins are not causing the weight gain; this
only comes from the JNK being over expressed due to the
proteins or some other source.
The Road
Back has been using nutritional supplements to help with
antidepressant side effects for the last 12 years and that
science is close to the science of weight loss due to
antidepressants but it is only close.
The JNK
has 3 routes within the body. They are JNK1, JNK2 and JNK3.
Each route goes to unique parts of the body. JNK1 and JNK2
being over expressed leads to obesity and insulin
resistance. JNK3 protects our body from excessive obesity.
In
developing an approach to help reverse antidepressant weight
gain a natural substance needed to be formulated to reduce
the over expression of JNK1 and JNK2 and NOT reducing the
activity of JNK3.
This
weight loss method is quite different from all other weight
loss approaches. Frankly, most other weight loss approaches
that are diet based will work for you BUT only after you
have chilled out the JNK gene and the upstream proteins that
continually keep the JNK overly expressed.
A
frequently asked question -
How long does it take to begin losing weight? I wish
I could give you an exact answer to that question. There are
things you can do with your diet to help speed this up but
still know way to tell. It may be in 1 week and in some
cases it has taken several months.
The other
frequently asked question – Do I need to stop taking my
antidepressant? NO.
One more
frequently asked question – Do I need to continue taking the
supplements you recommend once I lose the desired weight?
That’s a yes and no answer. For some people the JNK begins
being overly activated again if you stop using the
supplements and the weight gain begins to return. For others
it does not and the weight remains off.
I have
traced the weight gain to a few areas. The person switched
antidepressant, changed their dosage of the antidepressant
or discontinued the antidepressant. Any of these changes can
start the weight gain.
Here are
some things you can do that will help start bringing the JNK
back to normal activity again. Stop or greatly reduce eating
any food containing preservatives. The preservatives
activate the JNK. Avoid frozen fish. The type of fish that
has been boxed and sold in the freezer section of the
grocery. A preservative is used in this fish that activates
the JNK more than most other chemicals.
This is a
weight loss process and is not an instant weight loss
program due to starvation. Don’t do that type of diet. Let’s
make this a healthy diet. With that; start looking at the
sodium amount used in all diet foods you may purchase. Limit
your daily sodium to no more than 2,500 mg a day. Even lower
sodium if you can. Your blood pressure will also thank you!
Not a bad
idea to buy a blood pressure cup and monitor your blood
pressure while you use this method. Chart your blood
pressure and watch it fall into the desired range as your
proceed.
If you
are taking medication for diabetes PLEASE check with your
physician before starting this method. With insulin
returning to normal the medication will likely need to be
reduced as well.
What you need to do – Take the
JNK 5 and
Optimum Solace daily. Get some exercise daily. Start
watching your calories but don’t go overboard on that. Wait
until you have had some gains and then it becomes easier to
reduce calories.
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