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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.