Hi everyone,

I’m starting this topic because I’ve been experiencing some unusual changes with water retention and weight during and after my taper. I’ve been hesitant to post about this, but some members in this forum seem to have the same issue and I’d love to open a discussion and hear from everyone who has any ideas on this topic or would like to participate.

I’ve been experiencing water retention and problems with weight (inability in losing significant amounts of weight) for the last months of my microtaper and ever since reaching zero. I’m not even sure whether all of the weight is actually water retention.

What confuses me is that I didn’t experience the same thing after my two previous, faster medically advised tapers. In those cases, the weight I had gained while on the medication came off very quickly after tapering.

Luckily, after my microtaper, I also lost some weight a few months after reaching zero. However, some of it has remained ever since. This time, it feels as if my body is somehow “blocked” and unable to lose the remaining weight, almost as if my metabolism has changed.

I’m sorry for mentioning the weight aspect in relation to the microtaper— I definitely don’t want to trigger anyone. But because this experience is so different from my previous tapers, it has even made me question the microtaper itself. I used to be a skinny person. I can still look relatively slim in some clothes, but I can no longer wear all of my old clothes. I can clearly see that there is still some water retention, along with a few extra pounds that just don’t seem to go away. It sometimes looks quite unnatural, and it’s really strange and frustrating.

The water retention also seems to fluctuate without any obvious pattern. Sometimes it gets noticeably worse after walking or exercising (when I’m able to exercise). Other times, it improves for no particular reason, especially if I rest for a couple of days. But sometimes even resting doesn’t help.

I’m still trying to figure out what might be causing it and whether there is anything that can help.

Weight gain and water retention are known issues for some people while taking antidepressants, but I’ve found surprisingly little information about water retention and weight changes during or after tapering.

I also came across the idea that fluid balance can be influenced by signals between the brain and the body. Since the nervous system can be heavily affected during withdrawal, I’ve wondered whether something like this could potentially play a role. I have no idea if that’s actually the case — I’m just trying to make sense of what is happening.

Do any of you experience water retention in your face as well? I definitely do, and that has been particularly strange for me. I can see it clearly in pictures and sometimes feel like I don’t even recognize myself. :((

I really don’t want to scare anyone with this post. I know that withdrawal symptoms can change over time, and hopefully these issues will resolve as well. WD really is such a journey.

What has helped me so far

Sauna:
Sauna seems to help quite noticeably with the water retention. I also suspect that much of the weight I’m carrying may be fluid, because for a few days after using the sauna, my appearance can look almost 70% closer to normal. Unfortunately, the effect gradually disappears after a day or two.

I can currently only tolerate going to the sauna about once a week. When I tried going twice a week, some of my other withdrawal symptoms became worse.

Reducing sugar and carbohydrates:
Cutting down on sugar and carbohydrates has also seemed to help somewhat, although not consistently.

At this point, it’s really been trial and error.

Has anyone else experienced significant water retention, facial puffiness, bloating, or weight changes during or after a taper?

And if so, did anything seem to help?

8 hours ago, Glimmery said:

Do any of you experience water retention in your face as well? I definitely do, and that has been particularly strange for me. I can see it clearly in pictures and sometimes feel like I don’t even recognize myself. :((

Yes, I had this on the drug. I referred to it as a "moon face". It then happened on and off throughout withdrawal as I bloated up and slimmed down again at random.

8 hours ago, Glimmery said:

Has anyone else experienced significant water retention, facial puffiness, bloating, or weight changes during or after a taper?

Aside from water retention, some psychiatric drugs in particular seem to have significant effects on weight for some people.

In the first 3 weeks of withdrawal, I lost 10kg in pretty much pure muscle wastage. I then put it all back on later, then lost about half of it again, and have since put it back on and am at a similar weight to before, albeit much more fat than muscle now.

2 hours ago, Luke said:

Yes, I had this on the drug. I referred to it as a "moon face". It then happened on and off throughout withdrawal as I bloated up and slimmed down again at random.

Hi Luke,

wahooo, the first reply on this topic :). Nice to see you here Luke :).

Right, weight changes and weight gain are a known effect of the drugs for some people.

For me it is new that the issues do not go away completely after reaching zero.

In 2020 the weight just disappeared and my face was slim.

Hello reset button for the body weight where are you?

Was there anything you could do to speed the slimming down?

Is your metabolism back to normal?

3 hours ago, Glimmery said:

Was there anything you could do to speed the slimming down?

I was desperately ill for years while my weight fluctuated up and down by 10kg every several months with no outside causes.

4 hours ago, Glimmery said:

Is your metabolism back to normal?

Mostly but I'm very sedentary due to being ill.

5 hours ago, Luke said:

I was desperately ill for years while my weight fluctuated up and down by 10kg every several months with no outside causes.

Ohh, that's frustrating. Is it serious? Are you ill due to wd? Changes up to 10kg every months sounds stressful. This stuff is so strange.........

The mechanism of action by antidepressants is still a blackbox. I am waiting for that day a scientist will come up and tells us what truly happens in wd........

I have been ill very often while instating the meds, during changes of doses, in the last periods of tapering, as well as since reaching zero, this is unusual for me.

Hope you get better soon and I hope that you will have a lot of "breezes" from nice windows

9 hours ago, Luke said:

I was desperately ill for years while my weight fluctuated up and down by 10kg every several months with no outside causes.

I hope I didn't trigger you by asking about your illness, just respond to the question if you are comfortable answering.

@Glimmery yes, I'm talking about withdrawal syndrome.

I have gained 20 pounds during my taper. If I restrict calories, my withdrawal symptoms get worse but I can’t lose a pound. I can easily gain weight, though. I have also had episodes of edema. For context, I have never been overweight in my life and workout regularly. Healthy diet. I also feel like my metabolism has fundamentally changed. It is really depressing.

Yes, I feel like I have gained weight during my taper. I have always been a slim person, and I didn't gain any weight while on this medication. In fact, it seemed like no matter what I ate while on my full dose I didn't gain! But I also could not put on any muscle despite being in the gym for over a year. However this year, I did notice that changed and I have been building muscle steadily now but I've also been bloating up these past few months despite regular exercise and healthy eating. I feel very thick, and I'm not sure if it's truly fat or water retention. I did notice about a year ago I would randomly fluctuate every few months, sometimes feeling slim and energetic and then alternating to flabby and lethargic. I assumed this was related to water retention and certain hormones "coming back online" in spurts so to speak. But now it seems I am stuck at feeling thick and flabby.

I haven't tried losing weight since over a year, as it was too much stress on my nervous system at the time and I don't want to push things. But I understand your feelings of frustration, I'm hoping things will change once I'm completely off the medication. I just want to feel energetic in the gym again and to be able to fit my old clothes!!

I used to lose weight quite easily if I watched my diet and listened to my body.

My whole hunger system and metabolism seems to be completely altered. I don’t get strong hunger cues and saturation cues so I don’t know my body’s needs.

I am the heaviest I have ever been… it’s way harder for me to lose weight..