Some medicines may either make you lose or gain weight. Gaining weight sounds a good idea if you are underweight. Losing weight can be a good thing if you are overweight. But if you have a normal weight and if you gain weight, it could be a problem.

There are many factors why you lose or gain weight due to medicines. These situations are not uncommon. Some medicines are capable of stimulating your appetite, which makes you want to eat more, thereby making you gain more weight. Some medicines can affect your metabolism, which can slow down the calories your body burns.

Medicines that cause you to have shortness of breath or tiredness can less likely make you engage in physical activities. And not having physical activities can cause you to gain more weight. It was shown that beta-blockers are one of the medicines which can make you gain weight.

Beta-blockers are typically used to treat high blood pressure and various heart-related health issues. But several patients complain of gaining weight as one of the side effects of these drugs. It was found out that these drugs, such as metoprolol and atenolol, can contribute to up to 4 pounds of weight. And if these drugs are continuously taken, patients experience stubborn weight gain every month.

Why Beta-blockers Make You Gain Weight?

Well, there are various types of beta-blockers. The older types of these drugs can cause the accumulation of fats in your belly area. And this typically occurs in the first few months from the time you started your beta-blockers therapy. But the biggest problem happens when these drugs start to react with other factors in your body.

Beta-blockers are said to lower your metabolic rate that is why it is hard for you to burn more calories. And probably that is the reason why you cannot lose weight while on beta-blockers. Beta-blockers also reduce fidgeting and promote calmness, which decreases your calorie deficit for days. These can also promote fatigue, drowsiness, weakness, and dizziness, which can make you less interested in performing physical activities, thereby reducing the number of calories you burn.

Can Beta-blockers Help You Lose Weight?

The good news is that the new kind of beta-blockers, such as carvedilol, doesn’t make you gain weight. Although some people may experience weight gain in the first weeks of taking these drugs, this occurrence usually stabilizes afterward.

Beta-blockers which can make you gain weight are not typically prescribed, except if the first medications did not work effectively or if you are suffering from a certain heart issue that necessitates you to take beta-blockers.

Beta-blockers can treat vast conditions, including heart failure, glaucoma, anxiety, migraines, and high blood pressure. Experts are not that certain why beta-blockers used to gain weight as there are various factors affecting these drugs, and this usually depends upon the person’s response to these drugs.

As already mentioned, beta-blockers can slow your metabolism, which can typically make you gain weight. Some patients who shift to beta-blockers after taking diuretics for treating high blood pressure can also make you gain weight.

If you are taking beta-blockers and if you suddenly gain about 2 to 3 pounds just in a day or about 5 pounds in a week, it is best to seek immediate medical attention. Sudden weight gain may be an indication of more serious health problems, such that fluids are growing in your abdomen, chest, or legs. Your doctor is capable of telling you whether this weight gain is due to the worsening of your condition or not.

What Can You Do?

Beta-blockers have various side effects such as dizziness, weakness, drowsiness, fatigue, headache, and upset stomach. These situations can make you less interested in exercising than before. And that means that if you burn fewer calories, you don’t lose weight. Even if you are eating healthy foods, you will still observe weight gain of about 3 to 5 pounds every month.

Here are a few tips on how you can prevent weight gain:

Make a food diary and track everything that you consume. Use this as a guide for you to compute your average daily calories.
If you find it excessive, try to cut your calories by 250 a day. Probably, you are used to drinking beverages other than water. Cutting these beverages, alone, can make you accomplish that goal.
No matter how you feel tired or weak, give time to walk, run, or even play, maybe basketball or with your children or dogs.

This may not be easy, but for you to maintain a healthy weight while taking beta-blockers, you need to watch your calories, such as by eating right and engaging in physical activities. Since weight gain might be inevitable, you need to create new habits and look for new motivations just to maintain a healthy weight.

Conclusion

Taking beta-blockers might make you gain weight. But there are already new types of beta-blockers, such as carvedilol, that don’t make you gain weight. Although it is common for you to gain weight in the first weeks after taking these drugs, this will not continue too soon. Besides, these drugs, which can cause you to gain weight, are not initially prescribed.

Beta-blockers can cause dizziness, weakness, drowsiness, fatigue, headache, and upset stomach. These situations can make you burn fewer calories that are why you don’t lose weight. If you gain about 5 pounds in a week, you need to seek help from your doctor. This may be an indication of a more serious health problem.

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