Why Can’t You Take PhenQ With Antidepressants? (Possible Outcomes)

For this article, I have investigated how PhenQ or other diet pills may interact with antidepressants and whether taking them together will be safe.

According to research, obese individuals are 32% more likely to have depression than individuals that have a healthy weight. So, considering that you looked up this question, you might be dealing with two demons at once.

But the good news is that PhenQ also helps to brighten up your mood, enhance focus and rev you up.

Nonetheless, both PhenQ and antidepressants tweak your brain chemistry, so taking them together may cause undesirable consequences or compromise either their effectiveness.

In this article, you will find out why you should not take PhenQ or other weight loss supplements with antidepressants.

So, keep reading to find out all that you need to know about the possible interactions of PhenQ with antidepressants.

How PhenQ Works Vs. How Antidepressants Work:

PhenQ is a weight loss aid, whereas antidepressants work to ease your mental stress. However, both alter the level of your brain neurotransmitters in different ways to impart the desired effect.

Antidepressants elevate the serotonin and nor-epinephrine neurotransmitters in the brain, whereas PhenQ raises the levels of dopamine and norepinephrine.

Here, serotonin and dopamine are the feel-good hormones that make you feel happier and motivated, and the norepinephrine triggers the fight and flight response which increases alertness and energy.

Apart from that, norepinephrine decreases bowel movements which help to keep hunger at bay for longer.

Similarly, in this context, increased dopamine promotes satiety, and elevated serotonin curbs cravings.

Before I dig deep into details, you should know that there are different classes of antidepressants like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), tricyclic antidepressants and monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs).

Now, the antidepressant drugs work by selectively binding to the neuron receptors and inhibiting the reuptake of neurotransmitters which increases their concentration in the brain and improves mood.

Compared to this, PhenQ is basically designed to slim you down by promoting fat burning, preventing fat accumulation, suppressing appetite, boosting energy, and stabilizing mood.

To impart these benefits, it has active ingredients like caffeine, chromium picolinate, nopal, capsimax, and α-Lacy’s Reset.

But for inducing this weight loss benefit, some of these ingredients affect your mood as well, which ultimately impacts how much and what you eat; this rules out stress eating on your weight loss journey.

For instance, caffeine has a psychoactive component, methylxanthine, which stimulates the central nervous system to enhance alertness and fill you with energy.

Correspondingly, studies have reported that 200 to 250 mg of caffeine can improve your mood for up to 3 hours.

Likewise, studies report that L-carnitine has anti-depressive properties, and depressive patients were found to be deficient in this amino acid.

L-carnitine will lift your mood and enhance brain functioning by increasing its energy production in it.

It also regulates the level of neurotransmitters such as acetylcholine and promotes neural plasticity (the capacity of the nervous system to change its structure and function in response to injury or experience).

Similarly, nopal is rich in antioxidant compounds and vitamins and mineral that provide neuroprotective effects and prevents nerve cells from damage and loss of function.

What’s more is that clinical trials have reported that chromium picolinate supplementation improves depressive symptoms such as increased appetite, excessive eating, and carbohydrate cravings.

Finally, some clinical studies have reported that the alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) present in α-Lacy’s Reset has a significant role in promoting mental wellness.

In a 2021 study, women were fed ALA for 3 months, and the researchers noted an improvement in their mood status and depression.

In short, antidepressants and PhenQ both will brighten up you up in one way or another, which in some cases will magnify each other’s impact a great deal or instead halt some of their action.

Therefore, in the next section, I will fill you in on the consequences of taking antidepressants with PhenQ or other weight loss supplements.

Reasons Why Can’t You Take PhenQ With Antidepressants

PhenQ and some FDA-approved weight loss medicines are also contraindicated with antidepressants because their combined use can mess up your body’s functions.

(Is PhenQ FDA-Approved? Click here to find out.)

Both weight loss products and antidepressants alter brain function, so their combined use can either potentiate each other’s action or oppose it, both of which can lead to undesirable outcomes.

Here are some reasons why you should not combine diet pills with antidepressants.

This Combination May Expose You To A Higher Risk Of Adverse Reactions

The antagonistic action is not the only cause of concern, as sometimes the synergistic effect of two drugs may also cause more harm than good.

If you look up the NHS website, you will see that SSRIs and SNRIs may cause anxiety, indigestion, sleep problems, headache, stomach upset, and appetite loss.

Unfortunately, you will find all these keywords on the list of adverse effects caused by PhenQ as well.

Additionally, according to NHS, the SSRI fluvoxamine may strengthen the stimulant effect of caffeine and cause side effects such as restlessness, irregular heartbeat, or sleeplessness.

Not to mention that PhenQ hits you with 142.5 mg of caffeine per pill; hence it may be incompatible with antidepressants.

(How much additional caffeine can you consume while using PhenQ? Find out in my recent blog here.)

Furthermore, it is recommended to allow a 14-day gap between the initiation of treatment with antidepressants and FDA-approved weight loss medicines if they have to be given consecutively.

The reason is that most weight loss medicines have an antidepressant effect or an active ingredient of antidepressant medicines.

One example is Contrave; it already has bupropion (an antidepressant) in it; hence, caution is advised while co-administering it with other antidepressants (SSRIs, MAOIs, tricyclics).

Similarly, it is stated on drugs.com that the SSRI sertraline intensifies Phentermine’s effect, which may cause jitteriness, anxiety, restlessness, etc.

The Combination May Increase The Risk Of Serotonin Syndrome.

The serotonin syndrome results from elevated serotonin levels and is characterized by shivering or diarrhea, which may aggravate muscle stiffness, fever, or seizures in severe cases.

Research suggests that some diet pills like Phentermine may raise serotonin levels and since antidepressants work in the same way so it may cause ‘serotonin syndrome.’

Although such an extreme outcome has not been reported with PhenQ, still, its ingredients, like L-carnitine and chromium, may affect serotonin levels.

For instance, a study reports that acetyl-L-carnitine increases serotonin levels in the brain, and researchers found that chromium increases brain serotonin synthesis.

Considering these side effects, you may be wondering how to get rid of those extra pounds if you can’t skip your medicines to manage depression.

For this reason, I have compiled the next section to recommend you some simple ways to lose weight with anti-depressants.

How To Lose Weight Safely While Being On Antidepressants?

If you really want to keep taking antidepressants with slimming supplements, then you need to consult your doctor, and he may suggest something like spacing your doses or safe alternatives.

However, if you are searching for ways to lose weight without the pills to cut down on the risk of side effects, then here is what you can do.

1. Follow A Proper Diet Plan

The first and most important step to losing weight is to reduce your calorie intake by at least 500 to 700 calories.

You must shift to a low-fat and low-carb diet and eat lean protein to preserve muscle mass.

Additionally, drink at least 8 glasses of water daily, cut down on sugar, eat high-fiber and probiotic foods, and don’t miss out on foods rich in micronutrients.

2. Exercise Regularly

Increasing activity levels is an effective way to speed up the metabolism and lose belly fat.

It would be best if you do aerobic exercise or strength training at least 4 times a week for 30 to 45 minutes.

The reason is that exercising has an appetite-suppressing effect, and it also triggers the release of endorphins which can instantly improve your mood and decrease depression.

Plus, a study published in the British Journal of Nutrition noted that exercising on an empty stomach before breakfast can induce 20% more fat loss than exercising after breakfast.

3. Get Good Sleep

It is scientifically proven that getting at least 8 hours of sleep every day is crucial for getting rid of fat when following a calorie-restricted diet.

For instance, in a recent 2022 study, participants ate calorie-restricted food for 14 days, and the group that slept 5.5 hours daily had 55% less fat loss than those who slept 8.5 hours.

When you think about it, by sleeping early, you can avoid late-night cravings, and studies also suggest that sleep restriction can cause a greater release of the hunger hormone ghrelin.

Final Thoughts – Can I Take Appetite Suppressants With Antidepressants? (Other Than PhenQ)

Only your doctor can give the right advice in this regard because every supplement has different ingredients, and their drug interactions must be assessed before concluding anything.

Still, appetite suppressants may contain ingredients like L-carnitine, chromium picolinate, or caffeine, which increase serotonin levels. Taking antidepressants on top of them may cause a more pronounced effect and cause adverse reactions.

This is not all, as natural stimulants like guarana or caffeine in OTC diet pills can also cause high blood pressure when used with certain antidepressants.

The case is the same with FDA-approved weight loss drugs because medications like Contrave and Phentermine are contraindicated with antidepressants.