The small print on your bottles.
What makes you hungry: A side effect of certain drugs—hormonal birth control, tricyclic antidepressants,
corticosteroids and some
allergy medication—is a cranked-up appetite; one that can make your willpower, well, powerless. For most of us, this isn't a huge issue, but an estimated 5 to 10 percent of people who are overweight got that way because of their meds, says Louis Aronne, MD, director of the weight management center at Weill Cornell Medical College. And as
this woman shows, that bait and switch (So long, depression! Hello, weight-related anxiety!) can bring unexpected complications.
What to do: Sometimes a different drug can be just as effective—and the side effects may even work in your favor (for example, Aronne says that
some types of diabetes drugs have helped patients drop unwanted pounds). Ask your doctor to review your options.
