Common antidepressants aren’t listed as reasons not to prescribe Foundayo
Foundayo’s UK product information lists the medicines and supplements known to change orforglipron levels in the blood. Common prescription antidepressants aren’t on that list.1
The absence of a named interaction doesn’t prove that every dose and combination has been studied. Your prescriber should check your exact antidepressant, other medicines, supplements, symptoms and mental-health history.
| Combination or issue |
What the evidence says |
What to do |
| Common prescription antidepressants |
No named interaction in the UK product information, but no direct antidepressant study has been conducted yet |
Ask the prescriber or pharmacist to check your exact medicine and dose |
| St John’s wort |
It can reduce Foundayo levels and can also cause problems with antidepressants |
Don’t combine it with Foundayo or an antidepressant without clinical advice |
| Delayed stomach emptying |
Foundayo can slow how quickly an oral medicine reaches the bloodstream |
The UK product information doesn’t say that you need to leave a set amount of time between taking Foundayo and your antidepressant |
| Overlapping side effects |
Both medicines can affect nausea, appetite, digestion, sleep, dizziness, or fatigue |
Report persistent or worsening symptoms; they might not be a sign of an interaction |
St John’s wort can make Foundayo less effective. It increases the activity of an enzyme that breaks down Foundayo, reducing the amount that reaches the bloodstream.1
The NHS also advises checking before taking St John’s wort with an antidepressant. Tell your prescriber about herbal products and supplements, even if you bought them without a prescription.
Foundayo delays stomach emptying, but antidepressants weren’t tested directly
Foundayo delays stomach emptying (slows digestion), which may influence the absorption of other oral medications.
In one study, peak blood levels of paracetamol were 28% lower when it was taken with Foundayo.1
The first 0.8 mg dose had the greatest effect on stomach emptying. This effect became smaller with continued treatment.1
Researchers used computer models to estimate how Foundayo would affect common oral medicines across all approved doses.
The models predicted that Foundayo wouldn’t change their blood levels enough to affect how safely or effectively they worked.1
Antidepressants weren’t tested directly, so the modelling can’t guarantee that every combination is unaffected.
Foundayo can be taken at any time of day, with or without food. Its UK instructions don’t require a one-hour or two-hour gap from antidepressants, and no study shows that separating the tablets prevents the stomach-emptying effect.
Vomiting or severe diarrhoea can impact the absorption of antidepressants. If you vomit after taking your antidepressant, ask a pharmacist what to do. Don’t repeat the dose unless they tell you to, because the original tablet may already have been absorbed.
Foundayo trials didn’t show more depression, but recent severe or unstable depression was underrepresented
The main Foundayo trials recorded depression and suicidal thoughts as part of their safety monitoring.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration combined the results from both weight-management trials to assess whether these events were more common with Foundayo than with a placebo.
Depression-related events were reported by 1.7% of 3,155 people taking orforglipron and 2.5% of 1,576 people taking placebo.2
A structured questionnaire recorded suicidal thoughts in 0.6% of each group. Three people taking orforglipron reported suicidal behaviour, compared with none taking placebo, but each case had other possible explanations.2
The FDA concluded that the trials didn’t show an increased risk of depression or suicidal thoughts with orforglipron.2
However, the main trial excluded people who’d had active or unstable major depression or another severe psychiatric disorder during the previous two years.2 This means the trial gives us less certainty about Foundayo for people with recent severe or unstable illness. The FDA also said the exclusion could make rare problems harder to detect.2
Fatigue, dizziness, headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, and constipation are listed as Foundayo side effects; depression and anxiety aren’t.1
The same symptom may come from Foundayo, the antidepressant or depression itself. A prescriber can look at when it began and whether it followed starting or changing either medicine before deciding on the most likely cause.
Low motivation after starting Foundayo can come from depression itself, poor sleep, eating too little, dehydration, antidepressant effects, or Foundayo side effects. A medication review can compare when each symptom began and what else changed at the same time.
Our guide to Foundayo side effects explores the common and rarer side effects of Foundayo in more detail.
Obesity and depression can affect each other in several ways
A review of 15 long-term studies found that obesity was associated with 55% higher odds of later depression, while depression was associated with 58% higher odds of later obesity.3
These results show that people living with either condition were more likely to develop the other over time. They don’t mean obesity is the main cause of an individual’s depression, or that everyone with depression will gain weight.
Enlarged fat cells may be one biological link between obesity and depression. When we gain weight, our fat cells increase in size.
As fat cells enlarge, they can release more inflammatory signals and respond less effectively to insulin (the hormone that manages blood sugar). This insulin resistance (reduced response to insulin) makes blood sugar harder to control and increases the risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.4
Current research doesn’t show that enlarged fat cells directly cause depression. Their inflammatory signals may be a biological link, but that link remains unproven.
Childhood, life experience, genetics, and trauma can all affect mental health. Weight stigma, pain, reduced mobility, work, money, housing, relationships, and access to care can add further strain on our psychological health.
Depression can then change sleep, appetite, planning, movement, alcohol use, and social contact. These changes can make maintaining healthier habits more challenging, while some antidepressants can also affect our appetite and weight.
Biology, psychology, behaviour, and social circumstances can all affect both depression and obesity. Neither condition shows that someone has failed to look after themselves.
Biology and behaviour are only part of the relationship between obesity and depression. Long-term care may also need to address pain, trauma, weight stigma, and difficult social circumstances.
Supporting someone to improve their habits can be useful, but it doesn’t replace treatment or mean their depression results from a lack of effort.
Foundayo may reduce food noise, but it doesn’t treat depression
Foundayo mimics GLP-1, an appetite hormone that reduces hunger and helps people feel fuller for longer.1
For some people, this also reduces food noise, which means persistent, intrusive thoughts about food that feel difficult to switch off
Some people use food to manage stress or low mood because it provides short-term comfort, structure, or distraction.
If Foundayo reduces hunger and food noise, they may spend less time thinking about food and notice feelings they previously used food to manage.
Still, Foundayo doesn’t address the underlying discomfort, tension, or trauma that leads to those feelings, or teach us how to manage them.
Therapy can help someone understand their thinking patterns and develop other ways to cope, while reduced food noise may make it easier to focus on that work.
Some antidepressants can contribute to weight gain, while other people notice little or no change. Foundayo’s effect on weight may offset that effect for some people.
No Foundayo trial specifically studied antidepressant-related weight gain. Treating depression comes first, and a prescribed antidepressant that helps to manage depressive symptoms may still be the right medicine even if it affects weight.
Don’t switch, reduce or stop an antidepressant for weight reasons without the clinician responsible for your mental-health treatment. Sudden withdrawal can cause low mood, anxiety, sleep problems and suicidal thoughts.
NICE depression guidance includes psychological therapy, antidepressants, and combined treatment among the options, depending on symptoms, preferences and previous response. Foundayo has a separate role in weight management.
Second Nature has worked with the NHS since 2017 and combines prescribed weight-loss medication with support from registered dietitians and nutritionists, including practical help with food, movement and habits. Take our 3-minute eligibility quiz, and a clinician will review your answers.
Diet and movement can support treatment for depression
Food quality, movement and sleep may alleviate depressive symptoms for some people, but they aren’t going to cure depression on their own.
Depression itself can make maintaining healthier habits more challenging to maintain. Still, there’s promising research on the impact of diet on the treatment of depression.
The SMILES trial tested dietary support in 67 adults with moderate-to-severe depression and a poor-quality diet.
After 12 weeks, 32.3% of the diet-support group had symptoms below the trial’s threshold for depression, compared with 8% of the social-support group.5
Fifty-five of the 67 participants were already receiving antidepressants, therapy or both. The diet was an addition to treatment, not a replacement, and it wasn’t designed to cause weight loss.5
Only 67 people took part, and everyone knew whether they were getting dietary or social support. The dietary group also had seven appointments with a dietitian, plus recipes, food, and goal-setting support.
Because those parts were delivered together, the trial can’t separate the effect of changing food from the effect of regular professional support.
However, it does show that the right support and an improved dietary pattern are an effective way of reducing depressive symptoms in some people.
Exercise can also reduce depressive symptoms. In a 2026 review of 73 trials, people assigned to exercise had moderately lower symptoms than those given no exercise or another control, although the researchers rated the evidence as low certainty.6
We still don’t know how long that benefit of exercise lasts because few trials followed people for long enough.
In some research, exercise performed about as well as psychological therapy or antidepressants, but that was in a small number of participants.6
So, emerging research suggests that improving our diet and exercising more can have many benefits for individuals living with depression. But they shouldn’t be viewed as a replacement for frontline treatment, all changes should be discussed with your GP and/or therapist.
Contact your prescriber if your mood or medicine routine changes
Contact your GP, mental-health team or Foundayo prescriber if:
- your mood, anxiety or suicidal thoughts are new or getting worse
- fatigue, dizziness or poor concentration is affecting daily life
- nausea, vomiting or diarrhoea stops you keeping food, fluids or medicines down
- you start or stop another prescription medicine, supplement or herbal remedy
- you think your antidepressant isn’t working as it usually does
Don’t stop either medicine while waiting for advice unless a clinician tells you to.
For urgent mental-health help, contact NHS 111 or ask for an urgent GP appointment. If you can’t keep yourself or someone else safe, call 999 or go to A&E.
Foundayo is under additional safety monitoring. You can report a suspected side effect through the MHRA Yellow Card scheme.
Frequently asked questions
Can I take Foundayo with sertraline?
Sertraline isn’t named as a reason not to prescribe Foundayo in the UK product information.1
A prescriber or pharmacist should still check your dose, other medicines and supplements because the combination hasn’t been studied directly.
Can I take Foundayo with citalopram or escitalopram?
Citalopram and escitalopram aren’t named as a reason not to prescribe Foundayo.1
Both can cause nausea, appetite changes, headaches or sleep changes, so report persistent symptoms after starting Foundayo.
Can I take Foundayo with fluoxetine?
Fluoxetine isn’t listed as a reason not to prescribe Foundayo.1 Your prescriber should still review the full medicine list and monitor changes in mood, appetite, digestion or sleep.
What about duloxetine or venlafaxine?
Neither medicine is named as a reaso not to prescribe Foundayo.1 Duloxetine and venlafaxine can also cause nausea, dizziness or appetite changes, which may overlap with Foundayo side effects.
What about mirtazapine or amitriptyline?
Neither is named as a reason not to prescribe Foundayo.1 They may affect appetite, weight, sleep or alertness, so the prescriber should consider these effects when judging whether Foundayo is suitable.
Should I take Foundayo and my antidepressant at different times?
Foundayo’s UK instructions don’t require a set time between taking these medications.1
Continue taking your antidepressant at its prescribed time unless your pharmacist gives a different instruction for your exact medicine.
Can Foundayo make depression worse?
The main trials didn’t show higher rates of depression or suicidal thoughts than placebo, but people with recent active or unstable severe depression were underrepresented.2 Contact your care team promptly if your mood worsens.
Can Foundayo help with weight gain from antidepressants?
Foundayo may counter some weight gain for an eligible person, but this hasn’t been tested as a specific antidepressant-related outcome. Don’t change an effective antidepressant solely for weight without discussing the benefits and risks with its prescriber.
Can I take St John’s wort with Foundayo?
Don’t take St John’s wort with Foundayo without clinical advice. It can lower Foundayo levels and make it less effective.1 It can also interact with prescription antidepressants.
What should I do if I vomit after taking my antidepressant?
Ask a pharmacist or the antidepressant prescriber. Don’t automatically take another tablet, because some or all of the original dose may already have been absorbed.
Take home message
In most circumstances, you can take Foundayo with antidepressants. Common antidepressants aren’t named as reasons not to prescribe Foundayo in the UK product information, although no direct combination study was found and your exact medicines still need checking.
St John’s wort is an exception because it can make Foundayo less effective. Severe vomiting or diarrhoea can also make it harder to keep your antidepressant down or absorb it properly. However, the UK product information doesn’t say that you need to leave a set amount of time between taking the two medicines.
Foundayo may reduce hunger and food noise, support weight loss and counter some antidepressant-related weight change for some people, but it’s not a treatment for depression.
Long-term depression care may include a suitable antidepressant, therapy, and changes to diet, movement, and sleep. These habits may alleviate symptoms and improve overall health, but they aren’t cures and shouldn’t delay clinical care.
Second Nature combines prescribed medication with registered dietitian support and a balanced plate based on vegetables, protein, complex carbohydrates, and healthy fats.
In a peer-reviewed service evaluation, active subscribers using Second Nature’s semaglutide-supported programme lost an average of 19.1% of their body weight at 12 months. Among all participants with 12-month weight data, 77.7% lost at least 10%.7
Second Nature's Mounjaro and Wegovy programmes
Second Nature provides Mounjaro or Wegovy as part of our Mounjaro and Wegovy weight-loss programmes.
Why choose Second Nature over other medication providers, assuming you're eligible?
Because peace of mind matters.
We've had the privilege of working with the NHS for over eight years, helping people across the UK take meaningful steps toward a healthier, happier life.
Our programmes are designed to meet people where they are, whether that means support with weight loss through compassionate one-to-one health coaching, or access to the latest weight-loss medications (like Mounjaro and Wegovy) delivered alongside expert care from a multidisciplinary team of doctors, psychologists, dietitians, and personal trainers.
At the heart of everything we do is a simple belief: real, lasting change comes from building better habits, not relying on quick fixes. We're here to support that change every step of the way.
With over a decade of experience, thousands of lives changed, and a long-standing record of delivering programmes used by the NHS, we believe we're the UK's most trusted weight-loss programme.
We hope to offer you something invaluable: peace of mind, and the support you need to take that first step.
