Dear client Antidepressants can cause weight gain.But there are some weight friendly molecules also.  You have to continue antidepressants till 6 weeks to see its  efficiency. Then you have to continue medicine to prevent relapse for another 6to 9 months. You also need to make lifestyle changes alongside. Stopping of medicine is never abrupt. It also takes some time.

Escitalopram helps with both anxiety and depression. There is no fixed duration as to how long to take the medicines, it depends on how you have responded and how well you are maintaining on them. Yes they can cause a side effect of weight gain. Make sure you are doing physical exercise on a daily basis to  control weight gain. If that is too disturbing, you might consider consulting your Psychiatrist or another Psychiatrist for a change in medicine.