Methadone Maintainance & Weight Gain!!! Help!!! (Page 12)
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I AM A METHADONE MAINTAINANCE PATIENT, CLEAN FROM OXYCONTIN FOR THREE+ YEARS & I HAE PACKED ON 40 POUNDS! I AM RETAINING WATER & EXPERIENCE HORRIBLE CONSTIPATION...ANYONE WITH SIMILAR ISSUES OR TIPS TO HELP ME OR FIND THE CAUSE???

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That's why you're gaining weight. If you eat less than 1200 calories a day, your body, which is much smarter than you, will slow then shut down because it knows it's starving. You've shut down your metabolism so if you eat 500 calories you will GAIN.

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I am sure to get blasted here, but this is my experience., I have been on methadone maintenance for 10 years. I was 125LBS when I started, a year later I was close to 160LBS, and everyone of course said it was the methadone. I too had a lot of water retention. I knew it wasn't the methadone because I know many women on it that haven't gained a pound. and I also know women who gain weight and use methadone as an excuse. I am not saying anyone here is.. I went for my yearly check up and my doctor was pissed off about my weight, and he ordered blood work, because he too didn;t think the methadone was the problem..Well, turns out it WAS NOT the methadone, I have an underactive thyroid and that caused all of the symptems I had. Shortly after starting the medication, the pounds came off, the water retention went away. and I am at a healthy 130LBS. Perfect for being 5'3.. I also don't have constapation on methadone, but give me a vicodin and I will be constapated for a week. Everyone is different. People tend to make methadone the demon drug and blame all of their ills on it when most of the time, there is an underlying cause, The nurse that said methadone gets into fat cells is full of it. Methadone is an opiate. PERIOD. Only difference is methadone has a very long half life, and people think that is somehow bad, If you want bad, go to the fentanayl board, that is horrible..Methadone isn't for everyone, and people will suffer some side affects, just like any other medication, but it has also helped many people live full lives wheather it be for pain or for opiate addiction. My life was s*** before I got on methadone. Today I have a wonderful life.. Just try to remember, methadone is a very potent strong narcotic and should be treated as such. People die everyday thinking they wil get high, you won't get high on methadone, but you will OD if you take too much, mix it with anything like xanax. and NEVER EVER take it from a friend..Only take it as prescribed by your doctor
Pat

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I've also gained TONS of weight on methadone. 50 lbs in the past year. I went from 120 to 170 in about 6 mos. I actually eat a whole lot less than before I started the methadone. In fact, I eat only about 500 calories a day and I still cant lose any weight. I'm way too tired from the methadone to exercise. My blood pressure has went way up as well. Is there anything to combat the weight gain from methadone? This has gotten so bad and depressing for me, I am considering just getting off of it. Sometimes I think I was better off when I was on dope. At least I wasnt fat.

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I KNOW A NURSE THAT SAID THEY THEY LEARNED THAT METHADONE SOMEHOW BUILDS UP ON THE FAT TISSUE, CAUSING WEIGHT GAIN. I KNOW ALOT OF PEOPLE ON METHADONE AND 99% OF THE WOMAN GAINED AT LEAST 40 LBS. I GAINED 40 MYSELF. MEN ALSO GAINED, BUT NOT LIKE THE WOMAN. WHEN I FINALLY WAS ABLE TO STOP TAKING, I LOST ALOT. THEN A YEAR LATER STARTED TAKING VERY SMALL AMOUNTS { 3-10 MILAGRAMS A DAY.} ,, {GAINING ALL BACK} AND NOW LESS THAN 10 A DAY AND STILL CANT LOOSE WEIGHT WITHOUT EXERCISE AND DIET. LAST SUMMER I EXERCISED FAITHFULLY FOR 4 MONTHS AND LOST 10 LBS. WHEN I STOPPED TAKING IT BEFORE, WITHIN A WEEK I HAD NOTICED THAT I LOOKED LIKE I HAD LOST 10 LBS. LOOKED LIKE A HEALTHY PERSON AGAIN. COLOR IN SKIN WAS 75% BETTER. I DONT CARE WHAT ANYONE SAYS, I KNOW METHADONE CAUSES WEIGHT GAIN AND WATER RETAIN..

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As far as the weight gain, its possible, though I have not gained any. Try to cut down on fattening foods. The constipation issue is real and it finally got so bad, my doctor prescribed MiraLax or Enulose syrup, both are excellent but must be taken on a daily basis. Hope this helps.

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Regarding your drug-kicking, CONGRATULATIONS on returning to this Sweet Life! My return to life was in 1972, by the Grace of Jehovah God and my Savior, Jesus Christ, who, I believe, saved my physical body on what was supposed to be it's last day alive, though my soul's surrender to salvation and freedom from sin took many more years of learning about my failings and the price of sin, and about God's true love.

I pray you are within some sort of Christian Bible study, by which you may find all the answers you need for the strength required to 'MAKE IT, for real, for good, one day at a time. You are no way unique in your symptoms with the weight gain, bloating, constipation, edema, probably have food cravings and anxieties also. These are the symptoms of an abdominal dysfunction, where drugs suppressed normal eating, digesting, sleeping, etc, for so long, and now there is an onslaught of normal life experience's stresses to which your body is failing to fully handle. Other physicians will diagnose the terribly common and disruptive IBS, Irritable Bowel Syndrome. This life-killer came on me hard when I was 11 years clean and 2 years sober through AA, when I went back to work full time. You may feel very guilty, self-conscious about the bloating, belching, having to go to the bathroom so much as some sufferers are constipated but it is hard, small deer-pellet stools that force you to strain them out several times daily, never getting complete evacuation.
Your treatment trials should include:
Probiotics (with several million flora per dose), using natural yoghurts several times daily for the same reason, to put back natural, live digesting organisms into your gut, and find a multi-enzyme that has Papaya extracts, Bromelain, Amylase, etc; each digest different things that you eat, taken twice daily with your foods. Bromelain also eases arthritis & muscle pains. Newest studies were amazed to find out that calcium has it's chemical hand in nearly every body function, including fixing water retention naturally. Take daily the Calcium-Magnesium-Zinc combo pill that most Walmarts have cheap, because the latter two are necessary for the first to work right, and Mag & Zinc are great healers. Take a B Complex vitamin daily, which is a recovering abuser's greatest brain and body ally; it will help you to feel stronger, alert, help your blood, lungs, muscles, everthing that will help you to climb out of the rut of feelling rotten for so long, which is the devil's trap to make you give up on your renewed life, by making it harder than it has to be. A natural constipaton remedy is Cascara Sagrada, an herb which I only need to take one in the late afternoons, to have a better BM by the next morning; it normalizes the size & moisture to BM, which will relieve your straining. Just remember to ask your doctor about that endoscopy, if you have med. ins, to check for polyps and any precancerous stuff, all of which can cause obstructions to BM. There's always the old natural stand-bys of prune juice and pears. Best of God's blessings for you; find a good church family to support you, or a 12 step program and seek the Great Physician. Mari,

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I've been on methadone for three years and the constipation I think was the key! My pain doctor gave me Miralax for the constipation and it works as long as you take it every day. The first couple of days require twice a day until things start moving. Good luck. My doctor now has me on Avinza 60mg once a day and morphine sulfate 15mg x2 twice a day. Seems a better response. It is good to see that methadone does work for some people.
Dave

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I gained a lot of weight taking methadone also. I've been on methadone for about 7 years now and will probably be on it the rest of my life. All pain meds slow the metabolism, so there is a danger of gaining weight. You just have to exercise as much as your disability will let you and definitely watch what you eat. Constipation is a very serious threat- you must take a stool softener on a daily basis. I agree, Colace is the best one to try. Take two a day and see how that does, raise or lower it after a week of trying.

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Wow! You all hit on a subject that has consumed my life for the last 11 years. I'm allergic to Morphine so my doctor started me on the Duragesic patch in the early 90's. I didn't care for it for many reason's. Anyway after about 4 years of that my new pain doctor switched me to Methadone. I felt much better, was able to take college classes and even play golf. I was more active but I noticed my clothes were getting tighter and by the next year many of the desks and chairs at school were getting smaller lol. I was gaining about 3 to 5 pounds a month which turned into 25 to 50 a year! Each year my wife and I went to Mexico I could see the weight gain in the pictures she took. I had never weighted over 205 in my life and at 6'1 had a 31 waist. I complained and complained but my doctor would just tell me to diet or exercise which was frustrating as I was active for a person who had been through 4 spinal fusion's with new hardware each time. After 5 years of Methadone I broke the 300 pound mark! I was horrified, frustrated and very down on myself! I kept telling my doctor that it had to be the Methadone? I even showed him my charts and how my weight increased from the time I began Methadone and showed him the pictures. I moved cross country and had 2 more spinal fusion's. I talked with my new pain doctor about my weight gain concerns from Methadone but he didn't want to mess with it. That was 4 years ago. I now weighted 348 pounds and was so depressed I was giving up. My wife left me after 20 years of marriage and I felt horrible about myself. Hurting and fat! Finally 3 months ago and weighing 361 my doctor agreed to change my pain medication. Part of the wait was because I lost my insurance. I couldn't afford anything other than Methadone. I have been taking Oxycontin for 3 months and am just now starting to notice the changes. I was given 40mg of Lasix a day 10 years ago because I was retaining water and looking puffy. I have lost the puffiness and no longer need Lasix. That has helped to lower my blood pressure which as allowed me to already reduce my dose of Diovan HCT and Toprol XR! I once again have a sex drive and full function! Thank goodness for the new Medicare prescription plan! Being able to change medications has not only improved my life but very likely made it longer? I have lost 11 pounds so far. I have been approved for a gastric by-pass but if I keep losing am thinking of holding off on it? Thank you guys for reaffirming what I began to believe was all in my head!

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I have been taking methadone for over a year now. When I started taking it, I only weighed 102. However, I now weigh 158. I honestly believe that the methadone is the cause of my weight gain. I have never been this heavy in my life. Yet, it is the price that I am willing to pay, so that I can be grug free. Heroin and pain pills almost destroyed my life, but now I am able to carry on a very productive life with my husband and children. Instead of being all drugged up every day, I now go to school, take care of my children and husband, and I have 2 jobs. I feel wonderful. Therefore, if you gain weight, don't let it bother you. The weight is better than using----ANY DAY!!!------Good Luck!

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I have gained over 20 pounds, but I don't think that it is due to the Methadone. I think that it is due to the Celexa I was taking along with birth control pills. However, I was researching the issue of wieght gain due to medications. Some meds slow your metabolism (like Methadone) and some create a lack of a hormome which controls your weight. I found that CLA and Omega 3 are two of the only viatmins you can take to help produce this hormone. I found a website that sales high miligram doses of these vitamins and are specifically formulated to cause weight loss. I have ordered them and are waiting for them to come in. I will repost on my progress. In the mean time, if you are on an antidepressant that causes weight gain, switch to one that doesn't. Wellbutrin is one of them. I have also started taking Phentermin to raise my lowered metabolism due to the methadone and other downers I was taking.

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Kali,
I've taken Methadone for years (chronic pain). It is a side effect of methadone on the constipation & retaining water (edema). Try taking a stool softener like colace two every night. If that don't help take a mild laxative also. On the retaining water you can take a water pill over the counter or ask your doc about taking a diuretic. Sorry I don't know about the weight gain. But, I've got you beat on the weight gain 55 POUNDS!!!
Good Luck,
Gina

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