Does methadone cause weight gain and/or slow down metabolism?

Hello , Ii am fully aware that this post is at least over a year old! But it's a shot I'll take. In response to the poster above, who did a fast taper, it was hard- but not that hard, etc. I have been on methadone for 6years now. I am certainly interested in your thoughts/insight. How you feel now, etc. My highest dose was 134mg. I am currently at 8mg. Even under 20 or 10mg., it was definitely "noticeable " but nothing I thought it would be (thus far) compared to stories I've read. Once I got to 20mg., I went to 2mg. Reductions every 7 days- and I have stayed on that schedule . Perhaps it WONT be all I've imagined/ better said, dreaded. In your post, you said feel free to contact me, etc. but there is no way to do so... So I'll take this shot in the dark by inserting this post. I'll just hope that perhaps it reaches you. Many Thanks.

I have been on Methadone since Aug of last year and have gained maybe 15 pounds and I honestly blame it on my sweet tooth. The pill u can take to help with this is a vitamin called Nutridone. It has helped me a lot!

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I've been on methadone for almost 2 years and have put on 160 lbs.

Methadone does cause weight gain for 5-10% of patients, so it's not extremely common and often pushed aside as an invalid concern. As one mentioned, a lot of doctors in this field see a lot of horrible things over the years, so they tend to think being clean is better than being thin. Unfortunately, being a little overweight and being morbidly obese are two different things.

When I used heroin, I tended to lose weight even though it's an opiate because, a.) it's a very short acting opiate (6 hours) versus methadone which is a very long acting opiate (36 hours). Anyone who has used methadone knows that it builds up in ones system and this is because of the "layering" due to overlaps in dosing every 24 hours with a dose affecting the patient for an additional 12 hours.

Some people who get into recovery want to be as hardcore about recovery as they wanted to be drug users and they tend to get this "no one is taking responsibility like they should" mindset, which often times is because they themselves are not taking responsibility, regardless of anyone else, and they are simply applying their own shortcomings to the general population.

It is also true that in many situations, there are people with more difficult socio-economic circumstances who are being treated with methadone and that population tends to spend more money on poor nutritional food choices like McDonalds, petrol station foods, or otherwise. However, that doesn't change the fact that there are many people who eat right and exercise and still have a problem with weight gain from methadone.

Last of all, methadone doesn't cause weight gain the same way that heroin doesn't cause death. Heroin causes respiratory depression which is what you actually die from. With methadone, the weight gain is caused by an extreme slowing of metabolism due to doses building up in ones system.

Unfortunately, it's a balancing act between sobriety and positive self-image, so the best thing one can do would be to possibly try and lower your dose a bit (if you are ready), reduce salt intake, drink lots of water (water is to your body's metabolism like petrol to your car), reduce any excessive sugar, and exercise.

I run 3.5 miles a day and eat very healthy. Even with these things, I have only been losing maybe 2-3 lbs per month. Due to water retention weight-fluctuations, it is difficult to see on a scale at first so I've mostly been going by the way my clothes that got too small feel for me with each passing day. This is coming from someone who used to eat 5000-6000 calories a day and was always rail thin.

When I first realized I was gaining weight so aggressively and that methadone could be the cause, I dropped down to a 1500 calorie a day diet and while I stopped gaining weight as quickly, I continued to feel my clothes get tighter and tighter with each passing week. I had blood work done and evaluations for thyroid issues. Nothing was found. It wasn't until I started lowering my dose that I started experiencing consistent loss.

My dose was at 125mg and it's now down to 80mg. I am trying to continue reducing it a.) because I'm ready to do so, and b.) because I feel a lot better as I've been reducing my dose. However, getting off completely is something that I want to take slowly as I went from having a monsterous habit spending every last dime to having a nice life with no problems other than weight. However, sometimes I would rather be thin and on drugs than clean and fat because of the self-image aspects.

First off I agree heroim is the WORSE to come off of. IV users are worse than snorters or pill poppers I shot up 3-4 grams of heroin a day. I did a half a gram per shot. If u were such an addict u would do any heroin not just back tar and let me just say I've done all heroin black tar china white cocoa powder heroin all the different types and they all were the same I was just as sick the nxt day without as I was trying any other types of heroin! So don't act like your worse than everyone bc black tar that's a load of c**p! I think methadone is meant for heavy opiate users not just IV heroin. There's ppl who inject Oxys not heroin some ppl like pills bc they know what they're getting. The ppl who just eat pills like Percocet Vicodin or whatever like that I think they should do suboxone but Oxys heroin IV users or heavy snorters should be on methadone. It depends on the person and their addiction not what they did and their ambition to get clean! I've been clean on heroin for 26 months and I was at 115mg of methadone now I'm on 65mg I came down to 5mg I was tapered 5mg every 3days and wasn't sick til I hit 10mg an it wasn't to bad bc methadone has half life it still is in ur body from the day before so it takes a while before it'll actually make u sick. 3dayd after being on 10mg it hit me and the methadone that was in me from previous doses finally detoxed out of my body And I then only had my 10mg dose each day but each day I'd take 10mg I'd still have a certain percentage of it in me from the day before when I took 10 so therefore I'd have about 6mg left in me from day before then if take my 10mg dose again and it'd add onto the day before what's still in me from half life. I don't know if I explained it good it's hard to put in words. I don't agree much with the person above who is talkin c**p on other people and their addiction n comparing others to u! Everyone is different and so is their addiction so don't think ur worse bc there always someone worse than u and by the sounds of it I'm pretty certain my addiction was way worse considering I did half G per shot 6-7 times a day bcuz I made 15$ an hour so I had money to buy drugs all day plus I was prescribed 120 roxy 15mg and 120 Valium 10mg every month and I sold them and made an extra 1200$ on top of my paychecks so I had a lot of access to cash. But anyways it doesn't matter what drug u do it matters how bad you were out of control and how much help u need to get off some ppl aren't as strong as others no matter what drug they're on and they need all the help they can get. So worry about ur own addiction and don't talk down to others we all were pretty bad at one point and compared to our normal everyday living our drug life was pretty extreme! Am I right or what?! That's just my opinion! Ok good luck everyone!

I've been on methadone for 3years during the first year I was pregnant I gained 45 pounds after the bby I continue to weight also on a diet and exercising. Yes it absolutely cause weight gain. When I began the medicine I weighed 128 now im 179. Im so upset I hate to look in the mirror. Im considering going to get on the lipo shot b12. And a appetite suppressant .maybe she should consider it also

Everyone has a "story." Just because you were addicted to Heroin doesn't make you more worthy of methadone treatment. Methadone has been used for years as a pain treatment due to it's long duration and zero Tylenol. Some people here aren't addicts like you were, but received treatment with opiates and became dependent. I agree that sub is great for coming off of opiates, but it's DAM EXPENSIVE!! How and what you are addicted to isn't the point- it's the fact that addiction is addiction no matter what it is you are addicted to. If you need to be on Methadone for the rest if your life to keep you off the streets and Heroin-OK, but you're still an addict, only now addicted to Methadone.

Rice Krispy treats are helpful and you haven't a sister...this is you. I like Methadone.

Been on methadone for over 10 years..gained about 80...90lbs..started at 130mg, slowly detoxed to 35mg, took years..went up to 80mgs then detoxed 1mg per day down to 30mg, then switched to 1mg every other day until off. Definitely to fast. Couldn't handle it so took some to help withdrawals..BAD idea. Now taking 10mg every other day. Going to try to slowly go down in dosage but don't know how long I should stay at a particular dose. Any thoughts. 1 week...2 weeks...3 weeks. per decrease? Maybe only 1mg each time or up to 5mg. Need some insight from someone who did it. Am also on 112mg levothyroxine for my thyroid.due to the methadone. Hope that changes when I am completely off.

Yes it does..she has to lower the dose as low as she can go and watch the weight fall off....I am also in the same boat.if your on a dose of 135 mg its waaaaaay too much you will gain it very quick...if she can get to 25,30 mg watch the weight fall off..I guarantee it..good luck

Vitadone is suppose to help with sugar cravings but I haven't really seen a difference. Weight keeps packing on and I'm craving ice cream all the time. Started 6 months ago weighing 100lbs to 145!!! Craziness. Always have been small even after 3 kids. Desperately need to be back in my clothes and feel better about myself

I too was on Vicoden for about 5 years and then it stopped working. I had lower back surgery 3 years ago and now i'm worse.. I weighed 175 back then. I am 5'4". I got on Methadone 10mg three times a day. Im 45 and now weigh 240. My face bothers me the most, it looks very full and like swollen or puffy. Im so depressed as well, I don't date and when i see people I have'nt seen in a long time I feel embarressed. I have constant pain and don't know if I could be completely off the methadone. I feel like no one understands. I know I have a very low metabolism too!! So anyways I want to talk to my Doctor about a medication i heard of called Beviq. It supossed to help make you feel full faster...Or last resort, a gastric bypass. But I've read alot of these stories on here and I can totally relate. Thanks for your posts and honesty...

I forgot to mention that when I weighed the 175 I thought I was very fat...Now I wish I could go back to that weight!!!

I have been on methadone for over five years and i have gained over fifty pounds. But before i got on the methadone i had the gastric bypass surgery and i lost nearly ninety pounds so i wasnt eating a lot, my intake was and still is very very little. I was told that i needed to start taking the Vitadone vitamins for people who are on methadone. I spoke with another person who had gained over one hundred pounds and he incorporated the vitadone vitamins in his diet as well and he has lost over a hundred pounds these people swear by these vitamins along with cutting back on especially eating SWEETS in which i crave. I was told that you really crave the sweets. I just ordered the vitamins i hope and pray that i will see some results as i start going to the YMCA for low impact exercise, cut back on my sugar intake and take my vitadone i should see some results if not i will have no other choice than to decrease the methadone.

Thank god u said it. "Bladder spasm problems put me on methadone" "I was taking 15 vicodins a day" "I have restless leg syndrome" "I have chronic pain". Seriously? No ou have a drug problem now. You may have had all that before but our a druggie now. Especially if you're on methadone! It's a substitute now! Shooting heroin is 100x worse and they're rifht. You need subprime now to get off methadone and get on a real pain management regimen. Then you can stop crying about the weight you're gaining. I've been on it for more than four years and have gained a total of 20 pounds. And I guarantee I needed those 20 pounds added on to me after all I did and weight I lost. I'm Not gaining 50 pounds a year! You need to get off methadone or stop Complaining. It's not making me gain weight so maybe you're doing something wrong

Hello ,Iam going through the same experience as your sister ,I HAVE BEEN ON A HIGH DOSE OF METHaDONE FOR 2 years and gained 60 lbs , Iam 5foot and have always been 110 the weight had me so depressed not only did I tapering my dose but I've been exercising ,cut out soda and sweets (which before the methadone I could eat as I please and not gain a pound)completely , and haven't lost a pound .I finally reached out to other people who have had this situation and they said basically you have to be completely off of the methadone before you can start to get your body back,because the methadone slows your metabolism so much and almost stops your digestive system from working properly.I cant decide if I want to just stop the methadone cold turkey or finish it and be depressed and over weight for any longer , iam in my sisters wedding in September and I would like to be back to my normal body by then .So instead of letting myself detox 1mg a week ,I think Im going to ask the doc if she can brin me down 4mg a week.Best of luck to your sister and I hope I helped a little!!