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

I was a 160-170 lb healthy male for 40 yrs of my life.  very active and in shape until i broke my back Jet skiing and its been all down hill from there.  I have nerve damage that is permanent down my legs and makes for a miserable existence especially at night.  Anyway after being on methadone for 3 years chronic pain i have ballooned to 260 and look like the goodyear blimp.  It doesn't  matter how hard i try and workout or sweat or eat NO SUGAR i cannot lose weight since being on methadone.  Methadone is my biggest regret ever in life and if anyone of you have  a chance to get off of it or change to something else take it from me  its HELL and it will ruin your life!!!!

Methadone is  a killer in my opinion methadone will take 30 years off my life expectancy.

I will on methadone for a year july 14th .. Ive been going pills a long time so when i had the chance to get onto methadone I jumped. I was always a small girl, ALWAYS .. then it got out of hand, and I was way too small. I am sober now, just about a year, but since on methadone Ive gained alot. Every doctor Ive talked to says "Methadone does NOT make you gain weight"  You start eating more and thats how you gain it. I gained 80lbs sine last July and I am 160lbs now so you can imagine how skinny and sick looking I was, looking at me fully clothed everyone says i look amazing. But its summer, bikini season and my fiance he jokes with me sometimes but I know in his heart hes thinking oh god shes getting nasty cause its true. I work out 3 hours a day 5 days a week .. and I CANT LOSE ANYTHING!!!!

I am 37yrs old and i was addicted to pain pills and went to my doctor n told her i wanted off of them asap.She then put me on the methodone program and 3yrs later i have gained 120lbs from the methodone.I decided to change myself 3yrs ago for the BETTER and clean up and i am more miserable now that i am clean!I won't even leave my home since i am soo emabarrased by the weight gain.I am on a high dose also which is 130mg a day but due to my severe back n knee pain and mu very high tolerance i need to be on this high dose!I plan to start detoxing and begin suboxine treatment in few weeks because i can't stand looking and feeling like this!All i do is sleep also,i nod out alll day long every single day!I'm not saying methodone is a horrible thing because it does work for some people just NOT for me!So YES methodone DOES cause weight gain!

i took it for heroin for something like 12 years, my friends were also taking it too, i have friends in their 70s who have taken it for decades - all are skinny. i put on weight - about 35 pounds when i ate like a pig then lost 50 pounds while still taking it by eating one meal a day and a small snack before bed :D with lots of hot and cold drinks instead of food.

i don't think methadone makes your metabolism slow down, i do think it can make you eat more and not realise you're doing it.

i promise if you count calories - 1200 a day for just one week you will lose weight on methadone. try it for one week and you shall see.  

I'm 35 years old and have always maintained a steady 135lbs. Just after about 6 months on methadone i realized i gained 50 pounds! It happened so fast i didn't even realize it. I began to have strange eating habits. i would eat only cereal at night...throughout the night! IT IS SO STRANGE. all that dry cereal put that me from a size 6 to 16 by one year!

I think methadone/physeptone is a weight-gainer, depending if taken on it's own (without other drugs) and you're managing life etc.  Been off it a month now after tapering down and am starting to lose weight rapidly to be honest with all the feelings of depression and aches.  All I can say it's a massive shock to my system but, have to look at it as an opiate withdrawal that last's longer.....  No matter how patronising that sounds.

 

Nice-one

Well it seems from all the replies that Methadone makes you gain weight. I was wondering because I am 48 and my weight has been stable all my life until Methadone. It is a different kind of fat too. Mine is all in front and hard and droopy. I think as someone was saying we are so constipated a lot is sitting in my intestines. I also drink Crystal Light and it has salt in it. I saw a picture of myself and it didn't look like me. I have put on 25 pounds in the 4 months i have been on it for chronic pain. It works well but the weight just piled on.

My other problem is I lost my taste for food. I crave sugar but I used to love to cook but now I don't enjoy most food. I'm going to check out the Vitadone, Thanks.

To the rude person who did massive amounts of black tar heroin and thinks that makes them unique, well it doesn't. Your an addict just like everyone else. I don't even like drugs and I am Methadone for chronic pain- Fibro. I have some liver damage and he doesn't want me on anything that is filtered by the liver. does liver damage like all the Tylenol in Vicodin.

TooLongGone wrote: Hey , i know what u feel, i too went on methodone mine was 7yrs ago for the use of pain pills. The more i took the more i needed. So in a sence methodone saved me. I agree with the the constipation too. I have gained at least 85-90lbs. I feel like a pig too. I went to a diet doc and told him what i was takeing, he gave me diet pills, NOTHING!!! I dont know were to get the answer i wish i did. I am 47 and have never had this kind of problem getting extra weight off, this is a nightmare.

As far as the herion addict, Please when u use anykind of drug, who are u to thrown stones, get real ur no better than any of the rest of us.

Before u started and now, dont fool your self.

tangledup wrote: oh gosh, i applaud u, that is great. I am on 280mg a day and i too cant get anywhere.

keep going and good luck!!!

I was in a coma and when I woke had severe headaches to go with my Brain Injury and was placed on a very high dose of methadone for pain Like 250mg a day I was also put on, fentanyl and Dilaudid.  I was always slim and just like everyone else I put on 76 lbs in 4 months I have stuggled with it for 8 years now i have high BP, had a stroke, went into renal failure, and had my gull bladder removed.  I hate to leave the house because of my weight and I am just so depressed to top it off I have no stamina.  I am now down to 10mg of methadone and no others and I am still not loosing could my metabolism be messed up thanks Kim

There are two products out there called "Nutridone" and "Vitadone". They are both the same thing and about the same price. From what I read it was 2 guys that split away from each other and one slightly changed the name to sell the same product. It's suppose to help with sweating, sweet cravings, and a couple other side effects related to methadone. Its kind of spendy $30 for 60 and the bottle says to take 3 a day. I just finished my first month and did notice a slight change in my sweet cravings. My husband says he's definately noticed a difference. I was hoping it would help with the common complaint of weight gain, I've gained around 40lbs. and feel so uncomfortable in my own body, I was always around 120lbs. As many other people state I eat reasonably, moderately excersize, and have never had a weight issue. So, I'm hoping by controling the sweet cravings it will help with the weight. If your interested I just googled the names and it led me to a website I could order from. Goodluck!

iI was 18yrs old wen i became herion addict i was a size 10 i was 23yrs old wen i got on my methadone clinic i piled on the weight  3wks at first i was delited becuse my family and honest mates wer complementingme how wel i looked but now im 32 and im 17stone al tru the years i tried everyting 2 lose  weight not working im at the stage wer i dont bother going out anymore i asked my doctor does methaone help put onweight he aid no there addicts that ar still the same weight they wer wen first on methadone doc tinks its 2 do wit eating alot more now. Doctortold me just to execise an diet ah i did try! is there any1 out there wit any posiive stories in losin weight tanx 

Ive been on methadone for about a yr now I very sorry i have no solution but ive gained  45 pounds Im starting too have problems with my back (pain)  I called my pharmisist and she said that methadone does make u gain weight....its terrible iam on it for the same reasons as u I dont know what the solution is but I hope u get better maybe we should pray I dont know what else too do   take care  

Ive been on Methadone for approx 4 weeks now. I have never used illegal drugs and hardly drink alcohol. I went on Methadone for Restless Leg Syndrome after trying so many other treatments and prescription drugs that I can't begin to remember them all. The last drug i was on was Ropinarole( a dopamine agonist for parkinson treatment) which has such terrible side effects that get worse and worse over time. Methadone is my last option. As i said before I've been on it approx 4 weeks. I started out on two 5mg tablets twice a day but found I was feeling sick and very dizzy so Dr change my meds to liquid Methadone. I now take 0.5ml at 9am, 0.5ml at 4pm and 1ml when I go to bed. It has been wonderful for my restless legs, in fact the best treatment I've ever had but I've gain 5 kilos in the last 2 weeks despite  eating less than usual. I have blurred vison when I try to read and being on the computer seems to make this worse. Within 10 mins of reading the on computer I feel myself nodding off. As soon as get up and stop using the computer ( and reading) I don't feel drowsy any more. I have trouble with my skin feeling itchy at various times during the day and  am wondering if anyone else has the same side effects all at once like I do. I don't want to stop the Methadone as it is marvelous for my RLS but certainly don't want to keep putting on weight as I'm already 100kg and if I get any bigger I don't know what I'll do. Any help with this would be very much appreciated. Thanks

Fiona

I have been on methadone for nearly four years for chronic pain. When I started the medication I weighed approx 145 pounds, now I weigh 185 pounds. At one point I stopped taking the medication for a little over a month and lost 25 pounds. Unfortunately, due to my pain I had to start taking it again and gained all of the weight back plus some. Also, due to my condition my doctor does not recommend physical activity except for swimming. I have gone through severe depression because of my appearance. I have been advised by my PCP and new PM doctor to switch to oxycontin. Weight gain is not a side affect. I also noticed that the methadone does not really releive my pain, instead it makes me feel speedy and nauseous. I am also prescribed oxycodone IR for break through pain and it works great! I am able to function, work, and it gives me energy. I will re-post after changes are made to let you know how the new med works. I wish your sister the best. God Bless.

Cant sleep due to the extreme weight gain and my family's concern over it. Now I understand this sucks. I like methadone, I dont wake up sick I feel normal, still in pain most of the time due to 3 herniated and degenerating disks. Im taking 100mg daily of it. And the weight gain IS different, Ya it's like Im pregnant,.

                   When walking after lighting up a cig some lady honked her horn at me. I could only imagine that I looked like a pregnant chic about to                    light up. I havent been this fat since was pregnant. Im only 4'11" just weighed in at 132,,,,Im not exercising enough do eat                 well only when hungry.

 

Is there anything out there that'd increase the metabolism??? Anything for hypothyroidism???

 

Thanks, Ana