Help!-pple on methadone mmt please read

[yapianBliss]

I have been on MMT for about a year and now on 100mg and gained 60 pounds in about 5 months.. I diet and excerise daily and just keep getting fatter. It is causing me severe emotional distress. Does anyone out there know what to do? do I buy waterpills? I know it slows the metabolism down but I dont intake more then 800 calories. Do any of you know if the different type of methadone'slike the big white wafers or cherry or the orange Lilly's do this as well? My clinic gives the big whie shitty wafers. If you know what I can do please help me. Does the weight come off as the dose goes down? I am also on Xanax for other reasons and I just recently started the xanax and my weight doubled now from like 1 pound a day to 2 or 32 pounds a day. HELP! I need to know what to doI wont leave me house due to the weight its ruining my life.
thank you
Yapian:(

[Duckfeet]

It's a common problem. I still don't know what the answer is. I'm still alright, but I notice I really want to slow down, and really want to eat more ice cream and less veggies. Methadone's always a two-edged sword to me. I need it, I hate it. I always go from being glad it's around, to desperately trying to claw my way off it... It never ends.... Some people think it's too *low* a dose that causes all the problems...but of course, if u keep upping yer dose--going on that theory, and then find out they're wrong, u just have all that way to get back down again.

I'm at a 100mg too...Have mixed feelings. Still in good shape, still swim daily...but I feel groggier every day, pisses me off, I try to shake it off...

[tui]

Yep, when I was on the methadone (95mgs) I got porky.


Had an IV coke habit, barely even ate, bmxed everywhere- but somehow, mysteriously, I piled on the pounds. My body was like a stranger's. It was as if my metabolism dial had been turned down to the lowest possible setting.

Then, when I came off the 'done, all the weight vanished effortlessly (despite eating tons, zero exercise).

Nothing but quitting worked for me... so I'm not sure what to suggest. Maybe you could switch to suboxone?


Good luck with everything,,

t

[CSiiSEQ]

do I buy waterpills?

This would only be helpful if you are retaining H2O. Have you noticed swelling in your ankles or other joints or any other indication of H2O retention?

I know it slows the metabolism down but I dont intake more then 800 calories.

This is a (big) part of your problem. OK- you've got your baseline metabolism, whatever that may be... You add methadone, so it slows down to some new value. Add to this a diet consisting of 800 calories - not a big surprise you're getting weight gain. When you only give your body 800 calories to run everything, it thinks you are starving. The body kicks into survival mode and starts storing everything it can - not what you want. If you want to lose weight, you need the body burning energy, not saving up for a hibernation! At that amount of calories, your body is going to be breaking down things that you need to provide the nutrients that you are not giving yourself.



Do any of you know if the different type of methadone'slike the big white wafers or cherry or the orange Lilly's do this as well?

The type of methadone will not affect weight gain or loss.


If you want to lose, start a healthy diet - find out how many calories your body needs to run (for your size, sex, etc.). Add some weight lifting or working out and you will speed up your weight loss. Lifting weights will increase your muscule mass; muscles in turn will burn a ton of calories.

[freedomclub]

I'll be in mmt 2 years next Feb., I'm at 200mgs and although I still crave ice cream, I've been eating yogurt as well and exercising. I'll 20 minutes or a mile that takes 26 mins. on the elliptical cross country ski machine they have at my apts. Although I don't weigh myself, I know I've lost weight, ya gotta exercise and eat right. I'll often only have 1 big meal a day.

[Duckfeet]

Freedom Club is absolutely right. It's hard to get started, maybe, but just gotta eat right and exerciza. No free lunch. Any nutrition class emphasizes lots of fruit and veggies. Get used to fruit as a desert, find *some* exercize u enjoy. After a week or so u get used to it, don't miss the laying around pigging out on a pint of Ben and Jerry's...get used to walking.

[Narkotikon]

I've not been on done since October of 2006, but when I was on it from Dec. 2005 until Oct. 2006 (140mg) I gained about 75lbs. It's still on me, despite having been off of it for almost a year now. It just made me crave ice cream and chocolate like crazy. I ate something like 1 half-gallon of chocolate chip ice cream a day. Eventually that and the utter amotivational attitude / depression / and sedation just made me get off of it. I think it can work really really well for some, not so much for others. Suboxone works really well, could you try it? Now, when I was on it and sleeping all day, despite wanting less done, the doctor just said I needed more and wrote a script for Provigil (modafinil), which is a Schedule IV stimulant. I don't think it helps too well (it sort of feels like a pot of really strong coffee), and I"m not sure if I agree with giving a stimulant to counteract a depressant, especially by a doctor, but maybe that's something you could look into. Good luck.

[Sinderella]

yapianBliss,

I have never quite gotten the concept of how to get quotes in a reply on any of the forums I belong to..Atleast not without having to copy and paste the entire post made by the person even if I only want once sentence..That being said I wanted to touch base with you about some of the issues you are dealing with as far as your weight gain and MMT..

The first is being you NEED to get to the doctor ASAP..Not the clinic doctor but your regular family doctor,walk in urgent care center whereever it is that you go when you are sick or whatnot..I am a nurse and the reason I am saying this is because you wrote and I quote " just recently started the xanax and my weight doubled now from like 1 pound a day to 2 or 32 pounds a day."sounds to me like you have ALOT of fluid building up..Which is major dangerous...I am hoping that you are meaning 2 to 3 pounds a day and not 2 to 32 like you wrote..Though a 2-3pound a day gain isnt good either..I wouldnt be surprised if alot of yours isnt fluid retention though you should NEVER EVER take otc fluid pills or fluid pills belonging to someone else do to the fact that they deplete your pottassium stores and can cause another huge set of problems..

Dont get me wrong I dont think ALL of your weight gain in fluid..Because as CSiiSEQ said 800 calories a day isnt a good diet to follow..Thats not NEAR enough calories to supply your body with the fuel it needs to do day to day activities..As CSii said your body has more than likely gone into survival mode.I wont repeat everything he wrote regarding why that happens and how it works against you..Just pay attn to what he said..Heck even the strictest diabetic diets are never no less than 1200 calories a day..And those calories need to come from a balanced mix of the food groups..

Trust me when I tell you I understand the whole methadone/sweets thing..As a MMT patient for over 3.5yrs I deal with it on a daily basis..I have learned though how to manage it and my weight to a level that I am happy at..I find that eating fruits when I have a sweet craving works wonders..One of the best for that very thing are the fresh cherries you get from the produce section at the store..They are very very sweet but low in calories.Watch out for the pits though,lol..If that just dont do it then I will try something like apples dipped in the caramel dip made for apples..The apples help you get full before you eat to much of the caramel..I also keep stuff around like Starburst,Jolly Ranchers and things like that that take awhile to eat just one of them..I find that if I sit around and suck on each of them until they are gone 2-4 peices generally cut that craving without mountains of calories..Finally if I have a craving that I KNOW isnt gonna be satisfied with anything less than something extremely gooey and calorie filled I just eat it..Moderation is the key on that one..The reason I say just to go ahead and eat it is because I found that if I had one of "those" cravings and didnt go ahead and eat whatever it was I was craving then my mind sorta obsessed about it until I got it and when I DID get it I ate and ate and ate til I made myself sick and consumed 3000 calories in the process..Now I eat some of whatever it is,dont make myself sick on it because I know if I want it like that again I can have it relatively guilt free and only end up consuming 500 or so calories depending on what it is...Hey this system works for me and has since starting MMT..I weighed in at 138lbs the day I started MMT and I currently weigh in at 135lbs...

Ok so I know this is long and I got off track of what I originally wanted to talk about in this post so I will go back to the whole rapid weight gain thing really quick..I mean it when I said I think you should get to the doctor quickly.. Especially if you find you notice any of these things.....
1.) when you push on the skin of your shin or ankle area what happens??Does it make a dent in your flesh??Does the dent stay?
2)when you take your socks off do you notice that the area where the socks were is seemingly smaller than the rest of your leg?Like maybe the "fat" had been pushed up out of your sock and left the indentions where the sock ribbing was??
3)Have you noticed any shortness of breath here in the last week or so(esp since starting the xanax and the increase in daily weight gain) thats more than normal with activity??
4)Do you feel puffy or bloated??Especially in the stomach area??

If these questions were answered mostly yes by you then PLEASE go to the doctor..Like I said Edema can be dangerous..The extra fluid puts a major strain on the heart and lungs as they try to supply blood and oxygen to the increased mass..This can lead to what is called congestive heart failure if not treated... Dont be scared..The treatment for edema is simple and pretty well painless..If you do have edema(A doctor needs to tell you this) then they will give you a pill called a diuretic(fluid pill)I cant tell you what kind because there are LOTS of different kinds out there..Oh and remember what I said about the otc ones or borrowing them from someone who takes them..You have to be careful with these because of the way most of these pills can sap your bodies potassium stores.I cant stress that enough..I know as opiate lovers we have often raided medicine cabinets,bought pills that were Rx'd for others but this is different..Oh and the diuretics are generally a pretty cheap med from the pharmacy also just in case you dont have Rx coverage on your insurance..

Anyways I am gonna run...I didnt mean to write a book here I promise,lol..I just wanted to make sure to let you know what thoughts I was having about your rapid weight gain..I got worried when I read your post..Good Luck and please keep us informed about whats going on..If you go to the doctor post and let us know what he said..Or if you just wanna answer the questions I wrote and go from there...

Take Care.....
**~*~**HuGz**~*~**
Sinderella

[Inspektahdek]

methadone gives ALOT of water retention and makes u puffy

[Saint]

I scream, you scream, we all scream for Icecream.

I don't know. I am not exactly skinny after over 20+ years on methadone but am not fat either. I'm not a model but more or less normal I guess.
I had my worst cravings for sweets and icecream when I was still a hardcore heroine-user. I used to steal Hagendasz - Belgian chocolate or chocolate chip-flavour - almost on a daily basis and then put it in front of me as part of my late night fixing-routine..

[freedomclub]

methadone gives ALOT of water retention and makes u puffy




no it doesn't

[rachamim18]

The weight gain is not related to methadone but to your finally living a stable life. With an illicit habit you were not able to devote as much time to health related needs. With methadone it comes down to daily dosing and then you do not do much of anything else unles you work,etc. I quit methadone July 20th and have loist 22 pounds, seriously. Alot of my loss was due to Acute W/d as I went Cold Turkey but it is much the same dynamic. You can control your weight thoguyh via diet and exercise. Good luck.

[Duckfeet]

A very boring answer...but the truth, in my opinion. We love the myths that surround methadone, and in old days, when it was pretty much only old guys in inner city "free" clinics, that got on the 'done, the myths were rampant...now that computers, online world, and younger people abound on methadone--thanks to oxycontin--there is less negative bs surrounding it. Also, the advent of the private clinics made it in their *interest* to dispell these myths, so all of a sudden there are studies, and paid docs saying how *good* methadone is, and eds...hell, everybody's got that, and on and on...trouble is, now, I don't know *which* side to believe...but I tend to go with the view that most of the problems--as you posted--are more lifestyle related...eating was way down on my list of priorities, and once I got on methadone, all of a sudden I had time and inclination to do research on candy and ice cream ;-)


The weight gain is not related to methadone but to your finally living a stable life. With an illicit habit you were not able to devote as much time to health related needs. With methadone it comes down to daily dosing and then you do not do much of anything else unles you work,etc. I quit methadone July 20th and have loist 22 pounds, seriously. Alot of my loss was due to Acute W/d as I went Cold Turkey but it is much the same dynamic. You can control your weight thoguyh via diet and exercise. Good luck.