I started the methadone clinic 7/2/07. From the day I was born til I started I was always skinny. I am about 5'6 in height and was back and forth between 110-120 in weight b4 I started methadone. I used to want to gain about 10-15 lbs to look healthy for my height. I used to eat constantly and never gain weight. Well I got ny wish plus abt 50-60 xtra lbs when I started methadone. I am going on 4 yrs and have tried to do every thing I can to lose atleast30-40lbs and nothing works. Any suggestions? Also I am slowly coming dwn on methadone so i can switch to sub. Do subs make u gain or lose weight? Thanks for any advice:-) Luv all y'all<3
Does anyone have good tips how to lose weight on methadone?
Question posted by annatfultz on 15 Dec 2010
Last updated on 27 November 2020
The information on this page reflects personal experiences shared by our community members. It is not reviewed for medical accuracy and should not replace professional medical advice.
8 Answers
laurr84
27 Nov 2020
@breannav — this is definitely an extremely old post,,, BUT.. if you happen to read this I’d love to hear the ways you found to help lose the weight, as I can’t seem to find much when it comes to actual things that cause success.
Thanks!!
laurr84
27 Nov 2020
@briannaluv
Kris10babe26
9 July 2013
I am going through the same as everyone else, I went from 120 to 180 and I am about to lose my mind. I have gotten myself prepared to start dosing down, I pray this helps, because I don't even feel like myself anymore!
luvmygirls
15 July 2013
im going threw it too, the done didn't cause me to gain tho.. 4 months after I started I got pregnant and put on 65 lbs.. had my healthy girl 2.5 months ago and im shocked that ive been eating no more then 500 cal a day and I haven't lost weight in a month. I just started dosing down too last week and I hope this bumps my metabolism enough to start loosing. I can not stand myself at this weight.. Its effecting every area of my life and im willing to try anything to change it. I hope to hear your losing so I may have a little hope! good luck
briannaluv
23 June 2012
Although this post is old,I am happy to respond since so many have the same questions regarding weight gain on Methadone.The answer is YES,you can lose weight while on Methadone!Let me first start off by saying,please be sure that your dose is a responsible mg.This post is for the individuals who are fighting hard to live a healthy and balanced life.
With that said,I am 28 years old and have been on Methadone for about 5 months.I am about 5'7 and have ran marathons,trained for fitness competitions,and maintained a lively fitness routine most my youth and adult life.So of course when I went from 108 pounds to 130 pounds in just a few months of being on Methadone,it was a shock!Yes,as women we have a tendency to let the scale be the dictator ,telling us how we feel about our bodies on a daily basis.STOP!!!
This is NOT how one should calculate personal level of health. When I first started Methadone,I noticed that I was hungry all the time. More interesting,not only did I begin to have a constant hunger rumbling in my belly, I began to eat even more around the times that I normally would have gotten high.This in turn ,packed on the pounds,leaving me with several important questions: 1) Was the Methadone making me hungry OR was my body lacking vitamins and nutrition? 2) While on Methadone,will the weight gain continue? 3) Will I be able to lose the weight OR will I have to stop Methadone all together if I want my slim figure back?
As these questions ran through my head on a daily basis,I went where any reasonable girl would go for the answers... THE INTERNET! LOL
There,I found out that I was not alone.Many others had the same daunting questions.So I took it upon myself to investigate the popular topics using myself as the variable... THIS IS A VERY OLD POST,SO IF ANYONE IS INTERESTED IN THE RESULTS,PLEASE POST SO I KNOW THIS IS STILL ACTIVE AND WORTH MY TIME RESPONDING ... THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS.
jennyjen07
25 June 2012
Yes please help me Lol..I started at 130 and I have gained 50 pounds.. I'm now dieting and walking and cut out all soda..ugh I'm hoping to like 30 pounds.
jennyjen07
25 June 2012
I'm just scared nothing will work
allisonrlyons82
18 May 2013
I am going through the same thing, "briannaluv" if you still come here... HELP!!! I have done all the things everyone said and just like everyone else. Same thing no matter what.
luvmygirls
15 July 2013
hi I am very interested hearing what your results are.. I am 29 years old, been on done for a bit over a year.. the first few months were great as far as my weight is concerned, ive always been bigger then average but not by allot and then after 4 months on done I got pregnant.. was told by all docs I saw to stay on done if I wanted a healthy baby and I so did, this is my 2nd child. well my weight went up 65 lbs from when I started and its been 2months since I had my beautiful and healthy girl and I haven't lost anything, I barely eat anything to the point where my boyfriend is concerned for my health but I see where I am physically and just cant eat.. still no weight loss which seems like a bad joke or a lie or something bc how can I possibly put so few calories in my body and look like this... I weigh about 200 lbs at 5'5" I don't weigh myself often I am a size 14 for the most part and I was a size 7 when I started the done.
I also was a pill popper and lead a somewhat normal life when I was using so I was not super unhealthy when I stated the done.. I ate somewhat normally then. I really cant stand this, I feel awful and extreamly unhealthy at this weight. I need some hope that I can at least get down to a normal weight, id be happy with 160/170 lbs. ive always looked smaller then my weight would suggest so that would put me in a size 8/10 and id feel like myself and I really need that bc if I keep looking at this in the mirror my depression is going consume my life and I have two beautiful girls I need to here and healthy for.. any info or hope would be geat.. thanks
-jamie
Jaijefey
4 Oct 2016
Yes... please help..I'm going stir crazy.
Reeses83
28 Nov 2016
I to am gaining weight !!
ashleydye32
28 Feb 2017
Please do respond!
Lesab
19 April 2017
Yes I am struggling "briannaluv" please help if you still come into this chat... please!!! Or anyone that can help for that matter... thank you. From "lesab"
Monicaak
15 June 2017
I'm interested
Rocketqueenz
20 July 2017
I'm interested if anything worked and how hard you went . I find myself craving only sweets, nothing fills me, I'm hungry and tired all day. I work out for a solid hour or two and NO results. I need to break up with my bf he is very into looks and it makes me self conscious . He doesn't say anything but I know he looks at me
Disgusted. I gained 25 lbs in one month! Once I went from 90 to 120 mg. And I'm just going up more and more
Roman88
1 March 2018
I need help nothing is working my self esteem is sooo low I look in the mirror and just cry ! I used to feel good in my skin and now I feel gross :’( I need to know how to overcome this I will do anything I’ve already started to lower my does 2 mg per week I’ve already gone down 10 mg I’m not sure what else I can do diet and exercise isn’t helping me :’(
Shell89
12 April 2018
I am interested in the position, if you wouldn't mind to share them when it's convenient for you. Thanks so much and God bless you!
Bowden
15 May 2018
Id like to know how you did it??
Marina86
11 Oct 2018
Hi and yes please tell me what it is that u think that I can do about this freaking weight gain that I can’t stand anymore. Please respond ASAP thanks dear
Inactive
22 March 2012
I have to tell you... I gained weight too when I first started my methadone program! I had always been 5foot and weighed between 105-110 lbs from the time that I was 14... I went down to 82lbs when I was using Heroin and that's what I weighed when I started Methadone a little over 9 years ago! I went up to 145lbs... but once I got on my stable dose, and got over wanting to eat chocolate all the time ... lol... I am now down to 112lbs which is great for my age, 44 and I look hotter than I ever did!! My methadone counselor told me that most ppl gain weight when they first get clean with methadone... it takes your body time to get healthy again so you will gain more weight but after you are healthy again you should "even" out to a healthy weight...
I got back into shape by working out and eating healthy!! But I do have to ask you one thing??? WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD YOU WANT TO GO FROM METHADONE TO SUB!!! why don't you just wean off of the methadone and be off of opiates for good? not judging you by any means... but just wondering??? take care... and good luck!!
seirra-ann
18 April 2012
Way to go!!! it's good to hear about other methadone experiences. I have a question regarding weight loss/gain/dose... After you had gained the weight and got to a "stable dose" how long after did you start loosing weight? I've been on methadone for approximately 1 year 7 months, in the first year i gained 20lbs or and been clean for one year on may/2nd/2012. So my dose is stable if I continue to work out and stay away from sweets, Will I notice weight loss?
Inactive
19 April 2012
Good for you on your progress with Methadone!! Now to answer your question... once I was on a stable dose, it took a few months before I actually started to lose weight. but believe me when I tell you that it can take up to a year or more before you start to notice any weight lose. It depends on how unhealthy you were when you started your Methadone program. Most addicts are very unhealthy and your body needs to get healthy and gain the vitamins and minerals that it lost when you were using before you can get healthy again and in order to do that your body over compinsates by putting on fat. but once you are healthy again you will start to lose the weight. I took a multi vitamin every day I also took vitamin B12 once a day and extra calcium and I ate healthy foods and made sure that I worked out. I started by working out Monday, wednesday, and Friday for 15 minuets each day and just built it up from there. what really helped me was the nurses at my clinic...
they were able to tell me what vitamins to take and the amount and how to workout and what to eat. You can also ask your doctor if you have one... and if you see a doctor outside your clinic, be honest and tell them up front about being on Methadone for addiction ... believe me , they will work with you if you are honest and if they dont treat you right because you are a recovering addict, then find another doctor who will. but just hang in there... you will lose the weight, it just takes time for your body to be healthy again... once it is, you will lose weight. good luck :) if you need anything , let me know! :)
msmalysa
25 June 2012
Hey Recover girl... Thats great your story and all, but im on my stable dose. How long did it take you to get over your sweet cravings? Or did you have to force your self because i was 140 3 months ago and now im 198 and i cry and cry and cry because i dont know what to do not to mention that when you on it it makes you lazy. Well i just hope you can help.
Inactive
25 June 2012
It took me years before I actually lost my craving for chocolate and actually ALL SWEETS!! I actually had to force myself not to eat them. Everyone is different in how the react to Methadone or subs... that's why there are sooo many different ways of recovery out there because not everyone reacts or recovers in the same way! And you're right ... IT MAKES YOU REALLY LAZY
!! What I did was started walking every day 2 times a day to start. the more that you get up and do things , the more energy that you will have! I also started going to NA and MA, (Methadone Anonymous), you can find MA meetings in your area online. I found a sponsor who actually made me get up and workout and helped support me on what I ate! I understand how hard this is and how sad and upset you are... I've been there...
this is the first summer in over 9 years that I actually bought a bathing suit!! And I used to wear bikinis all summer long!! It does take time and everyone is different on the amount of time that it takes.. Also... if I were you , I would go to the doctor and get a complete check up and make sure that you are healthy, and get your thyroid checked to make sure that everything is ok there. I hope that this helps at least a little and if you ever need to talk let me know... :)
seirra-ann
29 June 2012
I have posted and asked about weight loss and it really helped I said my clean date was may/2nd/2012 but it was actually may/2nd/2011. This week I decreased my dose within 36 hours I lost 5lbs and bloating isn't so bad its amazing what decreasing a dose can do. I was 102lbs when i started program now im 135lbs the highest weight I hit was 160LBS! but after exercising and eating complex carbs in the morning so I wouldn't snack during the day,replacing a chocolate bar with a strawberry yogurt all these little things helped with maintain a steady weight. I did the extreme, I parked my car for the summer since I live in a small city everything is almost in walking distance from where I live. Buying groceries I pay attention to the labels, for my exercise I went back into belly dancing it is a full body workout and a one hour class goes by fast so it make loosing weight fun!
WalkingFaith
2 Jan 2012
I can help here because I know what you're going through... get on the vitadone (helps sugar cravings) methadone depletes vitamins from our bodies. My legs were so swollen and my doc at the clinic didn't offer any explainations... i came here to find my answer... and thank GOD for the good people here to TELL IT LIKE IT IS!!! you could poke your finger in my leg and my skin would hold like it was a sponge... I've gained same amount as you and I'm into day 9 almost 10 off and dropped 10 pounds. My knee caps are showing and my ankles are unswollen... my toes were always so swollen that my toenails grew up in the air (they are starting to sit back down on nailbed)... I'm not trying to make you feel bad or anything, I'm just wondering if our situations are similiar? That all =) I would try to walk but it would hurt more and make me think i needed more methadone... i went up to 120mgs, in 7 months... I think the vitaims will help and get your nutrition back correct then you can exercise and push forward with healthy diet.
tamara4U
16 Dec 2010
Wow, its really odd that there aren't more questions on this topic, because all of us get--most of us who aren't using on the streets--fat on methadone. It's called the 'Methadone Bulge' at my clinic. I too went from being skinny all my life--5'10, leggy, and 135 lbs-- eating whatever I wanted, whenever, and still needing a good five or ten pounds. I too got that, and more! At my heaviest, I weighed 215lbs. Amazing. That's fat.
And, no matter what I did, from dieting to tons of exercise, took much of the excess weight away.. methadone slows the metabolism, sedates it, the way it sedates everything else about us. At best, I'd find myself at 170.
I gained 50lbs in one year from the methadone. I knew that the only way
to lose the weight would be to get off the methadone, and that I eventually would, so I had some serenity about the whole getting fat thing. I knew that
eventually my metabolism would return to normal, and so would my weight. In the meantime, I learned body acceptance no matter what I looked like, and humility about the whole 'fat' judgement rampant in our culture. I learned not to judge anyone based on body weight... there's LOTS of reasons a person might be having weight problems.
Today, six years later, I am at 8mgs. The weight has been dropping off in sheets... or however weight drops off... quickly, and i have to be careful of that, it has its own concerns or bodily homeostasis. However, Ladies, when I look down in the shower--Miracle__I can see all the way down and its flat again!!! This didn't happen overnight. I started at 96mgs back in 2004. By 2005 I was 50 lbs heavier. Every time I dropped mgs about the same amount I lowered would come off in weight. That evened out, so that between this last Tday and now, roughly three and a half weeks later, I'm about 160. And losing. Every day. I just went to 8mgs today; I expect to lose a few more pounds this through the weekend.
As my story can only be inspirational perhaps to those who know they'll be coming off methadone, I don't know that it has much value to those who are on lifelong maintenance. You can't speed up your metabolism while you're on it... unless you're tapering. You can still eat less and exercise more, but
truly, that isn't very encouraging as results are slow. Perhaps minimal.
I know others will have different versions, so mine is not the last word!!
Keep your chin up-- there's way more to anyone than what they weigh.
And if you are tapering-- then you know its just a matter of time and you'll have your old body back. In the meantime, you have to make sure you stay fit and continue to exercise and eat right... remember,, those of us blessed
naturally skinny people who could eat anything and never gain never had to worry about proper diet--necessarily. It behooves EVERYONE to do so.
So, you can look at is as the opportunity it is... for increased humility, and nutritional any physical responsibility to ourselves for good health and peace of mind.
botten
17 March 2012
I heard the same thing the only way to lose weight on methadone is to get off of it... For me the weight lose sounds great but getting off of it is scary and subs don't work for me.
sannystac
24 March 2013
My story is scary similar to yours. I had a baby 6 months ago and prepregnancy I was 160 &
Now I am 210. I don't over indulge or anything. I am on 8 mg and decreasing an mg pet week. By the way I am 5'8". I am a vitamin and healthfood junkie and I love to exercise but I guess my system is still asleep. I wish I could be on a low side and lose weight but it's looking like I will have to be off of it completely first.
post I am a horrifying 210 lbs! :-(
sannystac
24 March 2013
Sorry about the typos. *per week and low dose... Not pet and side.
Sh1thappns
16 Dec 2010
I dont know about methadone because Ive never used it. I do know that I have been on subs for almost 4 months now and when I started I was at 127lbs. I weighed myself yesterday because I noticed my figure had changed dramatically. I weighed 110lbs. So Ive lost 17lbs in 4 months which is healthy for my height, 5,4. I dont have as much of an appetite as I did before I started subs. I have more energy and less appetite BUT since I have started I also go bike riding every other day and exercise daily. So its not like Im just starving myself. I pretty much have to force myself to eat and that usually consists of a banana for breakfast, and sandwich and yogurt for lunch, and I eat a full dinner just in smaller portions. I drink soda and eat candy and I love ice cream. Ive just had more energy from the subutex to actually get off the couch and take better care of myself. I know how weight can bother you. when I was 17 I got up to 150lbs and thats pretty heavy for my height.
I met a really sweet man who is now my husband and he loved me the way I was but he was big into bike riding so we started riding together and then after a couple weeks I notice my pants were getting to big. I had started to loose the weight. Thats how I got back to my size. Bike riding is a perfect way to raise your natural endorphines and get back to a comfortable weight.
Hope this helps hun
take care of yourself
Ellie
Inactive
16 Dec 2010
HELLO ANNA,
Ellie just gave you some great news, fret not my dear friend!!!
Yay Ellie !!!
Love,
Lara
annatfultz
17 Dec 2010
Yesterday rmthx so much that makes me even more excited to start subs. Yeah!!!
Inactive
15 Dec 2010
Darlin' Dixie,
My doc threatened me with serious repercussions if I did not GAIN weight, so I can't really help ya here.
Yet, you can try to eat like I do, veggies (no fat besides olive oil) protein (lean only) and NO CARBS, and girl, NO SWEET TEA ya'll... or add some horrid sweetener to that stuff, yeah, I know it tastes like toxic waste.
Good luck and may the force be with you, and if JR thinks you are beautiful, then who the hell cares if you are a few pounds over weight???
Go give him a kiss from a Irish Yankee girl, won't you Dixie?
Love,
Lara
annatfultz
16 Dec 2010
JR loves me the way I am. He tells me I am.beautiful everyday, but I can't help but when I see pics of my coke-bottle, bikini shaped body. And yes I drink my sweet tea everyday with 2-3 cups sugar per gallon
Yummy. Y'all Northern Dixies need to give our good ole southern sweet tea a chance. That, peach/mango juice, sweet koolaid, and water is all I drink. If I ever meet ya I gonna bring u a glass of my special homemade sweet tea. Thx I trying to get used to it, but not alot is working. GOT TO GET OFF THIS SH*T!!! I REALLY HOPE WHEN I START SUB THEY DON'T TELL Me your gonna gain more weight. I will run forever. JK Imagine me being able to run. Thank our Savior Jesus Christ for giving me such a wonderful, loving, supportive husband, that tries every thing to boost my esteem up, and he is so genuine. Thx Lara!! Luv ya;-)
How r things going in Michigan? We may actually get some snow orsleet tonite:-) I hope to have my 1st White Christmas ever.
Inactive
16 Dec 2010
As long as JR loves you and Anna loves Anna the way she is, then it will come off, when you are ready. After my daughter was born I was porky pig, and I had to work soooo hard to get rid of it !!! Just take it easy. I bet when you get on subs it just melts off of you Dixie.
And NO sweet tea for this nutter of an Irish Yankee, but thanks for the thought!!!
Lara
Related topics
weight loss (obesity/overweight), methadone
Further information
- Methadone uses and safety info
- Methadone prescribing info & package insert (for Health Professionals)
- Side effects of Methadone (detailed)
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