Opioids Can a person's metabolism affect their tolerance?

[DONUTMAN4]

I thought of this tonight and did some research and found absolutely nothing about the topic. We all know opiate tolerance builds up (quicker for some than others), then if you want to lower your tolerance you take a break and then when you continue again your tolerance is lower for the first couple of times.

Ive noticed that some people say their tolerance builds up very slowly if at all while others say they are "naturally" tolerant to all drugs. Some people even have to wait 6 months to lower their tolerance while others just a week. Im going to go ahead and make this a general topic about tolerance for any drug not just opiates unless this strictly is for opiates.

I'm 18 years old, 5'10" and 120 pounds (extreeeemely fast metabolism). Would this fast metabolism mean that my tolerance will build either slower or faster? Would this metabolism mean that my tolerance will lower much quicker when im taking breaks? If this were the case, a slow metabolism would mean a much longer break is required to feel the affects at lower dosages. It seems very likely to me that there is a connection between metabolism and tolerance. Please enlighten me with your knowledge and experiences (include your metabolic rate) so we can figure out if there is a pattern.

Or if this has already been thoroughly discussed slap me in the face and direct me to the thread please haha :] thanks- DONUTMAN

 

[Secobarbital]

I thought of this tonight and did some research and found absolutely nothing about the topic. We all know opiate tolerance builds up (quicker for some than others), then if you want to lower your tolerance you take a break and then when you continue again your tolerance is lower for the first couple of times.

Ive noticed that some people say their tolerance builds up very slowly if at all while others say they are "naturally" tolerant to all drugs. Some people even have to wait 6 months to lower their tolerance while others just a week. Im going to go ahead and make this a general topic about tolerance for any drug not just opiates unless this strictly is for opiates.

I'm 18 years old, 5'10" and 120 pounds (extreeeemely fast metabolism). Would this fast metabolism mean that my tolerance will build either slower or faster? Would this metabolism mean that my tolerance will lower much quicker when im taking breaks? If this were the case, a slow metabolism would mean a much longer break is required to feel the affects at lower dosages. It seems very likely to me that there is a connection between metabolism and tolerance. Please enlighten me with your knowledge and experiences (include your metabolic rate) so we can figure out if there is a pattern.

Or if this has already been thoroughly discussed slap me in the face and direct me to the thread please haha :] thanks- DONUTMAN

I'm 6'0'', I weigh 150 on a good day. I can do more drugs than most people I know. To the point of watching people who had done less than me nearly die. It doesn't always work that way though, methadone, bupe, and a couple of other drugs hang in my system forever. I do believe metabolism factors into these things.

 

[DONUTMAN4]

I'm 6'0'', I weigh 150 on a good day. I can do more drugs than most people I know. To the point of watching people who had done less than me nearly die. It doesn't always work that way though, methadone, bupe, and a couple of other drugs hang in my system forever. I do believe metabolism factors into these things.

What about tolerance though. Does it build quickly for you? And how long does it take for it to go back down if your on a break?

 

[Secobarbital]

That varies wildly. If I'm up to doing 120mg of opana per day, for months, it will take me 2-3 months to feel very normal again. My tolerance doubles every day until roughly 160mg of OC, or 120mg of opana. This all depends on how long you do said substance. The longer you are on something, the longer the w/d's are. After years of use, you will expect at least 3 months of w/d. The first week will be the worst, then after that it's just PAWS. PAWS is what drives most people back to use.

 

[DONUTMAN4]

That varies wildly. If I'm up to doing 120mg of opana per day, for months, it will take me 2-3 months to feel very normal again. My tolerance doubles every day until roughly 160mg of OC, or 120mg of opana. This all depends on how long you do said substance. The longer you are on something, the longer the w/d's are. After years of use, you will expect at least 3 months of w/d. The first week will be the worst, then after that it's just PAWS. PAWS is what drives most people back to use.

Yea i know quite a lot about how tolerance works. Im hoping a lot of people post on here about their height, weight, and metabolic rate along with how quickly their tolerance goes up and down to see if there really is a connection.

 

[olab7]

hmm i too am interested if metabolism factor into tolerance

im a 17 year old 6 ft 140lb male. my metabolism is very fast as well as i eat ALOT and hardly gain anything. Im not an experienced drug user but ive that it takes less drugs such as weed, opiates, and amphetamines to get me high than most people i know.

also ive never been a daily drug user. each drug i do (mainly amps now) i do once a week. so i always kind of keep my tolerance somewhat low. i have done a couple days in a row of amps and weed and i dont have to take a break longer than a week to almost feel like a first time again.

 

[DONUTMAN4]

hmm i too am interested if metabolism factor into tolerance

im a 17 year old 6 ft 140lb male. my metabolism is very fast as well as i eat ALOT and hardly gain anything. Im not an experienced drug user but ive that it takes less drugs such as weed, opiates, and amphetamines to get me high than most people i know.

also ive never been a daily drug user. each drug i do (mainly amps now) i do once a week. so i always kind of keep my tolerance somewhat low. i have done a couple days in a row of amps and weed and i dont have to take a break longer than a week to almost feel like a first time again.

yea same here about a week later my tolerance goes down.... come on more people post lets see if this is a real pattern

 

[suessmayr]

I think it's pretty standard in addiction medicine that metabolism affects tolerance and duration of action; that is why some people need twice daily dosing of methadone (or even bupe) whereas some can get by on dosing every second or third day.

 

[TheLostBoys]

I have a high metabolism rate. 5ft 8 & 135 pounds. I was sensitive to opiates when I first started & I had a very low tolerance to them. If I stop opiates for 2 weeks, 2 Norcos would have me buzzing nicely when getting back on & if I add a Soma, it would increase the effects obviously.

 

[amapola]

Hey OP,

The answer is that a person's metabolism of a drug will indirectly effect tolerance but not have any direct effect on the CNS tolerance aspect that I can see. Considering two people who take the same dose of a drug, the one who breaks it down faster will have less drug in their system for less length of time and therefore have less of a tolerance build up. Of course if their quicker metabolization of the drug forces them to take more, the effects of the additional drug could increase tolerance quicker if they take it all at once and get a higher maximum blood concentration or similar if they take it over an extended period.

edit:
Ahhhh I see you mean a general energy burning metabolism and not the actually metabolic breakdown of the drugs eh? Well in that case I'm not sure unless they are related. It will depend on what drug you are talking about as well as they have very different metabolic pathways (e.g. a prodrug which needs to be activated).

 

[bwanajzj]

I would think that breakdown of any drug would be associated A) a persons natural metabolic rates (which can be altered by certain substances, opiates for example, slow metabolism), and B) the presence of different enzymes in the liver, and C) all the other fucking factors in play on a cosmic scale....

...Anyways, various compounds are broken down by various enzymes, and these are essentially derived from our diet or from other ingested items (you are what you eat, essentially). Thus a person with one diet and a certain metabolic rate, may produce more of the enzyme needed to break down the drug ingested, than another person with another diet and a different metabolic rate, and since the second person mentioned might not produce as much of the needed enzyme, tolerance may build up faster than the first person. Or vice versa - if this second persons diet leads to higher levels of the enzyme needed to break down the drug, lower tolerance would develop.... There are many things involved, but overall I would say that the following are some of the main the controlling factors:

1) Build and physical and mental condition(a bigger person might need more drug per volume and mass to get high, and an ex-addict will seek a 'higher' state than the non ex-addict)
2) Natural metabolic rates
3) Liver enzyme production based on food intake (different proteins, vitamins, etc.)
4) Pre-existing tolerance levels from either a naturally occuring tolerance or previous use of the drug
5) all other universal factors. You never know, the moons position may have something to do with your drug experience, due to electro-magnetic and gravitational fields etc... Ok, enough Steve Hawking for one day...

A side-note: Cardiovascular elements may also come into play, in terms of blood pressure, circulation and flow, as this is also something that varies from person to person, based on health condition and physical state. Also the volume of blood in the body, which is related to a persons size and build.

 

[187coopa]

There's too many factors when it comes to something like this. Sure metabolism prolly plays a part in tolerance but i dont think its ognna be the one thing that determines the diff in tolerance affects on humanity.

 

[bwanajzj]

^I agree... too much to consider... also the amount of receptors one has varies from person to person... I'm sure that generation after generation of smokers, would develop more nicotine receptors by evolutionary mutation and adaptation, for example... The notion of tolerance can be boiled down to a few factors, but then all other factors would be negliged, and when people speak of tolerance, it usually is in pretty vague and general terms, and it is relative at the least. For example two people with the same tolerance, may experience different effects when taking the same dose of a drug, due to expectations as well... expectations, and placebo, two new factors... so many factors...