• Neuroscience & Pharmacology Discussion Welcome Guest
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules
    Recent Journal Articles Chemistry Mega-Thread
    FREE Chemistry Databases! Self-Education Guide

  • N&PD Moderators: Skorpio

Does any particular drug use or withdrawal cause muscle wasting (=loss of mass) ?

K

Kdem

Bluelighter
Joined
Mar 14, 2015
Messages
334
(Possible associated with a lack of ability to (re)build muscle)

Per the title.
 
Kdem said:
(Possible associated with a lack of ability to (re)build muscle)

Per the title.
Click to expand...


Are you sure it isn't due to anorectic effects of the drug/withdrawal??

Rhabdomyolysis is a serious complication of some drugs -- but your pee would be brown -- and your kidneys would be failing
 
I can't provide any direct answers right now but things like amphetamines speed up metabolism and people tend not to intake enough protein and carbohydrates to compensate. I would also look towards disruptions in the endocrine system. Changes in testosterone, dihydrotestosterone levels as well as increases in prolactin, estrogen, etc. can cause loss of muscle mass as well as weight changes. Opioids can cause quite substantial disruptions in the production of these particular hormones. This is often something that is overlooked when people think about drugs and their effects on the body.
 
shugenja said:
Are you sure it isn't due to anorectic effects of the drug/withdrawal??

Rhabdomyolysis is a serious complication of some drugs -- but your pee would be brown -- and your kidneys would be failing
Click to expand...

^This. Some drug withdrawals can cause rhadomyolysis - baclofen is one (the intrathecal version comes with a black box warning stating it can cause it upon abrupt cessation) and I'm guessing hard-core withdrawals from other intensely acting GABAergics (due to their prominent myorelaxant effects) may have the potential to do so as well, due to precipitating something known as a hypermetabolic syndrome.

http://www.physio-pedia.com/Rhabdomyolysis

Drug overdoses can cause it as well, but that should be a given. But technically - recreational drug use - is considered an overdose when certain drugs are involved, so if you are worried, just do a little research to be on the safe side.
 
Opiates lower testosterone significantly, which can result in a loss of muscle mass and strength. One of the reasons most opiate abusers are skinny fat.


Amphetamines can lower your appetite which can cause you to eat less, therefore losing mass.
 
Ligaturd said:
I can't provide any direct answers right now but things like amphetamines speed up metabolism and people tend not to intake enough protein and carbohydrates to compensate. I would also look towards disruptions in the endocrine system. Changes in testosterone, dihydrotestosterone levels as well as increases in prolactin, estrogen, etc. can cause loss of muscle mass as well as weight changes. Opioids can cause quite substantial disruptions in the production of these particular hormones. This is often something that is overlooked when people think about drugs and their effects on the body.
Click to expand...


Intense said:
Opiates lower testosterone significantly, which can result in a loss of muscle mass and strength. One of the reasons most opiate abusers are skinny fat.


Amphetamines can lower your appetite which can cause you to eat less, therefore losing mass.
Click to expand...

OP said "use" &/or "withdrawal", but can anyone cite *withdrawal* specifically? Just interested.
 
Atrophy from inactivity caused by downer / anaesthetic use would also be an expected chronic effect that technically if indirectly means muscle wasting as a consequence of drug use.
 
Active opiate dependency is associated with weight loss in some individuals including myself. Withdrawal is also associated with weight loss. This can make people look like they are loosing muscle mass and maybe they are. I eat very well and exercise every day but the opiates ever so slightly reduce my apatite. This over a long term period causes weight loss. Opiates and some other drugs slow down your digestion and disrupt peristalsis in the gut. Constipation and bloating along with digestion problems are commonly seen in those taking high dose long acting opiates like methadone or even buprenorphine.
 
What type of changes take place to your metabolism while in withdrawal? I know it feels like my body is burning up twice as much energy during a detox. This ontop of the nausea,vomiting and diarrhea will definitely change the bodies ability to gain muscle mass.
 
Last edited:
if the withdrawal is highly stressful (meaning no taper) cortisol can go through the roof in response.

Cortisol is catabolic and will accelerate catabolism of muscle mass.

If that is coupled with anorexia (starvation diet) then muscle mass can be up to 90% of lost weight.
 
Typically you can stimulate GH with dopamine agonists so I would assume dopaminergics that downregulate dopamine receptors might cause a bit of a drop off of GH during withdrawal, but most GH is released during slow wave sleep anyways. So once again disruption of sleep leads to disruption of anabolic signaling
 
Stims without benzos induce some weird reaction where it feels all my connective tissue is being destroyed, combined with a rash or whatever, dunno the cause inflammation or autoimunity, benzos allways stop it in it tracks

when i take stims on benzo withdrawal i could get extremely skinny in like an hour or so when a reaction gets induced
 
MeDieVil,

'when i take stims on benzo withdrawal i could get extremely skinny in like an hour or so when a reaction gets induced'

Isn't that water weight loss ? You can't lose much fat in an hour ...
 
Could excess acetylcholine somehow cause muscle wasting/breakdown ?

In my experience, a combination of diazepam and clonazepam can cause some (moderate/heavy) promethazine-like anticholinergic/sedating effect.
The idea being that clonazepam somehow causes an 'excess' of acetylcholine. Locally or whatever.
 
A local excess of acetylcholine is the effect you'd get from nerve gases like VX or Sarin, not from benzodiazepines. And no, it doesn't cause wasting, just paralysis.
 
sekio,

I do not wish to argue.
But even the wikipedia page suggests that clonazepam affects serotonin and acetylcholine. It does some things that most benzodiazepines don´t do.

Also, I it occured to me I´ve had strong adverse reactions to antimuscarinic drugs in the past.

So it would not suprise me, whether it´s direct or indirect. Muscle breakdown, wasting, inability to regenerate muscle tissue, whatever ?
 
Guys, Hypermetabolic states can result from sever withdrawal syndromes all the time, especially hardcore depressant, such as GABAergic agonist or glutamate antagonists.




Hypercatabolism and hepermetabolism in wasting states

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11953647

[h=1]Muscular wasting, sarcopenia and cachexia: a trouble for the patients, a challenge for the doctors.[/h]
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12682-012-0140-z

Indeed, imbalance between anabolic and catabolic signaling, named as “hypermetabolic syndrome”, is the fundamental cause of muscular loss


 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top