Etizolam, dexedrine and somehow i'm gaining weight.

[RobotRipping]

So i've been doing the etiz/dexamp combo for a few months now and i'd expect that i'd drop a bunch of weight (though that's not my goal in using it) but jesus christ i jumped on the scale today and was at 203.5 lbs. I am male, 5'10", fairly medium-large frame but wtf, last year i was at 160lbs!

After being on poppy seed tea for quite a while i definitely put on like 60 lbs, as i was much fatter than i am now.

Since i was 18 i've had trouble keeping weight on, barely able to get over 150-160 most times. Now that i'm older (27) i think my body's metabolism is slowing down.

However, etizolam is known to increase prolactin levels however it seems undecided in the medical community whether increased prolactin levels are correlated with weight increase, though people with putitary tumors see massive weight loss when the tumor is removed and their prolactin levels go back to normal; i highly doubt this is the case for me though, it's just likely i have high prolactin levels from etizolam.

So, essentially, is etizolam causing me to maintain/gain weight??? or is it possibly still stuck there from my PST days?

After jumping on that scale i've realized that i've fucked up; i don't do any physical activity, i just play guitar all day long pretty much and work on electronics. So what's the best route for me to take? Turn all this cultivated mass into a harvest? (turn it into muscle) or just try to lose the weight and be a skinny loser? I clearly want to just change it to muscle, i'm already bulked up so why not? but i don't know if that is sensible or even reasonable as i am not a health oriented person. I'll also have to start eating better but ultimately, what's the best way to turn this fat into muscle?

hoping someone can help me out with this because this is murdering my confidence and i need to do something about it now before things get even worse. Just a note, my ideal weight is 145 but i am bone skinny at that weight, like ribs and bones sticking out, i look really thin at 160, average but in shape at 170 and 180 and up i start to look doughy.

 

[Maya]

I am not too sure if etilozam is what is causing you to gain weight but if you have been living a sedentary lifestyle this plus the age could be the factors in the weight gain. I have also noticed this with myself, I used to eat so much and barely gain weight but now that I am getting close to the age of 30, it seems as if my metabolism is never quite the same. I am an exercise junkie though so I am still fine but I know that the moment I stop exercising, I would see so much weight my body will acquire. If you are not keen on exercising too much, there are 15 min workouts you can do that you can google online. There are also nike training sessions on iphone that you can try. The key is to put some effort in it. This with a healthy diet is always the key to looking great but you always have to put an effort.

 

[RobotRipping]

i'm keen on exercising after seeing that number hit over 200 - it literally put me into shock (well not real shock but close enough). So i'm going to start going to the gym with my gf (3-4x/week). But i don't want to just burn all the fat off, i'd prefer to start lifting and put it to use! any tips in that department? how should i go about it? how much should i worry about cardio? what kind of things should i do at the gym and outside the gym, what kind of foods should i be eating? I've always been highly athletic, eat pretty normally but after being a junkie for a few years, i guess things caught up to me but i have no problem with motivation/determination. I know i can run and do cardio and drop 40 lbs no problem (especially on dexedrine) but then i'd look like a skinny junkie again!

I have no real interest in losing mass as i feel much much stronger at 200 lbs than i do at 150 lbs but rather turning whatever fat i have gained into more muscle so that i don't look gross.

yeah i doubt etizolam is having a significant impact - just looking for an excuse i guess - but hey i'm getting older and lazier, i should have expected this to happen. In the past when i weighed 200 lbs, say at age 17, i looked a lot more plump than i do now, which is what threw me off until i got a scale yesterday (a really good calibrated one) and had it confirmed. I haven't grown man titties so i think the prolactin issue isn't that big.

It's probably from being on opiates and eating massive amounts of sweets for nearly 2 years in total and the fact my gf bakes tons of crap that i used to garble down on when i was a seroquel zombie! Other that i don't know how someone can gain ~60-70 lbs in a year. Thankfully i quit seroquel and opiates and have dropped i'd say 20 lbs or so but shit i did not realize how bad it was!

 

[Maya]

Most people I know who are exercise addicts would do cardio on one day (usually 15 min to half an hour) and then do dumbbell exercises (30 min) tops and then the next day lift weights (one hour to an hour half max). The technique is you don't want to over exert muscles so you need to alternate them and make sure you work every muscle in your body. The more you do this the more it is easier for your body to gain lean muscles. When I say alternating, you need to rest at least one part of the body and focus on the other parts.

For diet, consume protein-rich foods http://www.healthaliciousness.com/articles/foods-highest-in-protein.php. If you are already eating healthy then all you need to do is up your protein intake.

 

[Foreigner]

Most patients who I have treated that are either on dexedrine or were for a long time have adrenal burnout and weight gain. The metabolism slows down because the adrenal function slows down. Once the adrenals decline to a certain point, the thyroid/adrenal hormonal feedback system can negatively affect TSH levels in the body and cause weight gain.

If you feel really sluggish in the morning or dependent on caffeine to get through the day, then that's an adrenal sign. Lower back pain, knee pain, having to wake up to pee a lot in the night, feeling cold easily... also adrenal signs.

 

[ebola?]

At common doses, amphetamines actually don't increase basal metabolic rate a great deal. Any weight loss experienced stems from anorexia and increased activity.

ebola

 

[RobotRipping]

thanks for the info guys. I don't think i'm having adrenal issues, not yet anyway but i didn't know about that issue. I think i haven't been gaining weight really (though not sure as i haven't been weighing myself regularly until now) just that i didn't realize i gained so much weight while on opiates/seroquel.

So now i'm stuck with this kind of fatty stomach and that's about it. I also lack upper body strength so i definitely want to put on some muscle and get rid of this fat in my stomach area (not a gut or belly or anything, just not lean at all). I don't feel or look like i weigh 200 lbs so either i am deluding myself (and others are deluding me) or the fat is being stored somewhere not so obvious. Is that possible?

So i was reading that you can't just cultivate mass and harvest it into pure muscle lol so I'm guessing alternating cardio/weights is the best route to take, while upping my protein and generally eating healthy (which i do for the most part already). Is the general idea to keep doing weights and then cycle dieting as well as doing cardio to take breaks from lifting?

With dexedrine i find it helps in burning fat because i can get my heart rate up to high 180s very easily, so if i'm doing cardio then i'm consistently at the heart rate which burns the most calories (correct me if i'm wrong). Of course i can't do intense cardio because my heart rate will shoot up past the 190s which is dangerous (AFAIK again). My gf is also on dexedrine and has dropped 40 lbs or so since being on it but she goes to the gym quite a bit but her heart rate is 180-190 after 5 or so minutes doing cardio and usually she has to jump off the machine(s) before it gets too high.

My caloric intake is well below 2500/day so to gain muscle mass, i would have to up that to at least 2500 right? with carbs and healthy foods? Since my concern isn't with losing weight but getting rid of fat, is this the right approach?

Also to note, i drink way too many carbonated beverages, half of my caloric intake is from those which is awful, so i don't drink healthy that's for sure but otherwise my diet consists of lean beef, chicken, rice, some veggies, pasta type stuff (wholewheat or whole grain bread/pasta) every now and then, wraps (whole wheat), potatoes, stuff like that. I'm probably malnourished or something but after stepping on that scale, everything has to change now.

So, my gf will be my gym buddy 3-4x per week, if i want muscle mass, and to get rid of fat, what's the standard approach in terms of what i do at the gym and what i eat? also how many calories should i be consuming? as well i'll have to cut out the old carbonated beverages i don't drink alcohol but do smoke cigarettes, ultimately, i want to be healthy and not look like a blob of shit. Sorry i have about zero knowledge when it comes to this stuff.

as well any idea about etizolam and prolactin levels? issue or non-issue? I don't have breasts but i do notice my nipples are more sensitive lol.

 

[Maya]

For the stomach, you can start with crunches and then build up and convert to sit ups. I did 50-100 crunches at first and then went from there. Taking breaks is what the body needs because gets stronger while it’s rebuilding itself from that exercise. Overtraining deprives your muscles of the time they need to heal, diminishing results and risking injury. What I usually do is I alternate hard and easy exercises so the body gets the "shock" that it needs to get stronger. If you want to nourish your muscles, focus on helping your muscles repair themselves through gentle stretching, eight hours of sleep a night, and plenty of healthy muscle-building foods which includes the protein that I mentioned and whole grain-carbohydrates, omega-3 fatty acids, calcium, zinc, and vitamins A, C, and D to promote cell growth and muscle recovery.

Remember that your goal is to build muscles and not to get exhausted from the workouts so if you feel that you are close to burning out you need to take a rest. I usually rest a day a week and then continue with the exercises after.

 

[RobotRipping]

thanks for the help, much appreciated. I think i have a solid plan together now and feel much better about the future.

 

[crazycatman]

Etizolam (all gabaergics really) increase my appetite a lot and at the same time make it harder to control because you just don't give a fuck.

 

[cpuller]

At common doses, amphetamines actually don't increase basal metabolic rate a great deal. Any weight loss experienced stems from anorexia and increased activity.

ebola

Strange enough when taking low doses of amps for concentration it's like my body stores some more fat on the belly for bad times. Normally I am naturally thin and I still am also im 28 now which sucks too.

Taking saw palmetto for better hair maybe doesn't help as well.

I also like etizolam for sleep and against the comedown but I am not sure if the prolactin is a real issue since libido is fine and I consume with pauses in between.