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Misc Question about weight gain as side effect.

benzos? Okay well that makes me feel a little better, I am RXd 10 mg valium a day and 15 1 mg ativan a month. And I am in amazing shape. Maybe it is a matter of will power and not a chemical thing?

You should be fine dude. I'm also on Gabapentin and benzos. 900mg Gabapentin per day, 10-15mg Valium per night. YMMV but I think the benzos give me munchies waaaaay more than the Gabapentin, which only does so a little bit (less than weed for sure.)

It's definitely a willpower thing, not something that effects your metabolism. Just be mindful of your eating habits, you should be fine. I also exercise regularly and I would consider myself in great shape for my age. Of course, I'm blessed enough to have the exact opposite problem as most - I'm naturally an ectomorph, so putting on both weight and muscle is very hard for me. So meds that increase my appetite (and therefore encourage weight gain) actually benefit me, and my exercise routine, as long as I'm eating the right thing :)

EDIT: So everyone's different, but IME something like Gabapentin/Lyrica will only mildly affect your appetite compared to something like Seroquel/Onalanzipine (sic). The anti-psychs are the far worst offenders as far as the "eat all day, bottomless pit of a stomach" symptoms go. I think as far as munchies it goes antipsychotics > benzos > weed > gabapentin in that order, but everyone's different.
 
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All the drugs I use(d) made me gain TONS of weight. 3 years ago I was 165 lbs. Today I'm a 240lb 26 year old man..

Here are the drugs I use DAILY to that make me munch ALL DAY

Methadone
Oxycodone
Hydrocodone
Heroin
Xanax
Ativan
K-Pin's
Cannabis

Ok, let me get this straight though, before I was on methadone, the other drugs STILL made me eat a bunch, but didn't make me GAIN weight....

Methadone and Benzodiazepines, turns me into a fucking blimp. Weird thing is, I'm pretty chubby, but I don't LOOK fat at all. Everyone who takes my weight say WOW you don't like like you're over 200 lbs. lol
 
Methadone is notorious for causing cravings for sweets. I think out of all narcotics, methadone is far and away the worst for this.
It messes with your blood sugar, causing an increase in appetite, partik to processed carbs. It also causes people to retain water.
A boyfriend of a family member went on methadone, and gained 100 lbs in 8 months. And he wasn't underweight before. He is constantly eating licorice, Mountain Dew, and big salad bowls of honeycomb cereal.

Edited to add: I'm sure the gain/cravings worsens with your dose of methadone. This guy is on a pretty monster dose of 150mg daily. His doc must be a nut, he was only on perks before this.
 
Methadone is notorious for causing cravings for sweets. I think out of all narcotics, methadone is far and away the worst for this.
It messes with your blood sugar, causing an increase in appetite, partik to processed carbs. It also causes people to retain water.
A boyfriend of a family member went on methadone, and gained 100 lbs in 8 months. And he wasn't underweight before. He is constantly eating licorice, Mountain Dew, and big salad bowls of honeycomb cereal.

Edited to add: I'm sure the gain/cravings worsens with your dose of methadone. This guy is on a pretty monster dose of 150mg daily. His doc must be a nut, he was only on perks before this.

My fiance was on 100mg for heroin addiction so that's crazy. But, I do definitely agree with the food thing. He was always a bigger guy naturally. 6'4" between 240-280 with normal activity levels (walking, sex, sometimes riding a bike...nothing really exerting) and while he had an appetite before, I feel like he is eating constantly since he started his clinic last year. He'll eat a full meal then just snack all night. Cereal. Cookies. Yogurts. Donuts. Chips. Icecream. Whatever is around.

He's still in that same range, but, has gained to the higher end faster. He went from being a size 38 to a 42 in a matter of months.
 
gabapentin can help you bulk but it will make you gain weight but you could use it to help you bulk, it really helps with working out as well since it gets you more in tune with your muscles, using appropriate muscles is easier, but if your using it all the time it definitely makes you gain weight, not sure on the specifics but youll definitely gain weight if your using it all the time.

I'm going to try and switch to lyrica next doc visit cause of weight gain issue, im at like 180-190 lbs and I dont really want to get any heavier haha.
 
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Anyway, I definitely am having that same type of fear OP.

I haven't started yet because I have to have blood work including a 9-panel drug test, but, I was described Zoloft for a depression/anxiety/whatever else it cures. I've never been overweight, but, I am both short- and thick-waisted compared to girls the same size. Long legs and torso so short my hipbones extend above my navel I am about 5'4" and 113-116 lbs, but, my vitals are 31"-27"-37".

This alone has had made people down-right rude and hurtful to me about my shape. Saying I look overweight, chubby, pregnant, bloated. Some poking, pinching, prodding. Even as an adult. I even had a girlfriend want to borrow clothes and had to explain they'd be too big for her because my waist was like 5" bigger. Her reply? "You can't be that size."

I know I have never had a a flat stomach and never thought I looked bad, but,this alone gives me anxiety about actually being bigger.
 
Anyway, I definitely am having that same type of fear OP.

I haven't started yet because I have to have blood work including a 9-panel drug test, but, I was described Zoloft for a depression/anxiety/whatever else it cures. I've never been overweight, but, I am both short- and thick-waisted compared to girls the same size. Long legs and torso so short my hipbones extend above my navel I am about 5'4" and 113-116 lbs, but, my vitals are 31"-27"-37".

This alone has had made people down-right rude and hurtful to me about my shape. Saying I look overweight, chubby, pregnant, bloated. Some poking, pinching, prodding. Even as an adult. I even had a girlfriend want to borrow clothes and had to explain they'd be too big for her because my waist was like 5" bigger. Her reply? "You can't be that size."

I know I have never had a a flat stomach and never thought I looked bad, but,this alone gives me anxiety about actually being bigger.

your by no means fat, they are just being mean jelly haters just ignore em they get off on seeing you sad so just ignore them, your definitely not fat.
 
your by no means fat, they are just being mean jelly haters just ignore em they get off on seeing you sad so just ignore them, your definitely not fat.

And even if they aren't just sippin on the Haterarde, it really says a lot about their character and also their view of body image in general. There is definitely a sense of only one type of body being acceptable.
 
The worst ones I've had in regards to weight gain are:
* seroquel
* zyprexa
* mirtazapine
* zoloft
* cymbalta

Zyprexa being the absolute worst. I gained 10kg in a month!!!

All the best :)
 
Potentially, if you find that you are hungry to the point that it is stressing you out or you find weight gain to be an issue, some docs will prescribe phentermine. It is basically legal speed but it does work very well and it could help those symptoms quite effectively. I have taken it and it worked quite well.
 
You should be fine dude. I'm also on Gabapentin and benzos. 900mg Gabapentin per day, 10-15mg Valium per night. YMMV but I think the benzos give me munchies waaaaay more than the Gabapentin, which only does so a little bit (less than weed for sure.)

It's definitely a willpower thing, not something that effects your metabolism. Just be mindful of your eating habits, you should be fine. I also exercise regularly and I would consider myself in great shape for my age. Of course, I'm blessed enough to have the exact opposite problem as most - I'm naturally an ectomorph, so putting on both weight and muscle is very hard for me. So meds that increase my appetite (and therefore encourage weight gain) actually benefit me, and my exercise routine, as long as I'm eating the right thing :)

EDIT: So everyone's different, but IME something like Gabapentin/Lyrica will only mildly affect your appetite compared to something like Seroquel/Onalanzipine (sic). The anti-psychs are the far worst offenders as far as the "eat all day, bottomless pit of a stomach" symptoms go. I think as far as munchies it goes antipsychotics > benzos > weed > gabapentin in that order, but everyone's different.

I don't eat any more than I did before I was prescribed psych meds. I don't really snack, I drink water all day, I'm a vegetarian and I have really limited processed sugar intake.

I am two dress sizes bigger than I was before I was medicated.

I spent a year on Topiramate, which has the opposite effect on blood glucose than antipsychotics. I didn't change my eating patterns or meal content. I lost a third of my body weight. As soon as I stopped taking it, I gained the weight back.

It's really weird and simplistic to say that the metabolic effects of these hugely powerful drugs come down to "willpower".
 
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