weight gain on oxycontin

[marco6]

after a car accident four and a half years ago, i developed an opiate dependency to vicodin... a little over two years ago, after numerous cold turkey quits on vicodin- i started taking oxycontin... i am a 37 y.o. male and my normal weight is 260 to 285... after about 8 months of being dependent on oxycontin my weight shot up to 360... at that point i quit cold turkey(which completely sucked and won't do again). needless to say quitting cold turkey did help with weight loss... i was clean for 4-1/2 to 5 months and in that time i dropped sixty pounds, (without dieting or even trying). eventually i started using again, and like always i am fully dependent again... i have been dependent for about one year and now i'm up to 380 pounds!... just so you know when i quit taking oxy's the first time i was taking six 80mg. tabs a day.(about 480mg's a day) now i'm taking roughly four or five 80's a day... i know that my number one concern should be and is getting off the oxy's, but my question is- has anyone ever heard of this type of massive weight gain from opiate addiction? Is it a thyroid issue? is there a way that i can lose the weight before i start "tapering?" i know it would be more comfortable and thus give me more incentive to start quitting... thank you and this is a great site...

[notmenow!]

This is very unusual for anyone addicted to opiates to the degree you are. I was on 3, 40mg to be taken 1 every 8hrs and norco 1-2 every 4-6hrs for breakthrough pain, I was on them for about a year and lost 30 lbs, Do the opiates make you hungry, you proved it was not your thyroid because you stopped using and lost 60 lbs, you must be consuming about 10,000 calories in order to gain that kind of weight in such a short period of time, What do the Dr's say about your weight gain, Something tells me you dont get them from a doctor, You are killing yourself ! What will you weight 6 months from now? 440 pounds Get it together before its to late.

[lurker]

I have lost weight when using drugs a lot - I didn't eat because the drugs had a better effect on empty stomach.  I've eaten better in the last 24 hours than I had for the last year.  I had stomach stapling surgery 7 years ago, went from 400 pounds down to 212, back to 280 now down below 250 and dropping but now because I'm actually trying.  I hope you can get off the drugs.  I'm using Suboxone after tapering a bit from 30+ Norco's per day - I don't recommend the taper, as I still had to go thru some withdrawal before getting on the Sub and I feel so much more human and okay on Sub than when in withdrawal.  You'll have pretty bad w/d at the level of Oxycontin you're taking but many on here have done it w/o the benefit of Sub.
Good luck

[1234betterlife]

i do not want to disagree with anyone but the level of narcotics you are on for your weight is not uncommon for addicts to ingest. however, i do not feel that the weight gain is due to your use of narcotics. it is probably the opposite. most will lose weight as their dependence increases. you never mentioned if you were taking these for pain from the car accident. are you able to perform physical activity or are you pretty much sedentary? coming off oxy as you know is extremely hard. if you are using due to addiction you may want to consider sub, inpatient rehab and followup counseling to deal with long term issues. if you are in a great deal of pain, you need to be honest with your physician. i do not think you will be able to taper or quit with very good results without professional help. good luck to you.

[Morphed]

I have a moderate dependancy on Oxycontin, Dr. Prescribed.  I have been taking 2-3 40mg tabs daily now for nearly 2 years.  I went from 180lbs. to 220lbs.  I eat barely anything.  The drug does cause an appetite when mixed with my sedative, Alprazolam.  I am unable to almost any form of excersise because of damage to both knees and both feet.  I have been told that swimming is about the only thing I can do, and will bring my weight down considerably.  The Oxy has also taken away my labido, and I have no desire to go out and get laid, when 3 years ago I was a worthy manwhore.  I am 42 now and life sux on Oxycontin ... If I was to quit, i'd be in too much pain to get out of bed or walk.  It's a sick catch 22 situation ...... I wish I had an answer.

[lindz969]

I've been on oxycontin for almost a year, not Dr. prescribed, taking anywhere from 180 to over 300mg per day I've probably gained 25-30lbs since starting with the drug. It is very hard to get off, and i know the weight gain is due to the drug, my eating habits are the same as ever, probably even better, yet I still gain unexplainable weight. Side effects of oxyconitn are constipation and swelling, which i have been experiencing, and I can only blame for the weight gain. I believe that different people have different physical and mental reactions to all drugs, so I do believe that some people will gain weight and some will lose, depending on their personal reaction to the drug