weight gain on meth

dawn42
dawn42 Member Posts: 16
edited 10. Mar 2011, 14:22 in Living with Arthritis archive
hi has anyone else experienced weight gain?im fed up i have gained weight since i started on meth 5 weeks ago along with all the other horrendous side effects i have experienced i really dont want to take these anymore.they tell you to lose weight to help your joints then give you meds that seem to increase it.yes maybe the meth does help symptoms somewhat but at what price?? losing your hair,sore throat,sore mouth,skin so sore i could scream,tiredness,sickness,i work and have kids i cant be bothered with all this too,im also on sulfx6 a day.i just seem to be going thru a bad patch at mo with side effects...sorry moan over!!! :cry:

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  • dreamdaisy
    dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Oh dear, poor you, you are going through a rough patch, aren't you? I did not gain any weight with meth and have somehow avoided the other side effects but I have gained over four stone thanks to the steroids. The pain is no worse however: I was on crutches and pain dullers when only 11 stone and it's still the same now I am considerably heavier - the pain has not worsened in any way. I just need to grow another foot or so then I will be the right height for my weight!

    We all react so differently to these medications, what happens to one person may not necessarily happen to another. Perhaps your gain is due to an inter-action between the meth and sulph: I am on 15 ml injected meth per week and 6 sulph per day but am firmly convinced that the steroids are responsible for my current level of fattiness. You do seem to be struggling with the side effects but it can take up to twelve weeks for any benefit to be felt from meth and the body can (and does) adjust. What dose are you taking? DD
    Have you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben
  • tillytop
    tillytop Member Posts: 3,460
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hello Dawn

    I am so very sorry that you are feeling so dreadful at the moment. It really does sound as if the meth is disagreeing with you quite significantly and I hope that you have discussed these awful side effects with the rheumatology peeps - or your GP at the very least.

    I don't know if this will help any but I am on my second "go" at meth and, whilst I really struggled first time round (although not to the extent you are doing) this time, I had no real issues until I got up to 17.5 mg per week. The only difference this time round is that I am taking folic acid and I am not taking either anti-inflamms or Sulphasalazine alongside the meth. Based on my experience, I feel sure that it was interaction with one or both these meds which caused the probs last time round - anti-inflamms are known to increase meth toxicity but I am not sure about the Sulpha (although I believe that both mtx and sulph deplete the body's folic acid). Just mentioning this in case you feel it's worth discussing with the docs.

    Also, I don't know how far you are in to this arthritis malarky so apologies if I am telling you things you already know, but although meth tends to be one of the mainstays of RA treatment these days, there are lots of alternatives to try if the meth doesn't work for you or doesn't agree with you.

    Thinking of you.

    Love Tilly xxx

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