Buprenorphine and Weight Loss.

[RiversW]

Hi All,

I have read quite a few post here about the weight loss people have experienced after taking Buprenorphine. I am trying to suss out my own weight loss and the causes.

I started Buprenorphine at the beginning of March and by the middle of May I was down 20 lbs. However, I had also started metformin about 11 months ago and altered my diet to limit sugars and carbs. As a result, I cannot be sure which if either medication has caused the weight loss. Perhaps both.

Unfortunately, accompanying the weight loss for me is a loss of muscle mass and extreme fatigue. Also, I have experienced a fair amount of intermittent anxiety and depression which I am treating with Wellbutrin.

I have experimented with my dose quite a bit in an attempt to find the lowest effective dose and hopefully reduce side effects. Presently, I use a 10mg transdermal patch that I typically have to supplement with about .75 mg every 24 hours. At this dose I still experience symptoms every few days, but not at a level I can't deal with.

My blood work has been normal and my present situation is so much better than when I was taking dopamine agonist so I don't think about not taking the Buprenorphine. But the fatigue and anxiety can be difficult.

I'd be interested to hear if any other members have had similar side effects and have they found effective ways to deal with them.

Thx

[SueJohnson]

metformin can cause weight loss but there are medicines for diabetes that can cause weight gain. Others that cause weight gain: gliclazide, glimepiride, glipizide, glyburide, nateglinide, Pioglitazone. This article gives the average weight gain for the drugs. Https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article/100/2/363/2813112?login=false

You might discuss with your doctor switching to one of them.

[RiversW in reply to SueJohnson]

Thank you Sue. I will read up and discuss with my doctor.

[Joolsg]

I haven't experienced weight loss on Buprenorphine.Interesting that you say you experience RLS every few days. As so many people report that the patch wears off after 4 days, do you think this could be the reason? Maybe you should switcg to sublingual pills to see if that helps.

I never get any RLS on the pills.

The anxiety I do get. But it settled instantly when I added a small dose of pregabalin.

Pregabalin also increases appetite, so that would solve 2 side effects, hopefully.

[RiversW in reply to Joolsg]

Jools, not sure the symptoms are because the patch has lost effectiveness or not. Sometimes the they can happen in the first few days of a new patch. My theory is that my dose is low enough to be borderline effective over a few days. Typically on the third day when I have symptoms, I just supplement with as small a dose as I can and I am fine. I don't really mind, as it lets me know that I am probably at my lowest effective dose. The lower the dose the less severe the side effects. I hope that all makes sense.

I was on pregabalin for the first 7 months after starting Buprenorphine. I am afraid I did not notice any help for my anxiety.

Jools, as always, thank you for your response.

[Joolsg in reply to RiversW]

I do hope you find a solution for the anxiety. It's frustrating to solve one problem & create another.

[RiversW in reply to Joolsg]

I know, right?

[SueJohnson]

For anxiety and depression you might want to switch to trazodone or add buspar for the anxiety.

[RiversW in reply to SueJohnson]

More thanks Sue.

[ziggypiggy]

I find that when l am on a low carb diet it does help with evening out blood sugar but I find fatigue a problem as I had a really hard time balancing and maintaining my electrolytes. One also usually sees a decent drop in weight shortly after starting a low carb diet as water is flushed from the body. One easy option to see if the diet and fatigue are related would be to increase carbs for awhile and see how it feels.

[RiversW in reply to ziggypiggy]

hey ziggypiggy, very helpful, thank you.

[Huntingleroy]

Hi , I was quite pleased to read your findings as I have lost well over a stone and a half since taking Buprenorphine . I too am very tired and lethargic but anything is better than Rls . My appetite is poor so Im not worried , in fact apart from the fatigue I feel great

[RiversW in reply to Huntingleroy]

Yes, Huntingleroy, you are right, the lethargy is preferable to RLS!