Weight and metabolism

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I've found several posts (on here and reddit) about people losing weight during benzo withdrawal and recovery but I've only seen a few about gaining weight. Valium in specific. I'm really frustrated with this, nothing I own fits me it's ridiculous. 

I've gained weight throughout my time on psych meds (gabapentin, baclofen, Propanolol) including benzos, which is weird for me. I'm naturally thin, young and never gain weight, didn't until the doctor put me on all these meds. 

I'm normally 5'10" and 117 lbs or so, 123lbs the highest normally and now I'm 140lbs. I've stopped all medication since June. 

I'm currently not on any meds at all.

My weight isn't going down no matter what I do. I eat clean, small meals, no sugar/fats/snacks, I drink only water and work out 1.5hrs daily. I drink kefir daily. 

I'm worried that my metabolism is really damaged from all this, is that possible?

Anyone else experience weight gain from benzos? Valium made me ravenous and baclofen also, it was terrible.

Anyone have success stories of metabolism returning to normal after they've healed? Thanks. 

[[Ko...]]

I am tapering valium and have gained weight also.  Its very frustrating. I communicate with a couple other women tapering benzos and they have also gained weight.

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14 minutes ago, [[K...] said:

I am tapering valium and have gained weight also.  Its very frustrating. I communicate with a couple other women tapering benzos and they have also gained weight.

I'm sorry it's happening to you and the others too. It's so aggrivating, no clothes fit and it feels weird! I'm so scared my metabolism won't go back to what it was

I wonder if it's due to the gut recovering, since we've got gaba receptors in our digestive system. 

 

[[Ab...]]

@[Sc...] How much protein are you eating every day? are you balancing your macros based on your weight and height. Most people don't eat enough protein day to day. I eat 100-110G per day 
 

"My weight isn't going down no matter what I do. I eat clean, small meals, no sugar/fats/snacks, I drink only water and work out 1.5hrs daily. I drink kefir daily. "  

I use a full body scan at my gym every four weeks as I am exercise intolerant and worried about loosing muscle i previously had from 6yrs of weight training - its like a dexa scan. I have put on fat across the cortisol zones (belly, arms) due to all the high stress WD is putting on my body. 

I can only do gentle yoga and walks and sometimes Pilates, no strenuous training as it puts too much pressure on my CNS and Cortisol Levels.

 

[[mo...]]

I cannot leave my house I’ve gained so much weight tapering Clonazepam!  I just met with nurse practitioner today and she says my body is under a lot of stress & that’s why I’m gaining weight & it will come off later after I get of meds.  This is not me.  My personality is gone now my looks are gone.  I’m only 5’4”. I usually weigh about 120lbs. With being on meds for 27 years, it was tough to keep my weight down. It was always creeping up, but 140 was the highest I got on meds and I had the energy and motivation to lose the weight. Now I’m exhausted. Can barely get out of bed.  And I don’t know what I weigh yet because the scale need batteries.  My husband is going to get some.  But I’ve dreaded the scale.  Have not weighed myself since last year when I weighted 169!!! Now I keep getting fat clothes.  And twice or so I’ve had to go up in sizes. Now my clothes don’t fit again. This is a nightmare.  I’ve always felt good about the way I’ve looked and dressed well. Now I stay home in  fat pjs.  I feels like I’m dying inside. I’m actually feeling dead inside.  Everything about me is gone.  I didn’t start gaining all this weight until tapering this Clonazepam. When will it stop?  I  just can’t eat. I’ve been eating salads every day and I’m hungry.  And because I’m so tired, I sometimes only have one meal a day.  The nurse practitioner said that can slow my metabolism by skipping meals.  Has anyone else gone through a huge weight gain like this?  Does it come off???

the only time I ever had heartburn in my life was the last few months of each of my pregnancies.  Now my stomach is so fat I have heartburn with anything I eat.  I also only drink water & some pomegranate juice every day. I try to eat 10 foods each day that are supposed to help.  It’s usually all in my salad. Leafy greens, 1/2 avacado, red onion, turkey breast, broccoli, hemp seeds, crushed walnuts, blueberries, balsamic vinegar.  Pomegranate juice.  And dark chocolate is supposed to be good for me (1 Oz a day) but I love chocolate and cannot have it in the house.  And those weren’t the 10 things but that’s my daily salad I eat at dinner.  

Edited Wednesday at 00:37 by [mo...]
Misspelled words left out words added more.

[[Ab...]]

@[mo...] try eating a high protein breakfast even a protein shake to start with, and try to eat three meals a day - you need around 20-30G of protein per meal. Protein is the building block of the body, work out your macros using an online calculator. I have 110g of protein a day based on my weight and height and use shakes when I don't feel hungry due to benzo belly

protein helps our body maintain so many systems its really important, try having salmon / fish 2-3 times per week omega 3s are great for brain health - if you google the Mediterranean diet that's a good one to follow. we should be eating the rainbow of foods every week, lots of variety as its great for Microbiome in the gut which help support all the GABA in our stomachs.

[[mo...]]

The Mediterranean diet is what I mostly stick to the best I can.  I am not functioning right now.  In bed and have no energy. I try to instacart food to me yet my husband hates the price hike.  I do to but I most the time cannot get out anymore. I’m in a bad place with this taper and holding but I feel stuck in awfulness. I’m doing the best I can.  I at least try to get that salad in every day. Carrots & hummus. Apples and almond butter.  I need to add more.  Fish at least once a week.  My husband tries to get to the store. I have never had metabolism problems or weight problems or energy problems. I have adrenal fatigue or something like that.  She’s trying to help me with supplements.  Cognition way down. I rarely can even get on here. I guess I just have to keep pushing through this.  I used to make smoothies but now they make me feel nauseous and worse benzo belly.  

Edited Wednesday at 03:02 by [mo...]
Spelling and spacing errors

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@[Ab...] for protein I eat some with each meal, I'll have to check to see the amount and make sure it's enough. 

You make a good point about stress - I also have been under more stress and frustration than usual due to the WD symptoms, mainly the nerve pain in my legs, but that has subsided for a few days...maybe it's gone for good. I also sweat a ton every night, waking me up multiple times but I go back to sleep without issue. 

My main concern is that I've been off Valium since June, and been off Baclofen for a couple weeks and the weight hasn't budged. I thought by now I'd at least see even a tiny change. Normally I have problems gaining weight, and if I even skip one meal (pre benzo) I'd regret it. 

@[mo...] I'm sorry you're going through this too it's no fun. When I was on benzos still my appetite was awful, but I only noticed this stubborn weight junk after I stopped. On Valium I was 130lbs ish, still 10lbs over my normal weight but tolerable. Now that I've been off them I somehow gained 10lbs more eating less and being more active

 

I hope this all clears up soon for all of us.

[[Ab...]]

@[Sc...] i have also been CT off valium since June too. (Short dose but kindled) June and July i dropped loads of weight maybe 3KG through acute then august sept i have put on the cortisol weight due to stress.

I am sure once our cortisol surges and CNS are more relaxed it will fall off. I do the workout witch on insta somatic exercises course every night. It's great for stress release and in normal circumstances helps you easily get rid of cortisol weight. Maybe try it when you are feeling up to it. 

 

Many members say things do improve post month six so hopefully both of us will see improvements in a couple of months time. Month 4 has been alot better for me than month 3 and I am month 5 the start now. 

[[Sc...]]

Thank you @[Ab...] your post is really helpful! I did the same thing as well, short dose and kindled as well. The cortisol weight makes sense, I suspect that is what is happening to me as well. Now that you mention initial weight loss, that happened to me as well! By the end of July I noticed I was my "normal" weight, clothes fit/were baggy, etc. Then come August and September and it came back with a vengeance.

I am gonna try your workout witch idea and see if it helps, I've done some basic workouts lately and they have helped a lot, maybe not with the weight but they helped lower my stress and made me sleep/feel better overall I'll keep my fingers crossed that by 6 months we see some improvements on the weight for both of us. I am glad it is going better for you, I am on the start of my month 5 as well. I really hope these symptoms are gone and behind us.

 

[[Ab...]]

7 hours ago, [[S...] said:

Thank you @[Ab...] 

I am gonna try your workout witch idea and see if it helps, I've done some basic workouts lately and they have helped a lot, maybe not with the weight but they helped lower my stress and made me sleep/feel better overall I'll keep my fingers crossed that by 6 months we see some improvements on the weight for both of us. I am glad it is going better for you, I am on the start of my month 5 as well. I really hope these symptoms are gone and behind us.

The workout witch is amazing don't be fooled by her instagram name. It's super slow and mindful somatic exercises for 10 to 15 mins every night. It reduces cortisol and releases stuck trauma. I do it before bed every evening.

Fingers crossed we both have a good month five and we see some progress and nice windows. 

[[mo...]]

I think I just now realized I made too many changes in Sept and I’m suffering for it.  Nothing to do with the weight but suffering other ways.  

[[mo...]]

On 02/10/2024 at 06:58, [[S...] said:

@[Ab...] for protein I eat some with each meal, I'll have to check to see the amount and make sure it's enough. 

You make a good point about stress - I also have been under more stress and frustration than usual due to the WD symptoms, mainly the nerve pain in my legs, but that has subsided for a few days...maybe it's gone for good. I also sweat a ton every night, waking me up multiple times but I go back to sleep without issue. 

My main concern is that I've been off Valium since June, and been off Baclofen for a couple weeks and the weight hasn't budged. I thought by now I'd at least see even a tiny change. Normally I have problems gaining weight, and if I even skip one meal (pre benzo) I'd regret it. 

@[mo...] I'm sorry you're going through this too it's no fun. When I was on benzos still my appetite was awful, but I only noticed this stubborn weight junk after I stopped. On Valium I was 130lbs ish, still 10lbs over my normal weight but tolerable. Now that I've been off them I somehow gained 10lbs more eating less and being more active

I hope this all clears up soon for all of us.

 

I would love to be at 130lbs because that’s about 5-10 pounds away from my normal weight.  Although in my 20s I was 105-110. Then 32 put on meds. I was devastated to get to 120 or 125. But I had four children to raise.  I never even weighed over 130 pounds at 9 months pregnant and went right back to fit into my clothes after childbirth, four times. So I do not naturally have a weight problem and neither does my family.  We’re all small.  But now after tapering for a year plus other stresses, I went from 120 to 169 and our scale needs batteries so can’t even weight myself now. It’s a nightmare.  Because, at least I had some looks to me and was confident going places.  Could fix myself up even if I got to 130.  But this is too much.  I hide away in my house.  And I have not been able to sleep at night.  Sometimes sleep during the day so a lot gets put on my husband and I’m babbling after a night of no sleep.  I’m discouraged horribly. But I am now 59 so been on Xanax for 16 years and then klonopin for 11 years- and the benzos caused such depression that they tried over 25 different psych drugs to try to get rid of depression, but nothing helped.  I had zero information back in 1997.  Now I feel stuck.  They destroyed everything about me.  

[[ol...]]

 

Have you tried adding protein to your diet? I stick to 200 grams a day, but that amount is only needed for athletes. It might help stabilize your metabolism if you're struggling with unexpected weight changes.