Gastric Side Effects

[Oozz]

It seems like methadone is causing me to have gastroparesis. It has completely turned my life upside down. I’m not 100% it is the methadone , but that is what the GI doctor believes. It’s just so odd because I’ve been taking methadone 5mg for about 8 mos with good success and out of nowhere starting having stomach issues. With that said, I’ve completely stopped to rule it out.

Has anyone else experienced this? Seems very rare at this dosage.

I’m SOL on switching drugs right now because it seems like all RLS drugs can cause some delayed gastric emptying. It may sound like bro science, but I feel if I switch to another drug I will just pick up where I left off.

[Oozz]

It seems like methadone is causing me to have gastroparesis. It has completely turned my life upside down. I’m not 100% it is the methadone , but that is what the GI doctor believes. It’s just so odd because I’ve been taking methadone 5mg for about 8 mos with good success and out of nowhere starting having stomach issues. With that said, I’ve completely stopped to rule it out.

Has anyone else experienced this? Seems very rare at this dosage. If so, what med cocktail did you end up switching to?

[QyX]

I would simply try other opioids (Morphine, Oxycodone or Hydromorphone) and see if the situation improves or not. Methadone is known to have many problematic side effects. There are many people who do not tolerate methadone for various reasons.

If available, you can also look into medical Marijuana and / or Kratom as an alternative for methadone. It might work because the opioid dose you are taking right now is still very low. So it is maybe possible to completely avoid opioids at this time. However Kratom can have similar side effects than opioids which is why checking out medical Marijuana is maybe an option in your situation.

My average daily opioid dose reduced from 240 mg morphine per day to roughly 160 - 180 mg per day when I started using medical Marijuana.

[debbluebird]

I had nausea when I first started taking methadone. It lasted a couple of months or so. It finally went away. It also took my RLS and leg spasms away. That's why I continued to take it. I've tried over 20 meds. This works best for me along with gabapentin. I added the gabapentin because ai did not want to increase the methadone. I take 17.5 mg over 24 hours. 5 mg tablets

[ViewsAskew]

I have not. Hope you can figure out the cause and find a workable solution.

[Oozz]

I would simply try other opioids (Morphine, Oxycodone or Hydromorphone) and see if the situation improves or not. Methadone is known to have many problematic side effects. There are many people who do not tolerate methadone for various reasons.

If available, you can also look into medical Marijuana and / or Kratom as an alternative for methadone. It might work because the opioid dose you are taking right now is still very low. So it is maybe possible to completely avoid opioids at this time. However Kratom can have similar side effects than opioids which is why checking out medical Marijuana is maybe an option in your situation.

My average daily opioid dose reduced from 240 mg morphine per day to roughly 160 - 180 mg per day when I started using medical Marijuana.

Won’t switching from one opioid to another just pick up where I left off? That’s my biggest concern. I’m going to talk with my doctor about it as well.

[QyX]

Maybe, there is no way to tell.

However: Methadone is an especially long acting opioid with a massive half-life, especially when you take it for several days in a row. The classic opioids like Morphine and Oxycodone have a much shorter half-life, making the potential side effects less relevant because you would not be impacted during the day as much as you would be with Methadone. So it is worth a shot, especially when you do not need 24/7 opioid coverage.

[Oozz]

Wanted to update this. I came off all drugs for two weeks, then restarted on mirapex + lyrica. My gastroparesis seems to have gone away. Although I’ve been on a liquid diet for two weeks, I would conclude that it was the methadone causing my GI motility problems. I will now be rotating meds with the approval of my doctor.

[ViewsAskew]

That is good news.