weight gain/methadone

Methadone interferes with the functioning of the pituitary gland and hypothalamus in the brain affecting several hormones which are involved in maintaining normal weight. Many people put on enormous amounts of weight while on methadone. Methadone is contraindicated in obese people, so if you are prone to weight gain, methadone therapy is an extremely bad idea (this includes me!) I was prescribed methadone tablets by a pain anaesthesiologist in the USA before returning to England. I had a hell of a job convincing GP's in England that I was on the stuff for chronic pain because it isn't as widely used over here for that purpose. One GP in Nottingham refused to give it to me and told me that methadone has never been used to treat pain. I told him that he needed to go back to medical school for a refresher course before I was escorted out of the surgery.