Addicted to sugar from Sub?

[lily29]

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone was also experiencing this. I used to rarely eat sweets, I was just more of a salty lover, chips and fries, ect. Now I feel like I traded my opiate addiction for a sugar one! Believe me, I would rather have the sugar one, but it can't be healthy to consume the amount of chocolate and sugary stuff that I am. Before this, I actually disliked chocolate! (I know, it's weird, I must have been dropped as a baby)

Anyways, anyone know of a way to curb the sugar cravings? Any and all suggestions would be welcome!

-Lily

[vhappy]

lily,
I had the exact same thing happen to me. I was never a sweet eater and preferred salty things. I even drank my coffee black for years and now have to add sweet creamer's. I indulged myself for awhile until I could no longer get dressed! Then after about 6 months I had to quit or by all new clothes. I wouldn't have minded that at all but 2 sizes bigger??? I am also 5 feet tall, so looked like I gained 25lbs. I decided to quit with the sweets all together and only indulge myself with carmel mini ricecakes. That seems to quench that sweet thing I also have going on. It was a little rough with craves the first week and then got better. Maybe we can have a yellow pill for these craves. Well just wanted you to know you are not imagining this.....I think it is real!
vhappy

[theswan]

Me too!

Glen

[JDK613]

OMGosh, I cannot eat enough kit-kats!!! I mean, I eat them all day long, from the time I wake up until the time I go to bed. I even wake up in the middle of the night & the 1st thing I do is eat a couple kit-kats!! When I was pregnant & taking subutex I didn't want anything to do w/chocolate, never really cared for it before anyways. But after I had my daughter & switched to suboxone I would rather eat chocolate then anything. 1st I had to have herseys/almonds, now I have to have kit-kats. I buy lots at a time & I go and by more when I'm running low in fear that I will not have my kit-kats. Another thing too, I only drink coke now, I know it's not good to do that (I do not have a weight issue but I know that too much sugar can lead to other problems). I used to NEVER drink pop, hated it I would only drink ice tea & kool aid, but now I fear that I will run out of coke too!! Never was like this before sub!!

[Scarlette_Gemini]

I agree! I've never really been a candy/sweets eater except for the occasional killer brownie or chocolate chip pie. Now, however, I find myself craving something sweet every night. I even dip into my son's candy stash more than he does... And he's 4! Of course I prefer chocolate, but I'll eat anything at this point! I also went from mostly drinking tea, milk, & 1 coke per day to drinking coffe w/ nestle flavored creamers & dr peppers all day. Ugh it drives me crazy! No it can't be healthy.

I'm trying to eat mints whenever I get a sugar attack. I don't like mints too much, but they're sweet & help curb the craving. Oh, and sucrets lozenges too. We also have lollipops at work that I eat often. Lollipops are low in sugar, last quite a while, & help w/ the sugar crave. Try it...

[lily29]

For me it's snickers bars, rice krispy treats, and hot fudge sundaes. I had to purposely make sure I didn't have the ingrediants to make the rice crispy treats, or I'd eat a whole batch every day!

[amb128]

I have gained 15 lbs. since beginning my Sub. treatment.Granted I did need to gain some wait, but if it keeps up I'll be big as a house come swim-suit season. I personally have to have butterfingers and ridiculous amounts of Wal-mart brand sugar cookies with milk.
Now that I look like a healthy person finally I'm planning on practicing some better self discipline.

[lily29]

Thanks for the tips Scarlett! I'm off to buy bags of lollipops and mints....

[maillady]

I am craving sweets too..Cant get enough nutty buddies,snickers,kit kats,coke and pepsi,THIS IS TOTALLY CRAZY I am now trying to get my act together because I am not even eating ANY food all day just the sweets for all three meals..icecream for breakfast..candy bars and cokes for lunch and dinner.. get up in middle of nite to go to potty and guess what..right..sitting in the den in the dark eating candy or icecream sandwich!! Have put on 20 plus pounds in the last 6 months..My clothes are too snug now and its depressing..I am exchanging the pills and its HIGH for another high or feelgood moment..chocolate and sweets!!! If I were exchanging alchohol for the pills I would be a Big Fat Drunk..lol..but this problem isnt funny..I must get a grip and just say NO..so far the sugar addiction is winning...

[lily29]

maillady,

It's such a common problem with people who start sub, but I don't know if it's a side effect or like you said, just exchanging the high for the high. I know that alcoholics in treatment tend to consume large quanities of sugar, to replace the sugar in the alcohol, but I tend to think this is just a side effect. Otherwise I would just be binging on fast food, always my worst weakness. I've never liked sweets. My doctor told me it was a side effect, but even though I might have some chub on me right now I'd still take this over opiates everyday. There are men out there that like a little extra to squeeze on too Plus I like myself now, and that's invaluable. Be proud of yourself! There is a thread on here where people talk about dieting and exercising, I think I might go join

[NancyB]

Hi all, here's a link to the diet thread lily29 mentioned:
http://www.addictionsurvivors.org/vb...ad.php?t=22405

Just one thing to be careful of is the caffeine in stuff like soda. Caffeine is a diuretic, and can, in turn, cause even slight dehydration, which, in turn, can cause headaches. So be mindful to make sure you drink enough water to balance the caffeine off. And opioids, in general, can suppress the thirst mechanism, so it's extra important to be vigilant about staying hydrated. Lecture over.

Nancy

[MicheleJ]

Same here. I HAVE to have sweets, or else I go crazy!

I too have gained weight since being on Sub. I believe the sweets are a huge part of it. Another reason why is because when I was on Vicodin I used to not eat much, and really watch what I did eat because I didn't want food to interfere with the absorption of the Vicodin.

For example, every month at work we have three events where food is served. I used to go and make my appearance, and not eat. Now, since being on Sub. I go to them and I eat. Just those extra calories alone every month have added on, I am sure.

Plus, like I said, just never having to say no to any food that is offered or served because of worrying about ruining the effect of the Vicodin. Even if I don't eat "large" portions, it still all adds up. It is still calories that didn't used to be consumed, and that the body is not used to.

Plus, for me, for a while there (Until the end), I would get an incredible amount of energy from Vicodin, and would always be doing "projects" of some sort. While I still have an adequate amount of energy, I do not have so much energy that I feel the need to be constantly working on “projects”. So, in addition to the sweets and the extra food “here and there”, right there are extra calories that are also not being burned.

But, back to the sweets, yes, I too at times feel that I am completely addicted to sweets. I have at times told myself that I wasn't going to buy anymore, but, then end up buying them anyway. I have already gotten up, and dressed just to go out and get some sweets because I just had to have some. I have also actually resorted to leaving my candy stash out in the car so that it is more difficult for me to get to it. I believe that these behaviors would probably constitute “addictive behaviors”!

How do we stop? Just like I believe that my addiction to Vicodin is due to a chemical imbalance in my brain, I am certain that this sweets addiction is also due to some sort of Chemical “something”, and it is just not good!!

[lily29]

Thanks Nancy!

Lucky for me I can't touch caffeine because of the benzo tapering and I also drink tons for water, to help with the "poo problem" so many of us are experiencing.

MichelleJ,

Since I quit smoking, I find that besides craving sweets I always have to have something in my mouth. Um that sounded dirty I tried Scarletts idea of always having lollipops, and it has helped a bit.

[cferd]

Why do you have to avoid caffiene while tapering of a benzo?

[Scarlette_Gemini]

Lily, I am glad the lollipops are helping some! I'm a sucker (pun intended) for tootsie pops- the ones w/ tootsie rolls inside- b/c I get the lollipop sucking + a lil chocolate at the end <--and that REALLY sounded dirty- Ewww! But it is still low in sugar & helps my craves b/c it takes so long to finish... as long as you resist the urge to just bite into them to hurry up & get "to the tootsie roll center of the tootsie pop."

[lily29]

cferd,

I am just speaking from personal experience, so anyone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. But what my doctor says and what I have read in the Ashton Manual (a great thing to read if you're tapering off benzos) is that caffeine basically makes the benzo not work as well, and benzo withdrawals often produce that jittery feeling, plus the "shakes." So it has been advised to me to stay away from caffeine so as not to exacerbate the withdrawal feelings that come with tapering off the benzos. I don't know if I said that perfect, but you get the general idea.

[cferd]

Thanks for the information. I recall reading that too. I think sugar is another thing that can intensify benzo wds, not as much as caffiene though. Sub makes me crave sweets as well.

[Sunny1]

I also had intense sugar cravings. It gradually went away. I remember that I wasn't having much of a sugar problem after a while and I was still on Sub.

When it was bad, it was really bad. I would go to 7:11 and get 1 of everything, at least. 1 pack donuts, 1 pack sweet candy, 1 pack gummies, 1 pack chocolate, 1 pack of cookies, milk, rice crispies treats, ice cream. I had to have at least 1 of everything to satisfy myself and when I got home I demolished the bags of junk quickly. There was a time period that I was rarely leaving my home, but when I did leave it was to make a 7:11 run and get my fix.

I'm not so sure this is a direct side effect of sub. I used to think it was esp. b/c people on other opiates, especially methadone say they crave sweets. But I've come across enough people that came off other drugs and had the same experience. I also read Jane Velez Mitchells book and again, she was an alcoholic and she experienced the compulsion to eat sweets all the time.

I don't know, but for me it went away. Thank goodness!

[deanna]

Hi I wanted to bump this thread up because I read an interesting article in O magazine yesterday regarding sugar and opioid addiction.
Here it goes...."Mary Boggiano, Phd of the department of psychology discovered that a junk food binge sets off the same pleasure receptors in the brain that gets stimulated when an addict takes opiates. Patients think they dont have willpower, but your fighting biology, and its theraputic to know that junk food can trigger this reaction."

I thought it was pretty interesting!!! Deanna

[lily29]

Hi Deanna!

I read that article too, about binge eating right? I wonder if it's not the sub that's making us crave sweets, maybe it's because it's affecting the same receptors in the brain as opiates so we're subconsciously trying to get that high back. That is really interesting! Thanks for bumping it up. Happy Sunday everyone, no chat tonight but I hope everyone is doing well!

-Lily