Hunger Games fet. Phentermine

CANDYTUFT210

Hi all. So , this is a post to kinda start a diary/ log/ whatever to help keep me accountable. I have tried to lose weight on my own in the past and have been semi-successful, but not in the ways I have hoped. This time is different (isn’t it always?) I recently found out that all of my immediate family members are diabetic now. I am the last holdout and frankly, I don’t want to join that particular club. So here I am, 34, married, no kids, working full time. I’m 5’2: and weigh 217 lbs. I’m blessed with good genes that I don’t look as much as I weigh and that I have not yet developed any underlying health issues associated with obesity. With time and determination, I am going to fix this.

I’m not sure how this works in the Community around here, but I like the idea of having a group so to speak to talk to and get feedback from. Weight Watchers isn’t for me, so maybe this will work.

So, my tactics- I’m going to try and eat cleaner, exercise more, and ultimately get my *kitten* together. Oh, and I’m taking Phentermine. My doctor gave me a prescription for it yesterday and I we have a plan to do it for 3 months. So in addition to documenting my journey so to speak, I’m also going to speak about the effect of this medication on me. When I was doing research on it, I found a wide array of opinions both glowing and awful. Some of the mentioned side effects sound terrible, but I still rolled the dice since I’m young, healthy, and need the boost. If any of your guys have any questions about it, please ask in the comments and I’ll answer you as best I can. I’m on day 1 and it’s the very first time I’ve taken it.

A disclaimer before I go on:

***** I AM NOT A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL AND NONE OF THIS IS TO SUBSTITUTE ANY MEDICAL ADVICE. YOU HAVE A DOCTOR FOR THAT. GO TO THAT PERSON. ALL STATEMENTS ARE SOLEY BASED ON MY PERSONAL OPINONS AND EXPERIENCES. IF YOU HAVE A MEDIAL NEED OR QUESTION, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE ASK YOUR PHSYCIAN.*****

Ok, with that out of the way….


So I came to Phentermine after about 2 weeks of researching it online. I was looking for real HCG drops online and was trying my best to separate the chaff from the wheat so to speak when I said to myself “why are you looking for something that –may- be what you’re looking for when there are for rea, FDA approved drugs you can get that really –will- be what you are looking for?” I thought that was a great question and started Googling FDA approved medication for obesity. Phentermine was the top hit and that’s where I started digging deeper. I read and read stuff, made an appointment with my doctor, saw her yesterday, and told her what’s up. She agreed to prescribe with the following points and caveats:


1. This is NOT A MAGIC BULLET. She described Phentermine as an “adjunct treatment” that is to be used with good diet and exercise. If you don’t have your head on straight about that, you’re going to fail (and your doctor may not prescribe it to you.)


2. Weekly blood pressure checks. A side effect of the stimulant is that your blood pressure can go up dangerously. She wants to watch it closely and if it spikes too high, that’s it for me.


3. Meeting with a nutritionist. My doctor wants to be sure that I’m doing the diet component, so she’s made an appointment for me to see a nutritionist. If I miss the appointment, no more drugs.


4. No refills- well, each month of refills have to be pre-authorized by her after making sure all is well. Also, this course of medication will not exceed 3 months. As an amphetamine, it can be habit forming and according to the science, there’s no benefit from extended use (we’ll see about that).


5. Full labs. Gotta get my cholesterol, sugars, everything checked before the end of this week.

My doctor is hard core. She also talked to me about if I had an older doctor; they may not even heard me out about it. There’s an opinion in the medical community that despite all of the comorbidity of obesity with other diseases, a lot of doctors still look at it as a matter of willpower that individuals must control rather than a disease in and of itself. My doctor is only a little older than me and has seen how this medication can help her patients with their issues, so she was more amenable.

A little info about Phentermine: If you’re a lady taking it, you have to be on birth control at the same time as this is bad stuff for women who are pregnant or breastfeeding. I went back on The Pill specifically to take this medication.

Phentermine is a controlled substance that must be prescribed by a doctor. It’s an amphetamine that’s made to increase your energy and depress your appetite. It is not recommended to take other stimulants while you’re on this stuff. In light of this, I’m cutting out caffeine from my diet completely. Based on how I feel, I’m not going to need them. Most of the info about it you can find at this link: http://www.drugs.com/phentermine.html
I’m on 37.5 mg per day for 30 days. It’s 1 slow release tablet. I took it first thing this morning (5:15 am). I didn’t really start feeling any effects until about an hour later. My body felt a bit tingly while I was driving to work and I felt a little warm, but nothing uncomfortable. When I got to work, I sat down t my desk and couldn’t sit. I don’t feel jittery, but I definitely feel like I have energy to burn. I stood up and walked around my office over and over again for about 15 minutes (that’s when a colleague came in and I didn’t want them to ask why I was walking in circles.) I’m sitting at my desk now and REALLY want to be moving, but I’m typing instead. I am not hungry at all and am forcing myself to eat. To eat so far, I’ve had a clementine orange and some water. As soon as I’m doing with this post, I’ll be having an English muffin with peanut butter. I feel thirsty, a little bit of jaw clenching (gum helps) and I’m hot. Like sweating hot. It tend to be warm in my office, so I’m not sure if it’s just me of the temperature (I’m thinking it’s me. I’m the only one who’s hot). My pulse is high-ish but not racing. Mentally, I feel very focused. No irritability or mood changes that I’ve noticed so far.

More to come later. Stay tuned.

dajband

Any updates? I'm doing hcg but the clinic also offers Phentermine. So I'm curious. Cheers.

shadowfax_c11

Sounds to me like you have an awesome doctor. Mine just told me to eat 1200 calories a day and sent me home.

My TDEE is around 3500 calories....Doctors advice was not only bad but for me it was not safe or healthy.

Good luck on your path. YOU can totally do this. Even without the meds. MFP makes it fairly simple.

Just use a food scale to weigh your solids and use cups to measure your liquids and log it all in your diary and stay at or under the goal MFP gave you. Be honest about your logging and your stats and don't go crazy and try to lose faster by choosing the highest weight loss goal and restricting heavily.

This has to be for life so everything you do needs to be sustainable within reason for the rest of your life.

ashliedelgado

I used Phentermine to start my journey, and lost 20lbs in the first month - I had to FORCE myself to eat, I never had an appetite. I only took it the first month because my resting heart rate when from 66ish to the upper 140s. Resting, first thing in the morning. I gained 12 of 20lbs lost back in the subsequent weeks, but now have lost 72lbs. It can be a great jump start, and your doctor sounds legit. Just remember when your appetite returns, you're going to start eating more, and that's gonna put some weight back on. Don't get discouraged! Feel free to add me if you'd like.

Edit to add: my doctor also would only Rx for 3 months.