HELP! Just saw doctor today.

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TswvNplooj
TswvNplooj Posts: 60 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So my doctor wants to put me on Phentermine 37.5 a to jump start my weight loss. I want to hear the truth from you guys before making a decision. Please share the good and the bad. Will love to hear your personal experience.

I am in my early 40s and not active, desk job. I am almost 5 feet and weigh 172 from doctor's scale this morning. I've never been above 180 and never under 150, except for when still in my 20s before the 4 kids I was around 115-125.

I have no motivation now so maybe starting Phentermine and seeing some pounds off may motivate me? Thank you.
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Replies

  • enterdanger
    enterdanger Posts: 2,447 Member
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    I don't have personal experience of Phentermine, but I've had some friends who have used it with varying degrees of success. It's not meant to be a long term solution but to help curb hunger while getting started. It's the Phen from Fen Phen if you remember that. It's been used for ages for weight loss, but is not without side effects. Several of the people I know who took it said it made their heart race and they couldn't sleep while on it.

    Alot of the people I knew who used it either stopped immediately due to the sleep issues or gained the weight back once they came of it. I only know one person who actually used it for a year (which I don't think you are supposed to) and lost significant weight and kept it off.

    Have you tried CICO here on MFP first? I'd probably only use it as a last resort. I'm already tightly wound.
  • rosebarnalice
    rosebarnalice Posts: 3,488 Member
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    I tried it for about 3 months several years ago.

    As an appetite suppressant, it didn't do me much good. I reacted to it like a heavy dose of caffeine. Jumpy and jittery--but no noticeable effect on my appetite. I DID drop about 12 lbs-- or about 1 lb per week-- but I actually did better with I ditched the Phentermine and committed to reasonable portions and moderate exercise (about 1.5 - 2 lbs per week.)
  • KetoTeacher
    KetoTeacher Posts: 163 Member
    edited April 2016
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    I took it for the first 21 days of my weight loss with a good success because it got me through my cravings and I lost 14 lbs. I have many more to go and I will be weaning myself off of them in the next two weeks, so I will only be taking one if the cravings are too much for me to make a good choice. I think I made a wise decision, but some people stay on them long term and I think that is never good.

    Need a friend you can add me :)
  • kristen6350
    kristen6350 Posts: 1,094 Member
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    Honestly, I don't think you need meds to "jump start" anything.

    Log your food (use a food scale to weigh solids, measure liquids). Find a level of deficient that works for you. (2lbs week will be WAY too agressive, start with 1lb, eat what MFP tells you). Increase your activity. Be patient, honest and consistent. I found pre-logging what I'd eat helped me. Having a plan will help when you are stressed and tired.
  • itsbasschick
    itsbasschick Posts: 1,584 Member
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    the thing that bothers me about using phentermine is that unless you stay on it for the rest of your life, chances are very good you'll put the weight right back on unless you make real lifestyle changes, and they won't happen from taking a pill. they'll happen when you decide it makes real sense for you to make those changes, and it happens for all of us differently.

    here are a couple threads about taking phentermine - there are many more here.
    community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/36234665
    community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/36245933

    you'll find some people were really happy with the results, some had very uncomfortable side effects, some put the weight right back on, some were back on it for the second time.
  • zombiemusicgirl
    zombiemusicgirl Posts: 98 Member
    edited April 2016
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    My sister took weight loss prescriptions for her wedding. Apart from her acting like a super meanie because of the meds, she did see some SHORT term results. She is now 30 lbs higher than when she started them, and she is working on developing healthy habits and losing a healthy, sustainable way.

    Keep trying what you are doing. When I had a Dr who wanted to put me on statins, I switched Dr's. I knew it was a diet based issue, and meds we're not the answer. The kitchen was.

    Stay persistent. It can be frustrating for us "petite" ladies. You'll figure out what works - just don't give up!

    **edit for spell correct
  • socajam
    socajam Posts: 2,530 Member
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    Here is a good prescription for you and is FREE, no side effects: put on your sneakers and get your butt walking, the best medicine you can give yourself. Some days you may feel that you do not want to walk, but those are the days when you do your best. Also have some music that you like, or audio books etc.

    Yesterday, I was like that, decided to put that negative idea out of my head, laced up my sneakers and walked over 8 miles and never felt better, and was so glad that the negative part of my brain lost out.

    Just try walking before putting phentermine into your body. If at the end of the day you still feel the same, then you can say at least you tried, so now its phentermine's turn. Good luck.
  • nuttynanners
    nuttynanners Posts: 249 Member
    edited April 2016
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    I don't see a big problem like a lot of people here will. But I do recommend taking the lowest dose possible to begin with.

    Also the fact that you have "no motivation" out of the gate is a little concerning. I'm all for supervised supplementation, but weight loss is very much a mental discipline. I do think supplements can help but I really suggest examining your relationship with food and working on it. You can't expect the medicine to do the hard work for you. It will not give you the intrinsic motivation you need. The medicine is a not a catalyst, think of it more like a fail safe.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,996 Member
    edited April 2016
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    I didn't learn healthy eating habits when my appetite was artificially suppressed by taking a legal amphetamine-like drug and I gained all the weight back when I stopped taking it.

    Here's my new favorite post about Phentermine: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10329901/phentermine/p1
  • thickmadea
    thickmadea Posts: 7 Member
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    I myself have used this drug and yes it does help you lose weight but like others have said it will make your heart race and cause anxiety and when you stop taking it you will gain more than you last
  • DrifterBear
    DrifterBear Posts: 265 Member
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    If you're not motivated, a pill won't help. YOU have to decide you want to change first. I have no idea about this medication, but if it has any shot of helping, you'll still need to put in 90% of the effort.
  • MostlyWater
    MostlyWater Posts: 4,294 Member
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    Do you exercise? Can you make other small changes? Drugs are not the answer.
  • srecupid
    srecupid Posts: 660 Member
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    Yeah I wouldn't even consider drugs with 20lbs to lose. Just try the old fashioned way first
  • willworkoutforwine
    willworkoutforwine Posts: 64 Member
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    I've never had experience with Rx weight loss drugs but I have tried OTC stuff here and there over time. None of that worked and I was looking for a "quick fix". There was a point when I asked my doctor for something and she refused. It took awhile for me to learn that eating at a calorie deficit and exercising are what work in the long run. That is something you can do forever - a weight loss drug, meal replacement shakes, etc. don't make sense in the long run because the weight is likely to come back when you stop them.

    I also have not been successful until I was truly motivated. For me, it was stepping on the scale and seeing pictures of myself that just made me want to cry. Once I started seeing progress, it was easier to stay motivated.

    I'm 5'1"/179lbs/size 10-12 so we have similar stats. I started at 195 in January. Feel free to add me!
  • TxTiffani
    TxTiffani Posts: 798 Member
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    I think in the long run you will feel much better about yourself if you watch your calories and add in any amount of exercise you can do. Even if the pills work, at the end of the day when you come off of them you will still have to learn how to manage your calories to keep the weight off or continuing to lose & I think you might feel a bit deflated, because it's the pills that caused the weight loss....not your hard work and effort. Just my two cents to take or leave.
  • lyonette26
    lyonette26 Posts: 6 Member
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    I am a little surprised that your doctor recommended as mine has nothing to do with weight loss pills or generic ways to lose weight. I am not trying to be rude because quite often I wished that she would give me something that "jump starts" my plan. Anyway, I do believe that the best way is to keep eating more healthy and try to do more exercise but if your doctor thought it was ok I guess the question is can you use it with no side effects and can you keep the weight off once you do lose. Good luck with you decision.
  • Tedebearduff
    Tedebearduff Posts: 1,155 Member
    edited April 2016
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    GaoleeYaj wrote: »
    So my doctor wants to put me on Phentermine 37.5 a to jump start my weight loss. I want to hear the truth from you guys before making a decision. Please share the good and the bad. Will love to hear your personal experience.

    I am in my early 40s and not active, desk job. I am almost 5 feet and weigh 172 from doctor's scale this morning. I've never been above 180 and never under 150, except for when still in my 20s before the 4 kids I was around 115-125.

    I have no motivation now so maybe starting Phentermine and seeing some pounds off may motivate me? Thank you.

    Actually nothing will help you unless you are motivated. I would tell my doctor to keep the pills and go and do it myself... Go prove him wrong, show him you can do it on your own. If not then you might lose some but it wont stay off, you need to be self motivated to be successful.

    A similar mindset would be asking me for a raise and telling simultaneously I don't want to do more for the raise, just give me more cause I want it.

    Interesting to see how different doctors are, my doctor recommended diet and exercise and I had high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol.... and was 355lbs (that's as high as a doctors scale goes so could of been more) I wasn't even allowed to run as they were scared I'd have a heart attack...
  • cathipa
    cathipa Posts: 2,991 Member
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    It's an appetite suppressant. If you want to lose weight why not make a calorie deficit and eat within that? Add exercise and BAM you lose. The palpitations and dry mouth aren't worth taking and the effect (weight loss) is only temporary. You still have to stay within a calorie deficit to lose.
  • bugnroosmom
    bugnroosmom Posts: 1 Member
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    I am a strong believer in avoiding medications when health and lifestyle changes are an option. That said, a doctor friend of mine recently gave this very nuanced and thoughtful interview that I think provides an interesting perspective. After you have read the article, you will need to decide if you fit the model of the type of patient that she thinks the drugs help.

    http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/860872

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