Taken Phentermine? No critics, please. Looking for experiences of those who have taken it
Sandythinandfit
Posts: 58 Member
How are you doing with it? I'm back on it after a hiatus. So far so good. Glad it is giving me some appetite suppression.
My problem is when I stop logging food, I go downhill. Whether I am taking Phentermine or not. . After a year of logging my food, I really got resentful of it. I guess I will always have to log my food!
What's your experience?
My problem is when I stop logging food, I go downhill. Whether I am taking Phentermine or not. . After a year of logging my food, I really got resentful of it. I guess I will always have to log my food!
What's your experience?
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Replies
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I took it probably three times in the past. First I had fainting spells because I could barely force down any food. And second, I regained the weight each time because I never learned proper portion control.36
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I have taken it. I was able to stretch a one month supply by taking it every other day. It worked wonders for me. I wasn't hungry and it gave me super energy to work out. But as lulalacroix said gaining the weight back is a problem. Once you get your appetite back you're in the same boat as everyone else. Maintenance is hard. FWIW, I would never take it again.23
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I had a friend who blew out her aorta on Phentermine.29
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I lost weight with it and gained it back pretty much at the same rate it went away.21
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MelanieCN77 wrote: »I lost weight with it and gained it back pretty much at the same rate it went away.
Yep. At the time I didn't really know about calorie counting apps or sites, so I gained it all back.
Plus it made me feel jittery all the time. Like I was constantly on triple espresso.
So yes, it can work, but if you don't limit yourself after, poor eating habits will set you right back where you started. My appetite is still my constant nemesis.
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My mom has taken them on and off for decades, each time she loses some weight, gets really sick from them, and then gains more than she lost.13
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I have been on it for about 2 weeks now. I feel completely fine. no jitters, no heart racing, just a major difference in not feeling as hungry all of the time, and i eat normally. I feel NORMAL. i have a few autoimmune issues so i am very low functioning. no energy, exhausted all the time. so it's really nice to feel "normal". i don't have to force myself, i just eat breakfast, four or 5 hours later i have lunch, and repeat the timeframe with dinner. and ill have usually a piece of fruit or cheese stick or something in the middle of each meal. I am going to try to get my dr. to keep me on it for the max of 12 weeks. after that point i am going to see if they will give me something more permanent to keep me functioning because i dont want to go back to before. it was awful. i also do think that as long as you maintain the same sort of discipline after coming off, you'll be just fine. every story ive heard or read about people gaining weight back is because they didn't to ANYTHING to maintain healthy eating.21
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Took it for a month. Lost 25 lbs. Felt fine, just never hungry. Would often find myself going "OH GOD ALL DID WAS DRINK COFFEE TODAY" Stopped taking it because my resting heart rate when from 60ish to 130+. First thing in the morning, without getting out of bed or even sitting up. Gained back 12 of 25 in the first two weeks. Found MFP, learned that weight management is forever so I need to make a lifestyle. Started eating at a moderate calorie deficit and stepped up how much I moved each day. Lost a total of 70lbs. Got pregnant. Gained 15. Baby weight almost off, Now 50lbs from goal weight.
Will never take it again.56 -
I have taken it. I don’t have anything positive to say about it and it sounds like you’re mainly looking for people who view it positively, so I will just leave it at that.39
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I’ve had positive (mostly) experiences with it. I never take the entire thing, I feel like that would kill me. I take 1/4 to 1/2 a day or every other day when I do take it. It helps immensely with my appetite. I’m able to get through the day without thinking too much about food. It really just helps me stay within my calories. The uptick in energy is nice too. I can get in a decent workout. The only downsides for me are some constipation and I’ve noticed my skin breaks out horribly, and I mean HORRIBLY, when I take it. I’m not sure if it’s because of the phentermine or a coincidence but it keeps me from using it anymore
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I've taken it and have nothing good to say about it.. It was a horrible experience.
Once you stop taking your natural appetite will return and you'll be back at square one again.16 -
Whether one takes it or not....................................it STILL comes down to consumption. If you over consume, you'll gain weight. There's really no discrepancy about it. So if you DON'T know HOW to stop eating intuitively, then counting calories will be what you have to do to avoid over consumption.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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sommerrosee2 wrote: »I have been on it for about 2 weeks now. I feel completely fine. no jitters, no heart racing, just a major difference in not feeling as hungry all of the time, and i eat normally. I feel NORMAL. i have a few autoimmune issues so i am very low functioning. no energy, exhausted all the time. so it's really nice to feel "normal". i don't have to force myself, i just eat breakfast, four or 5 hours later i have lunch, and repeat the timeframe with dinner. and ill have usually a piece of fruit or cheese stick or something in the middle of each meal. I am going to try to get my dr. to keep me on it for the max of 12 weeks. after that point i am going to see if they will give me something more permanent to keep me functioning because i dont want to go back to before. it was awful. i also do think that as long as you maintain the same sort of discipline after coming off, you'll be just fine. every story ive heard or read about people gaining weight back is because they didn't to ANYTHING to maintain healthy eating.
That's how I felt when my Dr. put me on Monofidal during the day and 5 htp at night. Suddenly no more brainfog, not being exhausted sll the time and able to function like a normal person.7 -
lulalacroix wrote: »I took it probably three times in the past. First I had fainting spells because I could barely force down any food. And second, I regained the weight each time because I never learned proper portion control.
Wow, fainting spells, that's awful. I only had the problem of not eating enough for the first couple of days.3 -
In 4 years, I gained all my weight back. But I blame it on not logging my food. I was taking it for a year. It wasn't working that well at the end. Logging my food and exercise here was truly how I lost the weight.
I started getting resentful of logging. So I stopped. Then I started gaining. I was going to a diet doctor at first. She said not to count calories, just to write down what I ate. It was easier for me to log here. I liked having a record.
So... I am back on it. And back to logging my food. I seriously think if I don't log my food, Phen or not, I will not lose weight.
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CheveuxNoirs wrote: »I have taken it. I was able to stretch a one month supply by taking it every other day. It worked wonders for me. I wasn't hungry and it gave me super energy to work out. But as lulalacroix said gaining the weight back is a problem. Once you get your appetite back you're in the same boat as everyone else. Maintenance is hard. FWIW, I would never take it again.
Totally. But I think it's true of any diet. As soon as you start eating "normally" you gain the weight back. It's just not sustainable to "diet."
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sommerrosee2 wrote: »I have been on it for about 2 weeks now. I feel completely fine. no jitters, no heart racing, just a major difference in not feeling as hungry all of the time, and i eat normally. I feel NORMAL. i have a few autoimmune issues so i am very low functioning. no energy, exhausted all the time. so it's really nice to feel "normal". i don't have to force myself, i just eat breakfast, four or 5 hours later i have lunch, and repeat the timeframe with dinner. and ill have usually a piece of fruit or cheese stick or something in the middle of each meal. I am going to try to get my dr. to keep me on it for the max of 12 weeks. after that point i am going to see if they will give me something more permanent to keep me functioning because i dont want to go back to before. it was awful. i also do think that as long as you maintain the same sort of discipline after coming off, you'll be just fine. every story ive heard or read about people gaining weight back is because they didn't to ANYTHING to maintain healthy eating.
My doctor kept me on it as long as I wanted. After about 10 months I thought it wasn't working. I didn't lose weight, but I didn't gain. So I quit taking it. And pow, I started gaining weight back like everyone else says.1 -
Remember the saying the definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again but expect different results? That pretty much sums up my experience with the diet pills.
It wasn't until I realized that there's no magic fix and that I needed to learn tools for long term success.26 -
Sorry I hit reply before I was finished.
I needed to learn moderation and portion control . Once I learned both, I no longer needed to worry about finding a quick fix9 -
Sandythinandfit wrote: »sommerrosee2 wrote: »I have been on it for about 2 weeks now. I feel completely fine. no jitters, no heart racing, just a major difference in not feeling as hungry all of the time, and i eat normally. I feel NORMAL. i have a few autoimmune issues so i am very low functioning. no energy, exhausted all the time. so it's really nice to feel "normal". i don't have to force myself, i just eat breakfast, four or 5 hours later i have lunch, and repeat the timeframe with dinner. and ill have usually a piece of fruit or cheese stick or something in the middle of each meal. I am going to try to get my dr. to keep me on it for the max of 12 weeks. after that point i am going to see if they will give me something more permanent to keep me functioning because i dont want to go back to before. it was awful. i also do think that as long as you maintain the same sort of discipline after coming off, you'll be just fine. every story ive heard or read about people gaining weight back is because they didn't to ANYTHING to maintain healthy eating.
My doctor kept me on it as long as I wanted. After about 10 months I thought it wasn't working. I didn't lose weight, but I didn't gain. So I quit taking it. And pow, I started gaining weight back like everyone else says.
Right-but you also said you stopped logging and keeping track of everything. Every time someone says they gained the weight back it was because they weren’t eating right, or not eating enough. Everyone thinks you can take it and just not eat, and that’s not how it works. I am on the max dose(37.5mg). It may stop working, but that doesn’t mean I’ll stop logging and watching what I eat. I was tracking long before I joined MFP, just did it manually. My issue was that since I got diagnosed two years ago I can’t function. Always have brain fog, always exhausted. I had to fight to get to the gym at least three times a week. I crashed my car because of the tiredness and the fogginess. I had enough. My thyroid is exactly where it needs to be, and my other issues are under control. I do attribute some of the issue to the medication I take, but if I dont take it I’m in bigger trouble. I have felt so much better the last couple weeks. Yes, losing weight is a bonus because I have been busting my *kitten* for over a year with hardly any result, but me feeling alive again is much more beneficial. So finding something to transition to that’s safer long term after the Phentermine will be a little tricky, but I think it’s worth it.11 -
I've taken it multiple times in my life with no major problems except being very thirsty. Then this past month I've been taking just half of the pill because by the end of the day my chest and my arm starts hurting and it gives me heartburn. I think it makes my gerd worse and I think it's making my heart freak out so I'm not even going to finish the bottle. I stopped taking it for almost two weeks just to see if I was just worrying too much but once I started back two days ago the symptoms are back... Today is the worst with the heartburn though.
Good luck with it!
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I've taken it multiple times in my life with no major problems except being very thirsty. Then this past month I've been taking just half of the pill because by the end of the day my chest and my arm starts hurting and it gives me heartburn. I think it makes my gerd worse and I think it's making my heart freak out so I'm not even going to finish the bottle. I stopped taking it for almost two weeks just to see if I was just worrying too much but once I started back two days ago the symptoms are back... Today is the worst with the heartburn though.
Good luck with it!
Heartburn? Go to the doctor to get checked, just in case 11 -
For some reason the 30mg capsules work better for me than the 37.5 Adipex.5
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I've taken it multiple times in my life with no major problems except being very thirsty. Then this past month I've been taking just half of the pill because by the end of the day my chest and my arm starts hurting and it gives me heartburn. I think it makes my gerd worse and I think it's making my heart freak out so I'm not even going to finish the bottle. I stopped taking it for almost two weeks just to see if I was just worrying too much but once I started back two days ago the symptoms are back... Today is the worst with the heartburn though.
Good luck with it!
I'd totally stop taking it. Chest and arms hurting and heartburn do not sound right.9 -
Taken it, never again. Lost weight and then put it all back on plus some when i stopped taking it. It reduces your appetite (obviously) so you eat less calories... ive managed, with hard work, continuity and a real determination to lose weight, to reduce calorie intake without any drugs, fad diets or food restrictions. MFP has been the ONLY way ive lost weight and kept it off. CICO every single time. Good luck
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Tiny_Dancer_in_Pink wrote: »I've taken it multiple times in my life with no major problems except being very thirsty. Then this past month I've been taking just half of the pill because by the end of the day my chest and my arm starts hurting and it gives me heartburn. I think it makes my gerd worse and I think it's making my heart freak out so I'm not even going to finish the bottle. I stopped taking it for almost two weeks just to see if I was just worrying too much but once I started back two days ago the symptoms are back... Today is the worst with the heartburn though.
Good luck with it!
Heartburn? Go to the doctor to get checked, just in case
Seconded. If it was just the chest maybe it's heartburn but heartburn does not make your arm hurt. That worries me.7 -
sommerrosee2 wrote: »I have been on it for about 2 weeks now. I feel completely fine. no jitters, no heart racing, just a major difference in not feeling as hungry all of the time, and i eat normally. I feel NORMAL. i have a few autoimmune issues so i am very low functioning. no energy, exhausted all the time. so it's really nice to feel "normal". i don't have to force myself, i just eat breakfast, four or 5 hours later i have lunch, and repeat the timeframe with dinner. and ill have usually a piece of fruit or cheese stick or something in the middle of each meal. I am going to try to get my dr. to keep me on it for the max of 12 weeks. after that point i am going to see if they will give me something more permanent to keep me functioning because i dont want to go back to before. it was awful. i also do think that as long as you maintain the same sort of discipline after coming off, you'll be just fine. every story ive heard or read about people gaining weight back is because they didn't to ANYTHING to maintain healthy eating.
This is a contradiction.
The thing that you are going to do to maintain......is look for a permanent prescription, a permanent crutch. Because after you have lost the weight, a smaller you will require fewer calories forever.
Without a permanent prescription it will be up to you to learn how to "not feel hungry all the time." Without a permanent prescription it will be up to you to work through the "no energy, exhausted all the time" feelings.
Most people gain weight back......whether it's pills, meal replacements, or temporary elimination diets. We all have to learn new habits and keep those habits for life. It's always going to come down to behavior modification. Temporary approaches don't exactly foster that.22 -
sommerrosee2 wrote: »I have been on it for about 2 weeks now. I feel completely fine. no jitters, no heart racing, just a major difference in not feeling as hungry all of the time, and i eat normally. I feel NORMAL. i have a few autoimmune issues so i am very low functioning. no energy, exhausted all the time. so it's really nice to feel "normal". i don't have to force myself, i just eat breakfast, four or 5 hours later i have lunch, and repeat the timeframe with dinner. and ill have usually a piece of fruit or cheese stick or something in the middle of each meal. I am going to try to get my dr. to keep me on it for the max of 12 weeks. after that point i am going to see if they will give me something more permanent to keep me functioning because i dont want to go back to before. it was awful. i also do think that as long as you maintain the same sort of discipline after coming off, you'll be just fine. every story ive heard or read about people gaining weight back is because they didn't to ANYTHING to maintain healthy eating.
This is a contradiction.
The thing that you are going to do to maintain......is look for a permanent prescription, a permanent crutch. Because after you have lost the weight, a smaller you will require fewer calories forever.
Without a permanent prescription it will be up to you to learn how to "not feel hungry all the time." Without a permanent prescription it will be up to you to work through the "no energy, exhausted all the time" feelings.
Most people gain weight back......whether it's pills, meal replacements, or temporary elimination diets. We all have to learn new habits and keep those habits for life. It's always going to come down to behavior modification. Temporary approaches don't exactly foster that.
I read her comment as "I'd like to keep taking this because it's helping me manage my autoimmune conditions" not "I want to look this way forever".
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Is that a current photo of you?0
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singingflutelady wrote: »Is that a current photo of you?
Me? No. It's inspiration for me to get thin like that again. I am heavy now, wearing a 2X.1
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