Anyone been prescribed Phentermine?

Hey everyone!

I am new on the message board and just wanted to say hi! I am not new to this journey, just new to a process that I started today. To summarize, 6 months before I got pregnant with my second baby, I started going to bootcamp, everyday, faithfully 5 days a week! I loved it! I was eating clean and feeling good...but not losing any weight! My trainer was perplexed! We messed with calorie counts, added carbs, deleted carbs...everything. Then I got pregnant and stopped going to bootcamp. Last summer, after being fully recovered from baby (and no added weight from that pregnancy) I went back. This time only 2-3 days a week due to managing 2 kids schedules. Again, eating clean, high protien, low carb and since then, no weight loss. I have been so frustrated. I went to the doctor and they checked my thyroid. Normal...on the low side of normal, but normal. They checked me for PCOS...nope, tests came back negative. So...I went back to the doctor last week and told them that I needed help. I was doing the work and eating what I was suppposed to and nothing was happening and if I didn't get help soon...I was going to quit, and that is not what I wanted. So...my doctor prescribed Phentermine. I know there are a lot of phentermine haters on this board (I read a lot before I joined) and I get it the concern...but for me, this was the last straw. As I was sitting with the doctor to make a "plan" she asked about calories/activity/carbs vs. protein and she said..."Well, I don't even need to write notes, you are doing everything correctly!" That is my point! I know it isn't a miracle drug...I am still going to do the work that I have been doing for the last 10 months, I just hope that I start seeing some results. And as for gaining it back...I am hoping that my good habits will prevail and that won't happen.

So...hello to everyone and I just wondered if anyone else is in this boat? Any success with Phentermine, or just the experience overall.

And...please, no haters. I hear the "do the work" and "make better choices" all the time. Sometimes you can do everything correctly and it still doesn't come off. For those of you that it does....awesome! I applaud you and keep up the amazing work! But, please don't just look down your nose at me for wanting a little help....I have been doing the work and nothing is happening.

Replies

  • oiseau17
    oiseau17 Posts: 142 Member
    First off, do you weigh your food? If you haven't been losing weight and don't have a medical condition, you may be eating more than you think.
  • kelleybean1
    kelleybean1 Posts: 312 Member
    Eating clean isn't good enough, you have to eat at a deficit, which means weighing and tracking every morsel that goes into your mouth.
  • I have 2 personal trainers - one I work with a group and one individually...believe me, I have been doing everything correctly. Yes, I weigh my food. I have tried calorie counts from 1200-1800. I have been tracking my food and activity using a different system since June. I appreciate your input...but believe me when I say, it's not happening.
  • toronto_j
    toronto_j Posts: 206 Member
    Do a search, plenty of threads.
  • I did, but I didn't see any that were recent, which is why I posted again. Thought maybe someone recently had some experience.
  • tarz4brez
    tarz4brez Posts: 38 Member
    I think u will see results I sent u a message good luck
  • CrystalQ222
    CrystalQ222 Posts: 63 Member
    Yes I have been on phentermine in the past. It does work. I had lost 22 lbs in a month then. It works well for hunger pains. So much so that you don't even want to eat, which can be bad if you have to meet a calorie goal....But when you stop it , it can come back very quickly and it will be back before you know it....You have to really concentrate after on not eating too much too quick....It works well for hunger pains and weight loss but your body gets used to it, then when you don't have it the weight can come back on twice as fast....
  • I appreciate that. With the calorie counting and exercising I have been maintaining my weight the entire time...just not losing. The plan is to only be on the med for a couple of months and then my doctor said that if we wean off and continue to eat/exercise the way that I have, the weight should not come back. If I am not able to maintain, then I guess it is back to the drawing board...but at this time, I just feel I have to give it a shot.
  • crazyincolorado84
    crazyincolorado84 Posts: 26 Member
    I take it, it was a last straw for me too. For months I worked out 5x a week ate at a calorie deficit, tried the TDEE minus 20%......nothing. I went to the doctor and he ran a ton of tests also, but everything came back fine. We picked through my diet, routines and drinking (which was none at the time). Finally he asked if I wanted to give it a try. I started taking it the next day and i've been steadily losing wieght since. No huge miracle weight loss days like the people on you tube claim, but a pretty consistent 1-3 pounds each week and I couldn't be more thrilled! Godd luck, don't mind the haters ;)
  • IUSE2BAHEAVYHITTER
    IUSE2BAHEAVYHITTER Posts: 105 Member
    It works great and fast 4 short term. .. The minute I stopped taking it I gained my weight back.. even though I at healthy
  • JeffBrown3
    JeffBrown3 Posts: 161 Member
    I have taken it twice... This last time I lost 30 lbs. in 2 months time... Before that, I was insulin resistant and like you, I could not lose weight for anything. Turns out, it was a medication I was taking. Anyway, the phentermine boosted my metabolism like crazy. I went off of it about a week ago and still losing weight consistently.

    They posts above are correct also, you MUST weigh and log everything that goes into your mouth. I know vegetarians that are overweight from eating too many veggies.

    Hope that helps some. ;)
  • stinkyshirt
    stinkyshirt Posts: 9 Member
    I've taken Phentermine in the past, had great success and was more motivated then ever to workout hard. But after a few months I got sick. Real sick. I had labs done and something happened to my liver where it wasn't functioning as it had to and every step I took hurt. I had to drink a special tea (my moms way of curing me) and be on bed rest for a while. This was about 3 years ago and what happened to me isn't common but it those pills do take their toll on your body. Just be careful and don't use them for too long.

    On a side note, I did gain all my weight back but only when i started dating my boyfriend. :) good luck with it.
  • idojpdx
    idojpdx Posts: 83 Member
    I did the old phen-fen regimen back in the '90s and lost 60-ish pounds over about 8 months with no longterm ill effects or short-term side effects other than a dry mouth and a mild headache for the first couple of days (which I suspect was related to cutting down my caffeine intake). I kept the weight off for 12 years because the drug gave me the control I needed over those first months to modify my diet and make regular exercise a habit. I never felt addicted, and I didn't have any withdrawal symptoms when I quit taking it cold turkey, once I reached my goal. After having an out of control appetite for years, and struggling to lose with Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, etc., the phentermine also helped reset my appetite and cravings to low, even after I was off it. I didn't suddenly regain all my weight immediately upon stopping because I remained diligent about weighing portions and tracking pretty much everything I put in my mouth. When you struggle with weight, this must become a lifelong habit. I suspect the people who say they "ate healthy" yet still gained weight after stopping also returned to serving themselves healthier portions again and cutting back on exercise. In my case, I cut back drastically on carbs and refined sugars, unless it was someone's birthday or other special occasion, when I had a small piece of whatever everyone else was having. I also continued to exercise 4-5 times per week for at least 30 minutes, and tried to make the rest of my life as active as possible (taking stairs over elevator, parking at the back of the lot, yada, yada, yada).

    I did regain the weight, but it was a dozen years later, when I became (surprise!) pregnant at the age of 45. After I had the baby, I became more sedentary again and focused on him rather than my eating habits. Plus, at that age our metabolism has begun fighting us. After a few post-pregnancy years of Weight Watchers, NutriSystem, and just trying to eat healthy and exercise, I've been back on phentermine for five weeks because my appetite had again gotten out of control. There are no more babies in my future, so I'm determined this will be it for me, once I'm back at goal. I'm already down 19.

    I've had people roll their eyes at me about phentermine, and they're sometimes people who are or were taking unregulated "natural" supplements, like DMAA. Meanwhile, I am under a doctor's care, being prescribed a drug that has been used safely since 1959. I've had blood work done, and my heart, lungs, BP, body fat, BMI, and other areas are monitored on a weekly basis to make sure everything is going well.

    I salute anyone who can lose a good amount of weight and KEEP IT OFF for more than a year with nothing but commitment. I've tried that myself more times than I can count in my life, but I was never successful until I had a jump start from phentermine. Needless to say, I think it can be helpful for many people.