The truth about Adipex

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Art3m1s
Art3m1s Posts: 9 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'd like to talk about Adipex. I have been on and off of it for almost 2 years now. When I first started taking the 37.5 dose, it seemed like a miracle. I felt limitless. I lost 5-10 lbs right off the get go. But thats about it. I never lost more than 10 lbs, in the 2 years that I was stupidly taking it. It curbed my appetite, yes. But it also curbed my libido, and made me so irritable that even my friends noticed. I would fly off the handle for no reason, and pick fights because I could feel the blood pulsing in my veins making me feel invinsible. My fiance said that I had developed a "Flat" effect. I no longer became an active participant in conversations, the drug kind of makes you go off into your own little world and at the time that you are taking it, you don't mind that the people around you are being pushed away.
I was stupid to stay on it for so long, hoping for a miracle. It made my mouth dry, and created a nasty chemical taste on my tongue. I was constantly popping gum or mints. I would be so wound up at night, that I would have to take something to help me fall asleep. I would get terrible migraines too. The worst part however happened about 2 months ago. I was taking dog for a walk and I started having chest pains. I'm only 24. That was the wake up call for me to stop using Adipex. My fiance, who is a nursing student began to nag me to quit taking the medication, I put him off until I looked up some of the side effects and saw that taking Adipex for a prolonged period of time can actually cause permanent heart damage. Considering that I'm not having any REAL success on the pill, I have decided to not take it any more. EVER.
Adipex is known to become addictive, and I can feel it pulling at me to take just one more pill. It scares me a little bit. One of the other reasons that I am going off it for good is that I found out that my doctor has been giving it out like candy to the women in my community. I know 4 people from my workplace alone that he has prescribed it to. That is CRAZY. We are all different weights, shapes and sizes and I feel as though he does not really have our overall health in mind.
When you go off Adipex, you feel like a giant slug. I want to sleep 23 hours a day. I'm on the upside of coming off the pill now, but it was never worth it. Take my word for it. Don't waste your money. :huh:

Replies

  • DanaDark
    DanaDark Posts: 2,187 Member
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    Yuck!

    I hope you are doing better!

    No pills!
  • caraiselite
    caraiselite Posts: 2,631 Member
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    i'm glad you learned your lesson.

    pills are for wankers!
  • muriah2
    muriah2 Posts: 143 Member
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    I have a very similar story about that. I was 22 and weighed 183 when my "doctor" prescribed it to me....and several other ladies from where I worked. My mother was actually the person who suggested I take it, because it worked for her. I lost weight FAST, in about 3 months I dropped from 183 to 140. The Dr told me to take a half a pill in the morning and half in the afternoon, and to stick to 600 calories a day. There were days I wouldn't eat a thing, because I felt sick to even think about food. I had dry mouth all the time, slept very little, ate very little, but had tons of energy and was VERY focused. I was also a rude, controlling ***** and would go off on people for no reason. Once I got down to 135-140 I quit taking the pills, and piled the weight right back on, as fast as I lost it. I continued to take the pills on and off over the next 3 years, even though by then my tolerance had built up so much that even two whole pills a day did NOTHING. Now here I am, 5 years after all that, and I'm 217lbs. I truly believe it messed up my metabolism, and though initially I dropped a bunch of weight, I never learned how to make healthy food choices or how to limit myself. Until I joined this site, I never had any idea how important healthy foods and exercise really are. My mom is STILL on and off the medication, and just the other week when I told her I've been eating right and losing weight, she offered me some of her pills!!!! I said noooooooo way, I'm doing this the healthy way. Thank you, OP, for your honesty about this drug. I see we're both from Michigan, I wonder if its more prevalent here than other states?
  • Art3m1s
    Art3m1s Posts: 9 Member
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    WOW! I'm so glad that I'm not the only one. I see in most forums that people rave about the awesome instant effects of Adipex. What I notice now however is that the majority of those people have only been on it for a month or two. There is very little research to be found on the lasting effects of this drug. Its a little scary. My mother has been on it for almost a year now, I feel terrible because I was the one who recommended it for her. She has had great success (55lbs lost) but I am terrified that something will happen to her heart being on this pill for 6 months at a time. Or that she will spiral out of control if she is forced to go off it. Thats a good observation that we are both from Michigan, I wonder what the usage of adipex across the US would be??
  • ZugTheMegasaurus
    ZugTheMegasaurus Posts: 801 Member
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    This is all I can think of when I hear "Adipex":

    Hello!.jpg

    :laugh:
  • sarahleeroy
    sarahleeroy Posts: 45
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    It seems to me like you really shouldn't have kept taking it with all of the side effects you experienced. Migraines, terrible mood swings, etc are adverse effects of the medication, not something to be expected. It's obvious your body did not react well to the drug, and then you continued taking it.

    I have been on adipex for about 6 weeks, and have never had any of those effects. Yeah at first I felt the stimulant effects (faster heart rate, a little bit of a high feeling, etc) but those went away quickly and they were mild enough that it didn't raise any concern. My moods have been great, and I haven't had any migraines or mood swings out of the ordinary. I've also lost a good amount of weight, and am very happy with it after going through a years long plateau.

    I think the title of this post is misleading b/c it implies that everyone has this experience and they don't. With any medication, you should always listen to your body. For example, nsaids like advil and aleve mess with my stomach, therefore I don't take them anymore. If I did keep taking them even though they made my stomach hurt and then I ended up with a GI bleed, that would be on me, not the medication. Just saying.
  • dclange2
    dclange2 Posts: 1
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    Just because that is your experience does not mean that it is "the truth" about adipex, i have been on the pill for about 4 months now and I have lost 43+ lbs. I had a bunch of energy maybe the first 2 days that I started taking the medication, and that was it, it also gave me dry mouth but it only lasted the first month. If you take the medication as prescribed and diet along with drinking the appropriate amount of H2O then in many cases it should work as advertised. Keep in mind that women should never eat less than 1400 cal/day and men should never eat less than 1600 cal/day. I am a 25 yo male and when I started I weighed 348 lbs. I have been eating around 2000 cal/day and try to break my diet down as such 40-60% of my calories from "good carbs", 20-30% from lean proteins and 20-30% from healthy fats. this is a common sense diet that is not that hard to follow, I also allow myself up to 2 "free meals" a week if I choose to use them. I don't deprive myself, if I want something then I eat it (I make sure I chart it and hold my self accountable). I also workout doing cardio/core 2x a week and cardio/strength training 3x a week, I never do more that 60 minutes of cardio. So it is not too insane of a workout.

    Overall Adipex has been a great tool to teach me how to eat properly and mildly suppress my appetite so that I do not relapse on my journey to creating a new me. I should also state that I started on 1/2 a pill 2x a day, I took this for about 2 weeks then increased my dose to 1/2 in the morning and 1 pill in the afternoon. I am currently taking only 1/2 a pill a day (somedays I don't take anything) to make sure that I do not become "immune" to the adipex so this month it has been all me for the most part. It is good to know that I can do it, but it is much harder with the increased appetite.but so far i have still been losing weight, I do plan on increasing my dose back up to at least 1 pill a day but at the rate I am going i may hold off another month or longer if i can.

    I am only posting this because there are many negative posts on this site about this medication, and many of the times it is the people who are the problem not the medication. If you do not change your lifestyle then it is pointless to take this medication because you will just "yo-yo" diet, become pissed off at your failure and blame the medication, when you should really be blaming yourself. I would never say that this is a miracle diet pill but what it is, is simply a tool that can be used to jump start a persons lifestyle change.
  • Regirl21
    Regirl21 Posts: 3
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    I'm sorry you had such a bad experience. I find it awful that people tend to believe the bad experiences more than the good. Just because one person reacts badly to it does not mean everyone will. I have been on Adpex too. I ake one pill a day. I am experiencing the dry mouth but my mood has not changed nor has my libido. I have lost about 4 pounds so far and it does curb my appetite. You must remember to drink lots of water while taking and you still need to eat but just be mindful of what you eat. Yuo can't expect to keep the weight off if you're eating less but eating junk. You have to change your eating habits in order to lose weight effectively. If you're curious about trying it, I say give it a fair shot. Everyone's body is different and you can't expect everyone to have the same experience. As with taking any medicine, there is always a risk associated with it. Good luck!
  • luvs2read1979
    luvs2read1979 Posts: 113 Member
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    I'm taking phentermine and have been on it for about 3 months. I've lost about 50 lbs during this time period.

    I haven't had any bad/scary side effects. It does leave my mouth dry - but that just reminds me to drink more and more water.

    I'm using this as a tool on my weight loss journey - a tool to give me some energy and motivation to keep going. I started off morbidly obese (400+ lbs), so our starting weights may have something to do with this.

    My daily plan is of course to stay within my mfp calorie goals each day, exercise for AT LEAST 30 minutes per day - most days I get at least 40, some days 60. So it's not just the pills. I take 1 pill per day (30 mg) first thing in the morning. I never have a problem going to sleep at night, nor taking a nap during the day with my daughter if needed. The one side effect that I do not like is the constipation - which could also be attributed to my high protein/low carb diet. Most days I try to keep my carb intake between 100 - 150 but that number often creeps up.

    People have bad experiences with everything. I couldn't lose weight following WeightWatchers after having my daughter and turning 30! But I don't go around bashing WW.

    This is your experience.

    Do what works for you.
  • candieprayz
    candieprayz Posts: 29 Member
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    Hi there =) This is gonna be lengthy but it is my experience with Adipex so I am sharing it.

    I have to agree with the people on here who are saying that the topic of this Message Board is misleading. Everyone is different so therefor you will have different results when it comes to this medication. I have been on and off of it for about 5 years but only a total of 3 times- currently on my 3rd or 4th time. The very first time I was introduced to it by a relative and she had lost 60 lbs her first 3 months. I was just talking to her about it the other day and she actually ended up losing 100 lbs. However she gained it back because she did not stick to the diet or the exercise. When my Dr. prescribed it to me for the first time I too lost 60 lbs. However I did not diet nor exercise nor drink much water. In fact instead of drinking water I was drinking lots of Gatorade and when I told my Dr. he said not to drink Gatorade or sports drinks because they turn to SUGAR. At first I was jittery and I had trouble sleeping but those effects faded after a few weeks. I was patient about it though because my relative told me when she was taking it that those effects would not last for long and she was right. So anyways, since I did not change my lifestyle of course the weight came back and with a vengeance. Here I am now 5 years later. Last year in 2012 I weighed the most I ever weighed in my life. I was 258 lbs. I had not always been heavy either. Before I had my kids 15 years ago, I was looking great and was very healthy. I was weighing about 125-130 lbs. I am 5'3 almost 5'4. Last year when I was at my highest weight, I asked my Dr. to put me back on Adipex and he did. Stupid me once again did not diet or exercise and instead of taking it for the 3 months I was supposed to be on it, I quit taking it the first month just because. No good reason at all. Just recently I have done much research on this medication and read many testimonials and watched numerous youtube video's. Everyone's experiences were different in their own unique way. Some people had bad experiences. Many of them would give up as well and they did not change their lifestyle. However, the one's that stuck it out and changed their lifestyle through diet and exercise had much success and are still doing well today and they look and feel great. Some people took 1/2 a pill in the morning and in the afternoon while others like me take a 37.5 mg once a day in the morning. A few weeks ago I spoke to my Dr. about adipex again and we discussed changing my lifestyle...which I was already doing since last year when I found out that I weighed 258. My husband and I use portion control and we make sure we measure everything we eat and drink and we love using MFP! This site has been a great tool for us. My Dr. prescribed the Adipex to me again. I will be on it for 3 months then off for 6 and then on again if I need it for another 3 months and so on til I reach my goal weight. We have been doing great. Before he put me back on the Adipex, like I said I had already started making lifestyle changes and so I had lost 28 lbs on my own so far since last year ( recently November of 2012)! I started on here in January 2013 and lost 15 lbs so far as of last Monday March 4th. I am down to 232 lbs as of last Monday (by doing changing my lifestyle on my own). When I say I am changing my lifestyle I mean I am doing everything possible to make sure I am on the right track to a new lighter and healthy me. I cut out all fast food and all soda. I cut out ground beef. I use Ground Turkey now. I cut back on cheese and I love cheese and I also have a sugar addiction (my favorite is candy) but I cut out sugar as well. Now when I crave sweets I reach for a sugar free candy or low fat yogurt or a Special K fruit cereal bar. If I have chips I make sure they are something like Sun Chips or something healthier than most chips. I count out EVERYTHING by the serving size mentioned on the side label of the package! I do not go over my daily calorie allowance on here. I track everything in my food diary on here. If we go out to a sit down place to eat, I plan my meal ahead of time. I go online and look up the menu and I get the nutrition facts about my meal so that I stay within my calorie allowance. If I need to I will even come on here and enter my planned meal in the food database to see how much I can have to stay within my calorie allowance. My exercise routine is Jillian Michael's 30 day shred work out. So far on this Adipex I lost 10 lbs and I accept the life style changes I have to do in order for me to become a successful story. So far everything is going great! I have never had the mindset that I do now to make these positive changes. So I expect to do well. The Adipex gives the extra boost I need for energy and a great jump start. I am also on a water pill to help with my water retention. I drink lots of water and if I want flavor in my water I use Crystal Light or Disani flavor drops. 2 of my meals a day are Special K Cereal. I stay away from most bread and the only bread I really eat right now is Nickles 35 calorie Multi-Grain bread. My husband and I recently took our "BEFORE" pics so we can compare to where we are months or even a year from now when we snap our "AFTER" pics. My husband is not taking Adipex but he is taking Vitamin B12.

    If you are taking this or are thinking about taking it, make sure you are under the care of a a physician because you need to have your blood pressure monitored as this can mess with your heart over time. It is so controlled by my state that if I do not turn in my prescription the day of or the day after it has been prescribed, they will not let me get it again for the next 6 months. There is only one store in my city that will even carry it. I am documenting my experience on Adipex this time around on youtube and I recommend you to do as much research as you can on it and look up Adipex/Phentermine video's on youtube. Only you and your Dr. can figure out what is best for you. If you decide this is the option for you make sure you use portion control - MEASURE EVERYTHING YOU EAT AND KEEP TRACK OF YOUR CALORIES AND CARBS AND DRINK LOTS OF WATER AND EXERCISE!

    Adipex/Phentermine DOES work when you allow it to and you do your part to make your lifestyle change for the better! If you are scared about your appetite coming back or losing your energy when you get off of it, take B12 vitamin to help boost your metabolism. Keep almonds handy as well because they will help you feel fuller when you eat. I hope this info I gave helps someone out there. Don't be so quick to judge someone who chooses to take this either. Everyone has their own reasons and it is a personal choice. Just make sure you speak to your Dr.! Don't order it online. You will spend wayy more than you should and its not safe as it would be under a Dr.'s care! I only pay 20 bucks through my Dr. ! Good luck to you and if you want to add me on here feel free to do so =)

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