Anyone taking Adipex (Phentermine)?

I tried a total of three Phentermine pills in my life. They made me miserable. I wasn't hungry, but I was shaky atcouldn't sleep or think straight and for 24 hours I had a headache that no aspirin would touch. I finally decided I could be fat, I could be hungry, or I could be crazy from Phentermine. I picked hungry.

I started taking Phentermine, per my bariatric doctor's recommendation on Nov. 21. I'm five foot seven and I currently weigh 208.5 lbs. I take a half a pill twice a day. Someone else mentioned that they were thinking about doing that. I think it is great. I don't get dry mouth (I also drink minimum 3 liters of water a day) and I don't have any trouble sleeping. It gives me more energy and it helps with hunger. But not so much that I don't feel like eating. Per the bariatric dietician my daily kcal goal is 1400, which is a big difference from what I had been eating, and a goal of exercising at least three times per week. When I exercise I do strength training and cardio. I'm trying to build muscle to increase my metabolism naturally and the Phentermine helps with energy to do that. Since Nov. 21st I've lost about 22 lbs. I don't think the Phentermine is the sole reason, but it has been helpful. Eating completely differently is the main reason. And I intend to continue eating this way for the rest of my life. It is a lifestyle change, right? But Phentermine isn't on my long-term solution list. Diet and exercise are. This is happily compounded by the fact that my fiancee just had gastric bypass and we have to change how we eat, by design, so we're headed toward a healthier lifestyle now. No more McDonald's three times per week!

About Phentermine - someone in a "negative" post said something about it being "basically amphetamines." While this is, I guess, technically true, phentermine is more like amphetamines w/o the addiction factor. Also, it can cause higher blood pressure, so watch out for that. I take my BP every day because I have high BP anyway (controlled) and so far nothing alarming has happened.

Glad someone re-started this thread. I'm interested in hearing how it goes for others.

Thanks!

Hello I'm here new to the site my story is I have been taking phentermine since the 5th of December my starting weight was 231lb with the height of 5`1 1/2' since then I have change my diet and I count my calories the Dr that prescribed the pills to me told me to eat up to 1500 calories a day I was thinking that I was not going to able to do it but is so essy because I hardly have an appetite my last weigh in was 220lbs so far so good but I pray that I be able to stick to the plan that I'm on to maintain my goal weight I'm doing it all for my health

Hello everyone,

I have been taking Phentermine for about six weeks now and have lost 18 pounds and about 3 inches. I usually take my pill in the mornings an hour before eating and this seems to work well for me. I can truly say that I have not had any of the side effects some people have talked about (only the dry mouth). Like many of you, I have been up and down with my weight for years and really needed something to help me gain better control of my appetite. For the first time in three years, I really feel good about myself and motivated to change my lifestyle. It really feels good when you can get back into clothes you have not worn in a long time. I have not exercised since I started the drug, but I plan to begin walking next week. My weight lost goal is 40 pounds and I fully plan to reach that once my 3 months is up.

I took those and gained all my weight back. This website saved my life by logging, exercising, eating clean, and lifestyle changes in my life. I do not recommend any diet pills. I did them all, and gained it all back. Just my opinion.....

The best pill is to workout.

I am trying to get OFF the medicine. I know the best thing is to do it yourself. However, when you've been on a prescription pill like adipex for a long time your body becomes used to it and I wanted some help in figuring out the best way to come off of it without experiencing the dreaded side effects of extreme fatigue and hunger when you just stop taking it cold turkey like I have before. Thanks.

Thank you for your reply GrammaTree. And good luck to you!

Hi all. I have been on phen for 5-6 months now but not for weight loss. I wanted to share my story because I thought it might be helpful. I was diagnosed this summer with a sleep disorder, idopathic hypersomnia. Basically I sleep... A lot. It is near impossible to wake up on time for work and I can pretty much lay down and nap anytime even with 10 hours of nighttime sleep. I also have hashimoto's which is a thyroid condition but all my levels stay normal with thyroid meds. I just wanted to throw that out there so you know that I regularly have bloodwork done. I underwent a 2 day sleep study to finally get a diagnosis for my life-long sleep issues.

My sleep doc put me on phen because the only drug for IH is an orphan drug that is about $100K per
year, yes I said $100,000 and it's not covered on insurance. I set my alarm an hour before I need to wake and roll over and take my pill with water that is at the ready on my night stand and immediately pass out again. I have a second alarm for the next hour that will go off and by this time the phen has kicked in and I can actually focus on the fact that I have to wake up.

I started with 30 mg in the AM. I had all the usual side effects of feeling jittery and dry mouth until about 3 PM at which time I would have to sleep. On a follow up visit my doc switched me to the 37.5 mg extended release. This helped ease the side effects and now I can make it through my day, however is now have to take a sleep aid at night because I am too wired to sleep. I do not take my phen on the weekends because I do not need to wake early and I can nap if needed. Also, it constipates me so by breaking on the weekend I can get my bowels back in check.

I am not overweight, but could stand to lose 10 lbs. When I started I was 5'6' and 149 lbs. I wear a size 6-8. This was heavy for me but I spent a lot of time traveling this summer and eating out a ton. I generally stay around 138-140. When I started the phen I lost about 4 lbs over a couple of weeks but I was also eating better and had started monitoring my steps with a Fitbit. In 3 months I was back down to 138. I really don't credit the phen for this initial loss because I was actively trying to lose and tracking via Fitbit and MFP. After I switched to the time release I lost more over the next 3 months and was down to 134-136. I do think this was directly associated with the phen. I had stopped really trying to lose and just really wasn't eating much because I had no appetite.

During my follow up with my sleep doc (before he switched me time release), he asked if I had lost any weight. I told him the story above. He said that yes, most of his patients didn't lose but a few lbs. I said that maybe I didn't really lose much because I didn't really need to lose much. He said no, he had some really overweight patients and they really didn't lose much either.

I was off for 12 days over the holidays and didn't take any phen and I am back up to 142. I'm sure some of this is holiday eating and such, but I think it also has to do with gaining back the lbs I lost with phen. I started back today for work and I am back to little appetite. I did not have any withdrawals during this time.

I will be on phen indefinitely. I asked about long term damage to my heart or liver and he said that he is not concerned. I am, which is why I only take it on work days. I know this is not ideal, but the effects of not taking it could cost me my job. I am also a single mom with a 7 year old son. I obviously have to get him to school on time and I don't want to sleep away my time with him. I am thankful to have a diagnosis finally. I have been teased or called lazy my entire life. Comments like "work out more" or "eat better" don't help. I was in college athlete (drill team) and ran a mile everyday, had 2-3 hour practices at least 5 days a week, took college dance classes, did teak won do, and weights several times a week with my football player boyfriend all while eating a healthy diet. I Had this issue even then (I am 35 now). I also underwent extensive BMI and fitness testing at this time and my ideal weight was determined to be 130.

I am sharing this because I don't think phen is the weight loss miracle. My two week hiatus showed me that I would gain the weight back. However, I think if you use it as a jump start and set the habits for healthy eating and exercise that it can be helpful. Sometime that mental picture of seeing the scale go down can get you going on a better path. Also, I am in pharmaceutical sales (gastroenterology and colorectal surgery) so I do my research. I know how to read a clinical study, where to find them, and what factors make a good trial vs fluff. There are so many things to consider before starting a treatment.....how many test subjects, double-blind, what subjects were excluded from the final data and why, who is the doc compiling the data, was it retrospective, how was the drug dosed... And FYI all docs are compensated for drug trials so don't let that be a factor. They are also paid royalties. But do your research on the doc, are they just some general practitioner or a leader in their field that is also apart of a teaching institution?

Sorry to go on, I just thought my story, perspective, and clinical knowledge might be of help. We all want to be healthy and not be sold some snake oil during an emotional time. Good luck everyone!

Don't take it! You body needs good things to be put in it, not that crap!

Good luck :-)