The Grinch doctor and me

I don't know anything about the pills but can answer some of your questions.

I work a full time job and go to school part time plus try to keep up my house.

First, remember that there 1440 minutes in a day; take at least 30 minutes to support your health. Start at 30 minutes at least 5 days a week (consistency is the key here), then work up to 7 days at 30 minutes and once you can do that consistently, do 45 minutes 5xs a week. I do a lot of different things for cardio but if you are just starting out and trying to establish consistency, I really like Leslie Sansone's Fast Mile Series and Walk Slim (I particularly like the miles that use either light weights or a resistance bands so that I get toning/strength training done at the same time. I need time savers. Other good cardio workouts are zumba workouts, barefoot cardio, Leslie's walk/jog series, dance cardio DVDS if you like dance, etc. I do the exercise in the morning before I have the chance to get tired/busy/etc.

In terms of lightening your spirits, you would amazed what exercising regularly can do for you to help overcome S.A.D. (seasonal affective disorder).

For the eating, go with a salad plate, make friends with your measuring cups and spoons and just that small change alone will help. You can do this but it takes determination and the will to put yourself first in spite of distractions. YOU CAN DO THIS!!! :flowerforyou:

My co-worker used phentermine when she was trying to lose baby weight from her last pregnancy. I take Adderall for adult ADHD, and I feel the symptoms are very similar. They both seem to be an amphetamine so that makes sense. I am very cautious with taking Adderall. I am prescribed to take 20mg two times a day, however, I typically take 10 mg, one time a day. (I also do not take it every day, maybe 3 times a week). I have been taking this medication for 5 years and recently (two weeks ago) I started having heart palpations/skipped beats, or also known as PVC (Pre ventricular contractions). These medications can be scary stuff, and I advise you to continue to really think it through like you have been. I am going to put a star next to all the symptoms below that I have felt when taking my prescribed amphethamine.

Oh and another person I know started taking adderall, and I believe she abused it as she took more then prescribed, but she lost an unhealthy amount of weight, would get sick, weak, sweaty and almost faint on several occasions, then as soon as she stopped taking it, she gained all the weight back. There isn't a quick fix to weight loss, you should do it the right way!

Here are some side effects I looked up:
What side effects can this medication cause?
Phentermine may cause side effects. Tell your doctor if any of these symptoms are severe or do not go away:

dry mouth ***
unpleasant taste
diarrhea ***
constipation
vomiting
(not on here, but abdominal cramping, and PROFUSE sweating)

If you experience any of the following symptoms, call your doctor immediately: (at some point in my 5 years of taking a prescribed amphetamine I have had some of these symptoms)
increased blood pressure
heart palpitations ***
restlessness ***
dizziness ***
tremor
insomnia *** (I have trouble sleeping pretty much daily, even when I am not taking adderall, my sleep schedule has been altered so much)
shortness of breath
chest pain
swelling of the legs and ankles
difficulty doing exercise that you have been able to do (I have not had this problem, but when I read this, I thought... well that seems pointless then)

I won't tell you that your doctor is an *ssh*ole b/c you already know that!

My humble opinion is that you are young and you can do this without pills, if you choose to.
The issue w/ that pill that you mentioned is that a small % of folks on that suffered freakish moods swings - suddenly feeling aggravated and loose-canon type anger!!! The downside is also that your body gets physically addicted to it, so if you suffer from the mood swings, you still have to taper to get off of it!

^ Too complicated - not worth the risk IMHO.

I don't have answers to your specific questions, but one thing that helps is to make one change at a time. This is obviously the slow approach, but it is the only way that I've found to make the changes 'stick'. I started by adding the exercise only first. After about 4 months of that, I started to eat better. A month after that I joined this site to track amounts of food and to compare input and output.

I know the 'slow/steady' approach is not exciting, but it is a good way to make this a lifestyle change, not a diet.

One last thing: your doctor might be doing the 'tough love' approach, but I was thinking that if there are bad feelings, maybe you would like switch doctors. He could have been more helpful and referred you to a nutritionist, etc.

You can totally do this - just remember that you have to remember to take time to take care of yourself. :flowerforyou:

Edited: I just saw your comment
I was first told "I am the doctor with the degree and you are my patient that is overweight"
OUCH - I would have been tempted to kick him in the shins. Not necessary to be so patronizing!! GRR! Send me his address and I will kick... hee hee

Advice: Just keep going. I understand the whole doctor thing. I was told I had high triglycerides, which is early onset of high cholesterol. I started this journey and within 8 months I went to my doctor and we did a blood test and I was normal!!. Sorry, EVERYTHING WAS NORMAL!! That was enough inspiration to keep me going. And yes, I was going to school too.

When I started, I did all my workouts from home. I started with a low-impact aerobics DVD (did it for 3 months, loved it!). I bought the Biggest Loser Cardio Max DVD and within 2 months of doing that I was ready to start running. And I ran for a bit.. Then it got cold. and my movies got boring and it was just hard to get out of bed.. So I boyfriend suggested we go to the YMCA and join up.. I really wanted to stay away from gyms, but we went down there and it was amazing! So as of right now I'm doing treamill workouts and the elliptical trainer for my cardio workout.

Things to watch out for are sodium and your water intake. If you are going to eat salt, drink lots of water.. More than your 8 oz. Eat more fiber.. It's so cheap to go pick up a bag of apples or oranges or a bunch of bananas. I keep them all in my house all the time. If I'm going out shopping, I'll put an apple in my purse to snack on, so I'm not tempted to stop and get something else along the way. If you just have a hard time getting fiber, which you really should be getting around 25-30 grams a day, I started taking psyllium husk powder. You can find it at Walmart in the digestive isle, it's called Original KONSYL. It has direction on how to use. I take 2 times a day and dropped 3-4 lbs in my colon in the first couple of days.. and those pounds stayed off!!

But the best advice is to just keep going. Hear it in your head, keep going, keep going, keep going......

I did the phen-phen mix that was taken off the market due to causing calcification of heart valves. It was suggested to take it for only 3 months, I was on it for 5. I lost 65lbs. I was going to the gym 6 days/week after working 11p-7a as a nurses' aid. Then it got taken off the market and I started nursing school. So with my full time night shift job, evening classes/clinicals, a 2 year old son, and a lazy husband, I gained 70lbs by the end of school. I've had cardiac echos, and they have been fine. I didn't have any side effects. But everyone is different.
How often do you see your doctor? If it's not that often, it might be worth the long drive.

Thank you DifferentDrumz and YES I totally agree to the Zumba.

Julie: I have been on Adderall since I was 12, but my doctor is trying to get me to take the Adderall and the Phentermine. I told him I didn't think that was a healthy choice I was first told "I am the doctor with the degree and you are my patient that is overweight" then I was told "you wanna be thin don't you." I have turned this doctor in for malpractice no luck. But doesn't that sound like a bad deadly mix a little bit.

That sounds extremely like a deadly mix! If you are anything like me, I am already over weight = my heart working harder to pump blood, then adderall = heart again working harder to pump blood, then to add ANOTHER stimulant on top of that. Not to mention if you ever drink caffieine. (Which I don't, I don't like mixing caffeine and adderall together, let alone amphetamine and amphetamine) GEEZ!