Anyone know about appetite suppressant Qsymia???

I took the equivalent of Qsymia. The medication is comprised of topiramate and phentermine. I have Multiple Sclerosis, and the meds I took caused me to have thyroid imbalance, which caused me to gain weight. I was gaining weight, and unable to work out because it overheats me and exacerbates my disease. It got to the point where I was teetering on 200lbs, and scared to death to hit 200. My neurologist had told me of this new medication, Qsymia, and what it was made of. I researched it, and read that it can cause cognitive difficulties (memory and concentration), which are already a problem for me with the MS. I thought about it for a few months, and in late July of 2013, I began taking it. I figured it would be temporary, so I could live with the cognitive issues for a while. It did cause memory and concentration issues while I was taking it, but not bad enough that I thought I needed to stop using it.
Basically, taking it from August until late December, I lost 40lbs. I am down to 160. My goal is 150, but I stopped taking it, hoping I can lose the last ten on my own. I know it won't go as fast, but taking the prescription has caused my meal portion sizes to go down, and I'm keeping them low. My thyroid is also back to normal, since I stopped taking the medicine that was causing the imbalance. Qsymia may not be for everyone, but it really helped me. I can't say what will happen as far as gaining weight back - it hasn't been long enough at this point.

I started on Qsymia 1 April, Tuesday. And I'm so relieved to finally have some assistance. It is the starter 14-day 3.7 mg. But I also picked up the next step up 30-day 7.5 mg. Won't bore you here and I'm too lazy to post it twice, so just click on my name for my MFP blog if you want to know the whys and wherefores of me starting Qsymia. Or want to follow my progress from day one. Cheers.

UPDATE: I've lost 4 lbs on the 14-day starter of 3.5 mg in the first 5 days. Roughly a pound a day. The second day I noticed a headache coming on and thought "O.O" because I flat don't get headaches of any kind. But it lasted only about 10 minutes and went away on its own.

I didn't have immediate decrease in appetite, but I've noticed a gradual decrease. Rather than thinking of eating all the time, as has been my MO for years, I find than food isn't upper most in my mind. Yet, when regular meal times come around, I'm simply ready to eat.

The most noticeable side effect for me has been almost immediate constipation. I took one Ducolax tablet and eliminated next morning. But I feel I'll need a more long-term solution. Some people suggest prunes, but I'm trying to eliminate as much sugar as possible from my diet (a distinct weakness of mine), so I may stick with Ducolax and/or try to Smooth Move Tea at bedtime and such. It would also help to increase my water intake, which I've never been good at doing. I'll try these things first rather than adding more carbs/sugars to my diet.

For all those out there that think this is the easy way out that all you have to do is diet and exercise. I eat 1800 calories a day, I've been to 3 doctors that tell me not to eat less than that. I work out 4 to 6 days a week 50 minutes per day. I make sure to wear a heart rate monitor to make sure that i'm working out hard enough to actually make a difference. I have been doing this for over a year now. I will lose a couple pounds one month a gain it back the next month with a net affect over a year of less than a 5 pound loss. So as much as the formula is calories in and calories out figuring out exactly what those are well that's the the hard part. Personally I've decided to try Qsymia and I've been taking it for 6 days now. The first couple of days were rough, I felt like I had taken a few pain pills or something. I couldn't remember things I did a few minutes ago but for the most part all of that has past. I find it hard to eat the 1800 calories now, I don't think about food at all. I do get hungry but its just a little discomfort in the pit of my stomach and I could easily ignore but i'm trying to work up to 90 minutes a day 6 days a week at the gym so the doc wants me to eat the 1800 calories. I've read a few people no longer like the taste of coke or soda. I'll second that one which is good because i was saving 200 calories to have one. I'm an extremely large guy BMI in the high 40's so I really have to do something but the whole diet and exercise wasn't working. I was killing myself and getting no where. I'll try and remember to come back and post once i've been on for a month and do a weigh in and let you know how much i lose the first month.

Great response. grisley 2/2014. I started Qsymia today. So glad to read of others results.
:bigsmile:

I take Topamax (which is Qsymia minus phentermine). Started a month ago, was on 25mg a day, and upped my dose gradually to 50mg twice a day. I've been losing almost 4 lb every week since then. It works perfectly and gets the job done.
I don't feel hungry at all ( I used to eat like a pig) and when I eat I feel full quickly.
I have minor side effects like feeling drowsy but don't give a damn, I'm losing weight ;D

I read through all 5 pages of this thread and felt compelled to share my experience since the OP and several others asked for people with actual experience with Qsymia and there seem to be fewer responses from patients who took it beyond the 2-3 week mark when the dosing increases.

First of all, props to >> grisley 2/2014 << post who said a lot of what I was feeling as I read so many of the biased, uninformed, disrespectful replies that I suspect make their posters feel better about themselves.

I started Qsymia on 6/12/14 on the 3.75/23 dose for 14 days and then moved to the 7.5/46 dose after that. It is 8/6/14 today, so that makes it almost 2 months that I have been on it. I see my Dr. every month as part of my agreement with her since she is my PCP and actually doesn't write prescriptions for weight loss drugs. My unique personal situation (which wouldn't be constructive to share) provided me a good reason for her to let me use Qsymia for 3 months.

In the first month, I lost about 8 pounds. The major side effect was the constipation, which went away completely after the first 6 weeks. I still get dry mouth and need to keep drinking water often. My appetite is suppressed effectively during the day but sometimes late at night, I will get hungrier if I'm awake. The appetite suppression is pretty remarkable... you don't feel very hungry, and feel full with much less food. The urge for "bad" foods is gone, with some exceptions (such as in the first hour of being awake where I crave sugar or something unhealthy).

I don't have any of the normal feelings of amphetamines that I was expecting with Qsymia... no speedy feeling, no extra energy, no restlessness - just the appetite reduction and some difficulty falling asleep. As for all the comments I read about the Topiramate side effects... it must really vary by person. I can feel the effect of the topiramate but it is very minimal and only becomes apparent if I'm especially tired. I don't experience any memory problems and in my profession, that would be extremely noticeable. And when I do drink (infrequent, moderate), I don't get significantly increased side effects. Of course, my drinking is light since I'm on a diet after all, so I would recommend against binge drinking because you will probably black out.

With all that said, Qsymia isn't a magic pill entirely. While it managed to get my bad eating habits under control, it didn't keep me losing weight in my second month after the initial 8 lbs. My body is still bound of the same rules as before = calories in - calories burned (BMR + induced). Reading through this thread, you would think that people just took their Qsymia pill in the AM and kept losing 1 pound per day until they stopped paying for their expensive pills. And, that might be true if their "Calories In" was extremely high before; enough to account for a 1 pound deficit daily with the addition of Qsymia ~ SUM{1g (carb|protein) = 4 calories; 1g fat = 9 calories} == 454g total that would now be burned off. I don't think that would be the case for most people.

My point is that lifestyle is still the key to losing weight... Diet, Exercise, Commitment. Qsymia is a great temporarily tool to help get everything else into place... for me at least. It is helping to glue everything in my healthy lifestyle together long enough for me to make it into a pattern that I can adopt as routine. I'm a Capricorn after all.

Good luck to everyone out there who is thinking of trying it and remember that YMMV... always do your own extensive research first, then talk to your doctor (quiz him/her since Qsymia has only been around for a couple years) and listen to your pharmacist too.

I just got my prescription of Qsymia and have to say I am a bit nervous to start taking it because of not knowing what to expect. I have heard even with maintaining a healthy lifestyle you gain the weight back. I am a 12 non-Hodgkins lymphoma survivor who acquired hypo-thyroidism due to location of radiation. I exercise and eat well, but can't seem to lose the weight. I had knee surgery back in November which set me back 20lbs, I can no longer crossfit and am trying to get back into running. I need a jump start which is why my doctor recommended Qsymia, but with all the negative posts I am hesitant. If you have had experience with taking this and have kept the weight off I would love to hear from you. Thanks

Don't do it. You can tough it out. Remember "peanut butter out of the jar, is the fit girls ice cream out of the pint".

When those hunger pangs just won't subside with the normal remedy, water, the Skippy "all natural peanut butter with honey", is the cure. 1 or two tablespoons does the trick, and it's sure a lot healthier than some concoction a chemist came up with in a tube.

Don't do it. You can tough it out. Remember "peanut butter out of the jar, is the fit girls ice cream out of the pint".

I'm not a fan of the honey, but I don't think I could have lost weight without my natural crunchy peanut butter. It is miraculous how it can keep you from feeling hungry and still be way under your calories for the day. I'll take nuts over drugs any day.

Yes, this medicine can cause birth defects. I can't get pregnant but you shouldn't get pregnant

Does anyone know where I can find others on this med?

Yes, this medicine can cause birth defects. I can't get pregnant but you shouldn't get pregnant

Does anyone know where I can find others on this med?

Currently blogging about my Q experience: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/ellesoul

I was feeling really good on the low dose once I stated the next dose I feel sleepy and depressed. I think I'm going to stop. It sucks what I paid though. I'm going to ask my dr if I can stay on the low dose.

I use to take topomax with my Seroquel (I'm bipolar) and it helped me not to gain a ton of weight...HOWEVER, when i came off of it (by doctors request) I ate everything. I mean ravenous and out of control. I was even sleep eating.
Its been 4mnths and i'm finally learning how to control my hunger. My point is this.....eventually we all have to learn to manage the hunger and make healthy choices.It was uncomfortable and hard but I'm still on the Seroquel and I control what goes in my mouth.

Oh yeah ...I'm almost 20Lbs down from when I stopped taking it