Weight loss and Adipex (phentermine)
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From my personal experience, along with advice my sister who is a PA told me, if you can lose the weight on your own without the drug, it's a better choice.
I took it about 10 years ago and yes, I initially lost weight. My hair also started falling out, my heart rate was constantly elevated, and i swear it screwed up my thyroid bc i went hypothyroid after using it. After 6 weeks of use I developed a tolerance to the drug and it became less effective. After stopping the drug, i was exhausted and starving and the weight came back even though I tried to maintain the weightloss.
My sister explained to me that the drug works stimulating a release of norepinephrine, the neurotransmitter that is secreted during high stress situations. It stimulates the central nervous system to make you go into fight or flight mode, which includes increase of energy and appetite suppression. Your body just cannot stay in this high stress mode for long without deleterious side affects. Once you are off the drug, the pendelum can swing to the other side, causing your body to not work as efficiently as it was prior to the drug. That paired with the feeling of hunger that returns, causes you to gain back the weight.
What I wrote above, plus if you are not eating enough to sustain your BMR, you are also burning muscle to lose weight. Yes, the scale numbers do go down, but you will have less muscle at the end of it, your metabolism will be slower as a result.
I am sure there are situations where your risks of being obese can outweigh the risks of the drug, just like in the situations for weightloss surgery, but i would hope that people don't pin their hopes and dreams of weightloss success on this drug and carefully consider all of their options.
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DjinnMarie wrote: »I can't believe doctors still prescribe what is essentially amphetamines for weight loss.
Yup. I have friends who were meth addicts and they will substitute that in as a "fix" if they can get it. I would never do that stuff.0 -
Why not just eat at a deficit, as its healthier?0
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I just really don't understand why this stuff is legal and cocaine is not.0
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I have been on it since mid Nov, I have not had any side effects except a little dry mouth and I think for the first 2 nights I had some small issues with sleeping. I was 125 lbs over weight and with a combination of eating right, working out and this drug I have lost 71lbs. I started in Jan of 2014- Mentioned the med to my Doc and he said no, you can't just take this drug and still have bad habits. I also am a medical coder and read charts all day long, and for my clinic I work for it is NOT given out to anyone, it is given out to people that are morbidly obese He made me prove that I could learn good habits before I would get the drug. So I worked as hard as I could. with the kids and fulltime job and losing weight is hard, not to mention losing 125 lbs, its a LONG road. Losing weight is a full time job in itself. For me being almost three hundred pounds and nearing 35 had more risks of me taking this pill, my mother has pre diab, high blood pressue, over weight etc, so I am bound to get there, I was just a healthy 300 lber, So I lost about 45 lbs ...working as hard as I could, so I went back to the Doc and he let me try the med, for the first month I had weekly visits and labs and BP montering, we watched it close and everything was great. I ate food each day, I made really good choices, I never did NOT eat. It just helped my cravings, I prob ate about 1300-1500 cal a day, worked out so I did not lose muscle mass, I am happy to report I am now 213 lbs and getting ready to wean off. I can tell it is losing its juice, I am starting to search for things later at night to eat, but I am fighting it and moving forth. I am taking the weaning off under doc supervision and going for it. I am Not sure what is going to happen. I hope it will be smooth and sucessful like my journey so far, I have come too far to mess it up. I feel I am there now, (well almost) my goal is 185. I would not trade the weight I have lost for anything, no matter how I got there, this is me now, the old me is gone. I struggled with weight loss for 10 years. No Way I am going back to eating crap, if I a starving and ravenous, I will eat good foods- I know I will gain some back from being on the stimulant. That is a given, but there is no way I am going to gain back these 71 lbs...But who knows I may get a heart issue, no ones knows, you may die tomo in a car wreak but losing this weigh so far has done so much good for me and my family I would not trade it. That's all.0
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I wish the adipex would help me. I've been on it a week today. No weight loss. Some energy for the first 3 days. Now nothing.0
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Lots of different opinions here. OP -- good luck with your journey. I hope the medication helps you, and gets you on the right path.0
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I'm afraid on MFP you will not find much support for phentermine.
I have taken phentermine 40mg and it helped me drop 15kg.
The first day or two it was impossible to sleep, but by the third night my body adjusted. I would take it at about 4am, go back to sleep and it would wake me up by about 7-8am. It will energise you, and you will feel like you have all the time in the world to do the things you've been putting off.
It made me very scatterbrained (as it has some effects of amphetamine), I would make a list of things to do otherwise I'd starting doing every single thing on the list at the same time. Occasionally I would have heart palpitations which worried me, and i alerted my doctor. I also had dry mouth, resulting in bad breathe so I kept tic tacs on me at all times.
As long as you adapt to a healthy eating habit while you are taking phentermine, it can be an aid to weight loss, or at least some motivation to kickstart your weight loss. But it should not be your only step in your weight loss journey.
I advise that while you are on it that you utilise the food diary that MFP offers, log everything to keep yourself accountable. Make sure to eat AT LEAST 1200 calories a day, preferably more, as you will still lose weight by eating (I found I lost more while eating 1400-1500 calories daily). But this is a VERY IMPORTANT step in not gaining all the weight back, otherwise your body will go into starvation mode when you do start eating again and store fat.
My recommendation would be to have a look at IPOARM (try the search option).
Good luck on phentermine, but listen to your body. If the drug gives you negative side effects immediately alert your doctor.0 -
I took this medication, I was like great, I was losing weight, but unknowingly, I had a heart problem I have Superventricular tachycardia. I didn't need anything else speeding up my heart rate. Even if you stopped the effects of the medication doesn't stop, so after a month of wearing a heart monitor, after seeing a cardiologist and then medications or ablation (whichever I chose) I didn't want neither of them. I chose to try and wait it out, since then I've not had too much trouble with it, it only happens about 3-4 times a year now. I don't know how much the Phentermine played a part in this, but I know that it did. So be careful when prescribed a medication. Read all of the warning labels, and make the choice that works for you.0
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gloriousblonde wrote: »I wish the adipex would help me. I've been on it a week today. No weight loss. Some energy for the first 3 days. Now nothing.
what dose are you on?0 -
Phentermine broke my addiction to food WHICH IS A BIG FRIGGIN DEAL. After years of struggling and using food to fill all the gaps in my life, i finally found a doctor who could agree I needed something. She put me on the lowest dose, 15mg. I had already changed my habits a little bit and lost 10lbs before starting it. I did really well on the pill and when my doc said it was time to start increasing the dose, I decided to take some time off the pill and see how I did. Lost a good bit of weight the month I stopped taking it. I realized its because I was no longer a FOOD ADDICT!!! I could handle seeing commercials and hearing people talk about food without getting CRACK *kitten* CRAZY and eating everything in sight! It was a major MENTAL break through. I started going through some hard times so i decided for now to use it more as an "as needed thing" but I have not ever increased my dose. I don't want to be on it much longer.
I have already lost 35lbs and I am feeling very motivated. For one, I now KNOW I can do this. Two, I KNOW I can survive without Outback Cheese Fries and Sprite. Three, I know I can still eat whatever I want, BUT ALWAYS IN MODERATION. Four, I am now a vegetarian and have a goal of being a FULL TIME PLANT BASED VEGAN again very soon and that helps me not eat a lot of really unhealthy stuff. Five, my taste buds have changed big time and I can truly appreciate the healthy foods out there. Six, I'VE LOST 35 FRIGGIN POUNDS! I never thought it was really possible. I am very thankful for what this pill has done for me.
I watched a family member take this pill (starting at full strength, which I think the doctors shouldn't even be allowed to do) and she bounced between killing McDonalds and starving herself constantly. She cant even handle being off the pill. Thankfully, it gave me the mindset going in "If I'm doing this, I'm doing it the right way". I don't think its right to DEPEND on the pill. You still have to make the decision within yourself to eat and do the right things. Otherwise, you will surely gain the weight back as soon as you stop it. I have always believed, its not a diet, its a lifestyle change. I can't expect to lose weight and keep it off if I ever plan to go back to eating ALL THE GARBAGE I ate before. Its common sense.
I have always had a pretty high resting heart rate so my doc did warn me to look out for high heart rates. (She also did an EKG before she put me on it and made me document my heart rate for a month.) Since I have managed to stay on the low dose, I am happy to report I have not had ANY problems. If I feel like its not working well (your body gets used to it), I go off the pill for a week or two. And now I only use it on days I know I will struggle. But I have found that it has greatly improved my level of self control, even when I am not on it. I've gone out for ice cream three times and I always either share with my 4 year old or get a kiddie cup. I even gave away my french fries the other day because I realized one bite in, that I didn't even want them!!!!
I find it extremely disappointing that people on MFP with freak out on you if you mention this pill. Its sad. I don't think diet pills are healthy, but neither is being twice the weight you should be or being severely addicted to food. It also blows my mind when I go read the food diaries of the people who are judging me! I hope this helps anyone out there who is considering taking it or even already taking it.0 -
I can't believe how much negativity some of the posters have. There are people out there that have reason to take prescriptions to help with weight loss. Sure, eating healthier and getting exercise is ideal, but for some of us that is NOT ENOUGH. Some of us have health issues that throw our hormones and metabolism out of whack, meaning eating healthier and getting plenty of exercise doesn't help us like it helps you... just saying.... quit being so negative to the people that need the help, you don't know their story.0
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I'm pretty sure it's illegal where I live (Canada). So, there's that.0
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stephdeeday wrote: »I'm pretty sure it's illegal where I live (Canada). So, there's that.
I've never heard of anyone in England being prescribed it either, I'm fairly sure it's not legal here. My dad is very overweight, he even had a consultation for a gastric band (decided against it). At one point he took xenical (like alli) but he's never been prescribed this phentermine thing.
I suppose a doctor wouldn't just prescribe it without good reason, but it sounds pretty scary if it can raise your bp for example, especially if you already have a problem with high bp.
I've gained a lot of weight in my pregnancies, but I'd never consider taking anything. I lost all my weight from deficit and exercise.0 -
FatFreeFrolicking wrote: »tracylollar wrote: »Trust me, I am taking it for as short a time as possible. It is helping though. I was at a total stand still no matter what I did. I am finally losing a little. It is hard to get enough food throughout the day. I have to make myself eat 3 meals a day. Would taking a multi-vitamin help with not eating so much?
You do understand that once you stop taking this diet pill/appetite suppressant, you will regain the weight you lost because you will start eating more calories due to the return of your appetite…… right?
Not necessarily if you are a major over eater then your stomach expands if you are on this for a month or so and your stomach shrinks as long as you continue to eat small meals you can stay eating small meals0 -
I'm just going to jump in here and say that I've used phentermine twice, and I wish I learned from my mistake the first time and didn't do it again. I felt fine. Well, except for a painful rash side effect that took a year to go away. But anyway, it worked. I drank tons of water and ate proteins and veggies. I made cloud dough when I wanted bread. I didn't feel jittery after the first day. It was so awesome to go weigh in once a week and see that line drop down and down, even when it was only 2 pounds a week. Typically I see 1/4 to 1/2 pound a week on my own.
I knew how to eat healthy and control portions, btw, but I was just impatient. I wanted an easy way out from all that hard work.
But as soon as I quit (and it's not like I immediately went off the rails), the fat came back with a vengeance and my weight ended up higher than when I started. My muscle was gone, even with a "muscle sparing" diet they claim prevents it. Before the weight came back on, I fit into smaller clothes. But I was (and now am) soft and squishy. And I was exercising when I was on the diet, BTW. Mostly running the first time and Orangetheory the second time.
Anyway, now I'm back to counting calories, lifting weights and cardio. It might take me 10x the time to reach my goal, but I know when I get there I won't be a sack of fat. And hopefully I'll have more muscle mass and some new habits to help maintain a healthy body composition.0 -
Oh and I had major hair loss a few months after stopping the diet too. It was horrible. Thankfully my hair is finally starting to grow back in. But the message from my body was pretty clear that it did NOT like a VLCD, even for eight weeks.0
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Work closely with your doctor and do what's right for you. Best of luck to you.0
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lauramegan28 wrote: »FatFreeFrolicking wrote: »tracylollar wrote: »Trust me, I am taking it for as short a time as possible. It is helping though. I was at a total stand still no matter what I did. I am finally losing a little. It is hard to get enough food throughout the day. I have to make myself eat 3 meals a day. Would taking a multi-vitamin help with not eating so much?
You do understand that once you stop taking this diet pill/appetite suppressant, you will regain the weight you lost because you will start eating more calories due to the return of your appetite…… right?
Not necessarily if you are a major over eater then your stomach expands if you are on this for a month or so and your stomach shrinks as long as you continue to eat small meals you can stay eating small meals
@lauramegan28 No, it doesn't.0 -
The only way your stomach can shrink is through surgery.
Some of these posts remind me what i was like when i was taking phen. I typed a million miles a minutes, writing huge long posts. I couldn't stop talking lol0 -
christinev297 wrote: »The only way your stomach can shrink is through surgery.
Some of these posts remind me what i was like when i was taking phen. I typed a million miles a minutes, writing huge long posts. I couldn't stop talking lol
and you are still on here ranting.......;)0 -
Jaxsonjess wrote: »christinev297 wrote: »The only way your stomach can shrink is through surgery.
Some of these posts remind me what i was like when i was taking phen. I typed a million miles a minutes, writing huge long posts. I couldn't stop talking lol
and you are still on here ranting.......;)
Ranting!!??? Pfffttt whatever
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christinev297 wrote: »Jaxsonjess wrote: »christinev297 wrote: »The only way your stomach can shrink is through surgery.
Some of these posts remind me what i was like when i was taking phen. I typed a million miles a minutes, writing huge long posts. I couldn't stop talking lol
and you are still on here ranting.......;)
Ranting!!??? Pfffttt whatever
It's ok, you tried to inject some truth, doesn't look like it's sticking.
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She has prob wrote 100 posts on the phentermine page, it didn't work for you, but you don't have to beat everyone up that it is working for. It's the same as any medication diff people have diff side effects-I like that you told your story- but you can't think that is going to happen to everyone0
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It did NOTHING for me. But a friend lost weight on it.0
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It's not for everyone. I have been taking it for about a little over a week now. I went in for a physical and to address a few problems I have been having. I have PCOS so he put me on something to balance my hormones and then said the main way to control the PCOS is to lose weight (in my case anyway) So he suggested phentermine. The first couple of days I was so alert! Like overly alert lol! It didn't really bother me any, and I didn't have any problems sleeping. It actually made me want to go to bed at an earlier time. And I'm still not having any bad side effects except for the dry mouth...which makes me drink a crap ton of water but I see that as a great thing. I am down 7 pounds already, which I know is water weight but I'm taking it as a win! It does suppress your appetite which my doctor informed me of and he said to be sure not to go under 1200 calories or I'll basically put my body into hybernation. So...it's working for me.0
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Just because your doctor prescribes you legal speed doesn't mean it's safe, as much as you try to justify it. Usually I keep my mouth shut if what I say isn't positive or nice, but I feel strongly about this.
I searched for a doc for years that would prescribe this to me. Last summer, I did. The first week I had migraine and heart palpatations, then they stopped. I started losing weight and felt a little weird physically but to me it was worth it. About 6 weeks and 12 pounds later, I started getting major anxiety and violent compulsions that were uncontrollable, aka phen rages. So scary, especially since I'm very calm, sweet person by nature. I had to stop taking it and when I did, I gained all of it back within a couple of days plus about 10 more. I couldn't control my eating, I was starving all the time. Now I'm trying to get my body back to normal and live a healthy lifestyle without drugs that I can maintain for life.
Just my experience and opinion. Very unhealthy. Will you lose weight fast? Probably. Will you keep it off? Probably not. Are you screwing up your body/hormones? Yup. Is it worth it? No. I wanted to strangle people who used to tell me this, but now I whole heartedly agree: if you want to lose weight and be healthy, eat lots of fruits and veggies, cut out the crap, drink water, and move your body.
Please be safe and listen to your bodies, people! Best of luck to everyone.
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I agree with hippydippy89. I was on it as well, and I started having major palpations. They got so bad, that I had to stop the medication. I did lose a lot of weight on the medicine, but it is so unsafe that I felt it wasn't worth it. I am getting ready to graduate from Nursing school and am obsessed with analyzing things. I started doing a lot of research on this medication and it is very bad! Heart problems are a side effect and once the damage is done it is irreversible. I know PCOS is hard. I was diagnosed at 18 and I am 34 years old. I have struggled for so long. The fact is, we have to change our eating habits and exercise. Just have to. There is no quick fix pill. Believe me, if there were, I would've found it. My advise to you is to look on youtube and you can find women who have totally gotten rid of their symptoms by clean eating. Yoga, Zumba, Meditation, oil pulling are all ways to help. Check it out and good luck to ya hun!0
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In all honesty here, how many people that are considered morbidly obese only gained the weight because they were hungry? And how many gained the weight because they are using food as a way to self-medicate, just like some people may choose drugs or alcohol or gambling or whatever?
I see no point in taking a pill, because in all honesty if you have to eat less and move more while taking the pill for it to work, why not just eat less and move more without a pill?
My doctor gave me Topomax for migraines, and pointed out that one happy side effect could be weight loss. I took one dose at night before bed and woke up the next day so out-of-it and high I don't even remember being at work - I felt like I burned about 10 joints then went to work. My point to that - medications have different side effects on different people - phentermine may cause some people's livers to rot and fall out, and other people's livers will be fine.
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If you're looking for advice on phentermine, I suggest you pay more attention to people that took it and have finished using it, vs people who are currently taking it and haven't experienced the full effects (good or bad) over a period of time. I thought it was great for the most part when I was taking it. Not so great afterwards.0
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