26F, bad arthritis, prescribed Duromine. Advice please.

nippsynoo
nippsynoo Posts: 13 Member
edited November 28 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all,
I have recently been prescribed Duromine by my doc.

As a little background, I've always been overweight but recently broke (and I mean really, really broke) my knee. I smashed the cartilage so now have arthritis, bits of bone floating around in the joint, my patella has decided to live in a new part of my knee, scarred tendons. The whole shebang.

They don't want to operate yet as it will be too risky given the complexity of it, so they advised losing weight quickly as it will lessen the stress on the joint and the pain.

I am swimming daily as it's low impact (seeing a PT soon for exercise help), eating clean and lean also pill'ed up to the hilt with vit D, fish oils, painkillers etc etc etc. but have been prescribed Duromine to give me a boost after a very lengthy assessment and discussion with my GP.


Any of you use it before? I'm starting next week (under docs strict supervision of course) and want to know what to expect.

Also any arthritis advice would be wonderful :) It's not an issue I expected to be tackling at 26!

Replies

  • scarecrow150csg
    scarecrow150csg Posts: 3 Member
    Not sure how much it'll help you but I have joint pain and lots of scar tissue that makes it difficult to move my right arm and leg. I use Arnica and it relieves the pain and I was told it also works naturally with the body's natural ability to heal. Not sure how helpful it'll be but it might be worth a try.
  • evalaporte
    evalaporte Posts: 6 Member
    Update is as you go if you will! Good luck with it and I hope you're healing is quick :)
  • nippsynoo
    nippsynoo Posts: 13 Member
    Thank you so much guys :) and I will definitely give arnica a go!
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    edited January 2016
    Arnica is a placebo
    http://archsurg.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=211818&hc_location=ufi

    Your accident sucks ..I'm sorry

    Weigh and log your foods..it helps many people to be as precise as possible with their estimates. Swimming is great and it sounds like you have a good medical team

    Arthritis can be managed if medicated appropriately ...sometimes it's trial and error getting the right meds ..and even then doses are adjusted. It sounds like early days you will adjust

    Very good luck on your recovery and weight loss
  • Colorscheme
    Colorscheme Posts: 1,179 Member
    I had an accident [passenger in a car] and I had a comminuted fracture. There were so many fractures that my MRI lit up like a Christmas tree but luckily everything was in place. I also have arthritis in my knees but it's not extremely painful most of the time.

    During PT they had me on a stationary bike and I also had to do stretches and such. I had PT at home and at a rehab center for almost 8 months.

    You could try gentle walking or a stationary bike and go slow. Just remember if anything ever hurts, stop.
  • MelaniaTrump
    MelaniaTrump Posts: 2,694 Member
    Get a food scale. Just a $20 investment makes this place rock !
    Fish oil can thin your blood if in large quantities. Make sure you tell your doctor. He may tell you to stop 2 weeks before surgery. Get some calcium in your diet. Your multivitamin may have some (if you take one).
  • PaulaWallaDingDong
    PaulaWallaDingDong Posts: 4,641 Member
    Duromine is Phentermine (you can search the forum for other peope's experiences). It will work short-term to help you drop a few pounds quickly, which is important for your recovery. However, for long-term success, both for your injury and your weight itself, MyFitnessPal is an awesome tool to help get you into the right habits now. When you stop the Duromine, your appetite and weight will come back if you don't have a game plan in place. From the description of your injury, your future mobility depends on it.
  • nippsynoo
    nippsynoo Posts: 13 Member
    Thanks guys. Definitely going into this with a gameplan and expecting LOTS of hard work :)
  • tomteboda
    tomteboda Posts: 2,171 Member
    edited January 2016
    I found that a prescription NSAID did wonders for my arthritis and allowed me to become active, which in turn has been a major contributing factor in a 70 lb weight loss. Is your arthritis being treated at all?
  • garyb2011
    garyb2011 Posts: 7 Member
    I have psoriatic arthritis and take Humira, it is very helpful. I am in constant pain but you just have to work through it. If you want to lose weight fast you can try the HCG weight loss program. Its a very low calorie diet that could work well with your limited ability to work out. I took prescribed appetite suppressant when on the program. I have done this program twice and lost 40 pounds in a little over 2 months. Like any program people on both sides of the effectiveness. You can watch the DR. Oz YouTube video on it. The place I went to is here in DC but I am sure you can find a place near you that has the program. Here is the link to the place I went to if you want to check it out. http://atlantismedcenter.com/hcg-weight-loss/ It is not cheap, about 800 bucks, sometimes I see groupons for it, for me I had to pass a PT test for the Army so it was worth it. Good luck to you and if you have any questions let me know!
  • mangrothian
    mangrothian Posts: 1,351 Member
    If you've already got your food gameplan on target, then Duromine can definitely booster for some (for others, if you get some of the potential side effects, it's just not worth it). If your eating habits are still all over the shop, it may not be of much help beyond giving you a bit of an energy boost.

    I was prescribed Duromine when I was first diagnosed with early onset osteoporosis as a way to lose weight quickly and help ease the pressure on my back and hips which were most affected at the time. I lost a few kg's on the full course, spent the whole time not sleeping and having constant cottonmouth, and after finishing, put all the weight back on and then some.
  • EmergingDawn
    EmergingDawn Posts: 18 Member
    I am sorry to hear about your knee. I can really sympathize because after a really bad fall I too have bad knee where the knee cap cannot stay in place and I have bits of broken off cartilage that I swear feels like giant rocks under there rubbing against the joint and knee cap at times. I have used Duromine at various times throughout my weightloss journey/career and thus offer the following tips based on my experience:
    • Start off with the smallest dose for the first few weeks to see how you adjust
    • Always take it in the morning - it can/will make your mouth dry, increase heart rate, keep you awake etc.
    • If you are on an antidepressant let your Dr know and then weigh the benefits of it vs the side effects - do your own research. Your Dr might/will push it and you and tell you that you might not be in the % of people who have an effect of double drug interaction but you know your own body best so do you own research.
    • Use the opportunity of having lesser appetite to make better and smaller food choices that you can stick to long term
    • Use MFP or similar tool to help you track. And track every day and everything till it becomes a habit no matter what it is. Nothing is bad, nothing is forbidden, food does not have human characteristics e.g good or bad however not everything will provide you with the nutritive value that you need.
    • Resist the urge to "extreme" diet - just because you do not feel hungry doesn't mean you need to drop to less than 800-1000 cals a day because once you get off it the urge to eat will come roaring back like a pack of wild beasts and no matter how much you try you will not be able to help it.
    • Eat small good meals 3-4 times a day and lots of water.
  • EmergingDawn
    EmergingDawn Posts: 18 Member
    Because I also have Fibromyalgia plus arthritis my rheumatologist had my add 2 turmeric capsules a day along with the Fish oils and D and I found some Rose Hip powder at a health food store that I started adding to yogurt etc. Along with taping the knee and religiously doing my PT exercises those also really helped.
  • nippsynoo
    nippsynoo Posts: 13 Member
    It is so inspirational to hear of so many of you getting results with similar problems. Thank you so much, I really went through a stage of mini depression over how I'd never be able to do so many things again. Then I realised my weight has held me back way more than this ever will and that is something I have the power to change. Total light bulb moment. I will not be beaten!
    Thank you so much :)
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