Qsymia...my miracle..

JulesJustSailing · July 2016

I have had hypothyroidism for over 20 years and have it looked at twice yearly. I have my blood work done twice a year. The past two years i have eaten 1000 calories or less a day and have not lost a single pound! I told my endo dr this and he said we will recheck your thyroid and your cortisol levels and a bunch of other things and if there ok...then I'm going to suggest you try one of the new diet drugs that have come on the market in the last couple of years.

He said diet drugs got a bad reputation in th 1990's with fen fen and other drugs. But now there are much safer ones on the market in much smaller does. They realized that they didnt need such high amounts for weight loss to occur.

He recommended qsymia because he felt my problem was more of a metabolism problem than appetite problem.

Well....8 lbs...in...the first 13 days!! Now 12 lbs in 17 days. I dieted for two years and lost nothing!! Now this...I'm so happy!! I originally only had a goal to lose 30 lbs...but this is so easy, I'm going for 50 lbs which is where I should be anyways..wow..... and with no exercise at all. But i am going to start soon though! Thank you Qysmia!!!!

suzyjane1972 · July 2016

Why does this sound like a sales pitch?

Unknown · July 2016

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jessiferrrb · July 2016

marm1962 · July 2016

(Phentermine and Topiramate extended-release) Capsules.....Did the phentermine thing with my doctor years ago and my blood pressure went up and she said....nope no more for you....sigh.

SassyMommasaurus · July 2016

PaulaWallaDingDong · July 2016

So, you weren't losing on 1000 cal/day...How much are you eating now?

elphie754 · July 2016

Topamax is a scary drug. I took it as a Kidd stabilizer for a month. I would "lose" words and couldn't function. I couldn't even form coherent sentences. There is a reason they nick name it "dopamax".

LisaKay91 · July 2016

I lost 21lbs in 20 days without any drugs. You generally lose quickly when you first begin any exercise and diet.
35lbs in 52 days... still no drugs. I have no issue with others taking drugs or having surgery for weight loss because they can't control themselves but pushing either is ridiculous.

JulesJustSailing · July 2016

They tested me for everything. I even had my gallbladder removed. I didnt know it was completely full of gallstones and non functioning. After that for 2 years i tried everthing...ate more...ate less...exercised more exercised less....nothing worked..it was if my metabolism died and went to heaven...lol...

Then....I asked my endo after tons of testing....what next?? Ya'll should pat your self on the back real hard for being such perfect little weight losers and for criticizing someone else who found success finally...what nice people you are......everyone should be just like you......

JulesJustSailing · July 2016

To answer the person who asked how much do I eat now.....I decided when I started on the drug I wouldn't do a single thing different because I wanted to know it was the drug and not my efforts....so I am doing everything exactly the same...some days 1000 calories....some days if we go out to dinner maybe a little more. I always watch what I eat. I always have had ti do that with hypothyroidism.

kommodevaran · July 2016

I think what successful losers have in common, is not being perfect, but finding a sustainable strategy and sticking to it. You may have been eating 1000 calories some days, but eating too little just makes you overeat later, and it evens out, or worse. We also inform ourselves and understand that metabolisms don't "die", not until we do. I don't think people are criticizing you, but rather the doctors who prescribe unsafe medications, and warn you that you may be setting yourself up for not just weight loss failure, but for serious health issues.

Or maybe it's just the sales pitch tone that ticks us off.

JulesJustSailing · September 2016

Down 23 pounds today..yay. I'm thinking about starting an exercise program soon. Not sure which one but I know it will include weight lifting. With all this weight loss I'm will sure I need extra toning...lol

Colorscheme · September 2016

This is a prescribed, regulated drug, correct? if so, what's wrong with that? It's not like the OP is shilling a MLM product or something. The only potential issue I see is that it won't teach you to eat properly long time. You can't take a drug like that the rest of your life so you will need to find balance when it comes to maintanance. I don't see why so many people are putting you down. How is it different than WLS or other methods?

I know Qsymia is Topamax and Phetermine so I don't know if you have take breaks from it from time to time like with other phen drugs but good luck, OP.

JenniferNoll · September 2016

elphie754 wrote: »

Topamax is a scary drug. I took it as a Kidd stabilizer for a month. I would "lose" words and couldn't function. I couldn't even form coherent sentences. There is a reason they nick name it "dopamax".

It made me high as a kite. And phentermine made me rageful and anxious. Not so much weight loss.

JenniferNoll · September 2016

LisaKay91 wrote: »

I lost 21lbs in 20 days without any drugs. You generally lose quickly when you first begin any exercise and diet.
35lbs in 52 days... still no drugs. I have no issue with others taking drugs or having surgery for weight loss because they can't control themselves but pushing either is ridiculous.

I would like to congratulate you on your weight loss! That's amazing!

Now, please take into consideration that people who resort to medications or surgery generally do so after years of unsuccessful effort. For me, 30 years. I was well under control for a long time, when I gained a large amount of weight due to a medical condition. I have been unable to lose this weight despite diet after diet and many, many hours spent with personal trainers. I tried the meds, and did not react well to them. In two months, I will be having a gastric sleeve surgery.

Please, please, don't assume that people are resorting to drastic measures like potentially dangerous drugs and painful and life-changing surgery without already putting much effort, thought, and research into making their choices.

Let's build each other up, not tear each other down.

rkennedy1014 · October 2016

Hi Jules! I was in your exact same boat. I had an eating disorder for the better part of 10 years. Combine that with hasimotos disease when I started eating "normal" my metabolism was completely shot. I had gained about 60 lbs over the last 7 years and have struggled to not only lose weight, but to stop gaining. I was like you, eating about 1000 calories per day and I would eat absolutely nothing two days a week.. that is how desperate I had gotten. Still, nothing would work and I kept gaining and never could lose.

Last January, after a million trips to various endocrinologists, my doctor recommended a metabolic specialist who put me on Qsymia. I have to say, it is really has finally given me enough of a metabolism to actually lose weight.

I would certainly not recommend it for people who just don't feel like trying, but if you do have an actual metabolic disorder, why is this any different than treating any other medical problem? Sure, there are risks to the drug, but I am under the care of a doctor and I get regular heart tests and she monitors my blood pressure, etc. I have had no side effects at all from the drug, I have never felt "high"... I have never felt anything from it actually.

Keep up the good work. I know it doesn't work if you still aren't disciplined with your eating, so keep up what you are doing and don't listen to anyone who is trying to tear you down

rkennedy1014 · October 2016

PaulaWallaDingDong wrote: »

So, you weren't losing on 1000 cal/day...How much are you eating now?

I know I wasn't losing at 1000 per day 5 days a week and no food 2 days a week... on Qsymia I am eating about 1200-1500 a day and losing regularly. I have increased my protein which is really the only other change I have made. I had gone off Qsymia over the summer, stuck with 1200 per day and gained 13 lbs in 4 months. I know people here are rolling there eyes and doubting, but there is such thing as a real metabolic disorder and when you have one the MOST frustrating thing in the world is that no one believes you are disciplined with your eating/exercise.

LdyPsych · November 2016

I'm sorry that people are not able to speak their truth in the forums of MFP without people piling on. I don't think it sounded like a sales pitch, but like her story. I speak from a lot of experience having lost a significant amount of weight on ww plan and consistent exercise over three years while in menopause and with a lifetime of PCOS and with off days for our vacation only. But then with full hysterectomy, after meantime you're not lost for year, things change. I was already eating much lower than I should of had to based on my size. But then things became impossible.

Please, even if you are young or just ceasing of your perfect knowledge, give people their space without judgment. It seems unlikely at MFP, but I had to ask.

JulesJustSailing · March 2017

Update!! Well.. I started in June of 2016 a very skeptical girl but I was tired of being perfect and not having the results to show for it.

I thought I would do a little pharmaceutical experiment on my own as I informed my doctor that I would go on Qsymia but would not change my 1200 calorie a day diet or nor would I exercise.

I wanted to know for sure it was this drug and not exercising that was making me lose weight for once. As I had tried everything for the previous 5 years and nothing worked.

During the course of this experiment my darn doctor lowered my synthroid from .175mg to .110mg slowing down my progress of course but he said I no longer needed that much thyroid replacement because of the weight loss.

You are supposed to lose 10% of your body weight the first year on this drug. I lost 20% + of my body weight in the first 9 months losing an average of 4lbs per month.

Finally!!! I'm not even on the highest dose! I don't think I will need to go on the highest dose as I am now 4/5 of the way through my weight loss!

At this point, I've decided it is the drug and I'm going to start exercising again as I have missed it. I have not had hardly had any side effects except related to when I went up to the 11 mg dose my synthroid dose was still at .125mg and we lowered it the next day to .110mg and I felt better. That is a problem/annoyance specific to just thyroid patients.

So far it has been great and I'm very grateful that my doctor believed me when I told him I wasn't overeating and prescribed this drug. It really has made me much happier about myself and in turn makes my life happier.

If this in some way helps someone else who is suffering and who has tried and just can't lose weight, I truly hope I've helped.

Qsymia...my miracle..

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