Phentermine, Anyone?
milkyway1985
Posts: 2 Member
Hi!
I started phentermine today, 30mg (Duromine). I am taking it with topiramate so we can recreate Qsymia.
I took it last year, for 3 months, and I stupidly didn't change my eating or exercise habits. Now, I'm back on it and need to lose 25 lbs. I'm not actually obese (my BMI is 24), but my weight is bothering me so much that when people comment that I gained weight, I get suicidal.
I am a psychiatric patient, and while I know that phentermine causes psychiatric problems, my psychiatrist was the one who prescribed me with phentermine. He knows how serious my issues with weight are. He says I have excellent insight and trusts me completely to get off phentermine if any issues arise.
I have tried everything-- I go to the gym every day for 2 hours and have cut all sugar from my diet, including soda and coffee. I haven't lost a single pound. It is largely due to the medications that I take for my psychiatric illness.
I was wondering if anyone is in the same position as me? Did it work for you? If not, why? If yes, I am glad for any motivation.
I started phentermine today, 30mg (Duromine). I am taking it with topiramate so we can recreate Qsymia.
I took it last year, for 3 months, and I stupidly didn't change my eating or exercise habits. Now, I'm back on it and need to lose 25 lbs. I'm not actually obese (my BMI is 24), but my weight is bothering me so much that when people comment that I gained weight, I get suicidal.
I am a psychiatric patient, and while I know that phentermine causes psychiatric problems, my psychiatrist was the one who prescribed me with phentermine. He knows how serious my issues with weight are. He says I have excellent insight and trusts me completely to get off phentermine if any issues arise.
I have tried everything-- I go to the gym every day for 2 hours and have cut all sugar from my diet, including soda and coffee. I haven't lost a single pound. It is largely due to the medications that I take for my psychiatric illness.
I was wondering if anyone is in the same position as me? Did it work for you? If not, why? If yes, I am glad for any motivation.
1
Replies
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Hi there,
I can't really speak to phentermine, however I would like to ask if you are sure that you are enough "correct". If you work out for 2 hours everyday, without any weight loss, even due to medication you are probably not working out at the right intensity, not eating enough (typical for people who want to lose some weight) or gaining muscle.
I would like to give you a few tips, although you probably already know this, if not, maybe you could discuss this with your psychiatrist...;
1. Calculate your energy expenditure (resting metabolic rate + adjustment for physical activity level). Google has a bunch of calculators that would help you do this. This will tell you how many calories you use every day, if you eat this amount everyday, you will maintain your weight, for loosing weight you can cut back this amount by 500-1000 kcal every day, just make sure you don't end up below the resting metabolic rate - that is the minimum amount of kcal needed to keep all your bodily functions working properly. Going below will also slow your metabolic rate and keep you from loosing weight.
2. Do light weight resistance training - more muscle mass, higher metabolism...
3. Track your food - guess you are already doing this as your registered at myfitnesspal...
4. Make sure you don't use the weight as the only type of measurement.. if you lose 5 pounds of fat, but gain 5 pounds of muscle you're still gonna weigh the same, but your body composition have changed for the better. A tape measure could help you with this, as would status photos (1 new photo a month)...
5. Be patient.. weight loss takes time!
Best of luck,
B0 -
It amazes me that a doctor would prescribe you that when you're barely overweight... :huh: :noway:9
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No but I have taken phenibut recently to aid my sleep during the end of my "cut". Started with 300mg before bed, then 600mg, and when I took 900mg before bed I woke up feeling a little "drunk" for about a half hour..it was weird and I haven't taken any more since.0
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If this is true, it's scary, even the idea that someone thinks it can be true, is scary. BMI 24 is normal weight. If you have a normal weight and are concerned about your weight, you need to work with your thoughts and emotions, not pop pills. A responsible therapist wouldn't prescribe psychoactive drugs like that.
If you think the medications you take prevent you from losing weight, why are you taking them, when losing weight is so important to you? But they don't prevent you from losing weight. Doing all kinds of things that makes no difference, and not doing the things that makes a difference, is preventing you from losing weight. You say you have tried everything, but you say nothing about tracking your food intake and hitting a calorie goal. To lose weight, you need to eat at a sustained calorie deficit. MFP gives you a number that provides you with that deficit. Then it's your job to hit it every day. Your food diary and the food database, plus an electronic food scale, are the tools you'll be using. As any tools, they must be used correctly in order to produce the desired result. If you are interested, you will read the links in "Most Helpful Posts" that is stickied in several subforums including this one.4 -
TavistockToad wrote: »It amazes me that a doctor would prescribe you that when you're barely overweight... :huh: :noway:
I'm not surprised, my doctor prescribed duromine when i only had 15lbs to lose, i was at a normal bmi too.
OP my experience with phentermine;
I was lucky to get 2-3 hours of broken sleep a night, i was a zombie.
I developed depression, i cried at the drop of a hat, was moody all of the time. All things i had never experienced before, ever!
All in all it was an absolutely horrible experience. i can't even remember if i lost any weight, as the whole time is a hazy memory, and one i have tried to forget.
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DresdenSinn wrote: »No but I have taken phenibut recently to aid my sleep during the end of my "cut". Started with 300mg before bed, then 600mg, and when I took 900mg before bed I woke up feeling a little "drunk" for about a half hour..it was weird and I haven't taken any more since.
be careful with this. I had a friend drink 2 beers after work while on this stuff and had a very similar reaction to benzos+alcohol. He's taking it because of the better rest and supposed "test boosting" effects.2 -
Does your doctor know about the other medications youre taking?
I would imagine phentermine is not the best choice for someone in your position (healthy BMI, taking other medications which alter brain chemistry).
In all honesty, if i were in your shoes i would not take phentermine unless it was a last ditch effort and your weight was seriously impacting your health. Your lack of success in the past is likely due to overeating calories and underestimating calories burned. I would maybe work with a dietician or personal trainer.2 -
I took phentermine and hope to get on it or something similar to lose the last of the weight. I have tried on my own for years and I cannot lose the weight without any help ( I have BED) but with weight loss medications I lost 60 lbs so far and have kept it off for a year so far. I think people are too hard on people who use weight loss medications, but it is kind of silly if you just go back and regain the weight but if it helps you get the weight off like me even though I still struggle and hover within a ten lb range from 260-270 lbs from a high of 330 lbs. It is not the solution but a tool that can help you lose weight. Oh, most of the weight I gained, 120 lbs, on a psychiatric medication so it wasn't a typical situation with me. I actually love phentermine because I have energy like I never have and am motivated to exercise. It does cause me to sleep less, but it is worth the weight loss effects. You should still count calories and exercise when you are taking phentermine, that is what I do, so you can keep it up after you come off.1
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Stay away from phentermine... I used it for a while and found I put any weight loss straight back on... and it severely affected my mental health.0
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rainbowbow wrote: »Does your doctor know about the other medications youre taking?
I would imagine phentermine is not the best choice for someone in your position (healthy BMI, taking other medications which alter brain chemistry).
In all honesty, if i were in your shoes i would not take phentermine unless it was a last ditch effort and your weight was seriously impacting your health. Your lack of success in the past is likely due to overeating calories and underestimating calories burned. I would maybe work with a dietician or personal trainer.
I'm not sure if the phentermine concerns me more, or the Topamax.2 -
nutmegoreo wrote: »rainbowbow wrote: »Does your doctor know about the other medications youre taking?
I would imagine phentermine is not the best choice for someone in your position (healthy BMI, taking other medications which alter brain chemistry).
In all honesty, if i were in your shoes i would not take phentermine unless it was a last ditch effort and your weight was seriously impacting your health. Your lack of success in the past is likely due to overeating calories and underestimating calories burned. I would maybe work with a dietician or personal trainer.
I'm not sure if the phentermine concerns me more, or the Topamax.
yes, i didn't even notice that until just now because the brand name is different. That really is concerning.
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rainbowbow wrote: »Does your doctor know about the other medications youre taking?
I would imagine phentermine is not the best choice for someone in your position (healthy BMI, taking other medications which alter brain chemistry).
In all honesty, if i were in your shoes i would not take phentermine unless it was a last ditch effort and your weight was seriously impacting your health. Your lack of success in the past is likely due to overeating calories and underestimating calories burned. I would maybe work with a dietician or personal trainer.
Yes, he knows. He prescribes all my medications.
Hmmm.. I guess everyone here has a point.
I already tried MFP, actually, and lost 5 pounds in 3 months. That was along with about 1hour of exercise everyday. It's really disheartening. Anyone who has ever taken psychiatric medications knows that they make it literally impossible to lose weight
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milkyway1985 wrote: »rainbowbow wrote: »Does your doctor know about the other medications youre taking?
I would imagine phentermine is not the best choice for someone in your position (healthy BMI, taking other medications which alter brain chemistry).
In all honesty, if i were in your shoes i would not take phentermine unless it was a last ditch effort and your weight was seriously impacting your health. Your lack of success in the past is likely due to overeating calories and underestimating calories burned. I would maybe work with a dietician or personal trainer.
Yes, he knows. He prescribes all my medications.
Hmmm.. I guess everyone here has a point.
I already tried MFP, actually, and lost 5 pounds in 3 months. That was along with about 1hour of exercise everyday. It's really disheartening. Anyone who has ever taken psychiatric medications knows that they make it literally impossible to lose weight
i'm sorry, but this simply isn't true.
First and foremost, you're already at a healthy weight. That in and of itself is already going to make it more difficult for you to lose weight. You have so little to lose that it's only safe for you to lose about .5% of your total body weight per week.
Secondly, i don't know how much you weigh or how tall you are, but i'm wondering where you're getting the "need to lose 25 lbs" number from. Based on your BMI that seems unrealistic.
Lastly, i'm sorry to say that psychiatric medications aren't the problem with gaining weight. It has more to do with the amount of calories you're eating when on these medications. Some of these medications (especially anti-psychotics) are known to lower resting metabolic rate, and others are known to disrupt recognition of leptin levels. That being said, you are NOT doomed to gain weight on this medication if you control your calorie intake.
Again, i want to stress that while a ton of factors can go into lowering ones metabolic rate, changing ones hormones, increasing hunger levels, etc. you are not doomed to gain weight on these medications if you're controlling your energy balance.
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milkyway1985 wrote: »rainbowbow wrote: »Does your doctor know about the other medications youre taking?
I would imagine phentermine is not the best choice for someone in your position (healthy BMI, taking other medications which alter brain chemistry).
In all honesty, if i were in your shoes i would not take phentermine unless it was a last ditch effort and your weight was seriously impacting your health. Your lack of success in the past is likely due to overeating calories and underestimating calories burned. I would maybe work with a dietician or personal trainer.
I already tried MFP, actually, and lost 5 pounds in 3 months. That was along with about 1hour of exercise everyday. It's really disheartening. Anyone who has ever taken psychiatric medications knows that they make it literally impossible to lose weight
Some psych meds can increase appetite in some people. You, however, are still in control of how much you eat. The meds, in and of themselves, do not put weight on for an unexplained reason. Overeating is the reason. Changing the mindset from that of a victim can go a long way to giving you the confidence and control needed to effect change.
Having said that, I would echo the concerns of others as to why you are on Phentermine in the first place. Don't know that it's a psychiatrist's place to be prescribing this since it's out of their area of expertise even if he/she clearly has the ability to do so.
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milkyway1985 wrote: »rainbowbow wrote: »Does your doctor know about the other medications youre taking?
I would imagine phentermine is not the best choice for someone in your position (healthy BMI, taking other medications which alter brain chemistry).
In all honesty, if i were in your shoes i would not take phentermine unless it was a last ditch effort and your weight was seriously impacting your health. Your lack of success in the past is likely due to overeating calories and underestimating calories burned. I would maybe work with a dietician or personal trainer.
Yes, he knows. He prescribes all my medications.
Hmmm.. I guess everyone here has a point.
I already tried MFP, actually, and lost 5 pounds in 3 months. That was along with about 1hour of exercise everyday. It's really disheartening. Anyone who has ever taken psychiatric medications knows that they make it literally impossible to lose weight
My brother takes mood stabilizers and antipsychotics known to cause an increase in appetite. When he was in a hospital setting, he gained weight while eating hospital food and not getting much exercise. Now that he is home, eating Mom's cooking, helping her with extensive yard work, and walking several miles per day, he lost all the weight he gained in the hospital and has maintained a healthy weight for over two years.
He doesn't count calories. He does eat lots of whole foods - fruits, veggies, legumes, whole grains, etc. He was a pescastarian for about a year and now is eating chicken as well. There's very little, if any, junk food in the house.2 -
Here's my new favorite post about Phentermine: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10329901/phentermine/p1itschanelle wrote: »I have seen a lot of posts on and off about this and other weight loss drugs. I can vouch that they absolutely work. I have lost a lot weight using Phentermine on and off throughout about a 10 year span.
BUT...
The weight doesn't stay off. And those side effects? They are real.
You could take Phentermine and lose the weight, but you might end up like me. I'm 30 years old, slightly over weight, and have moderate tricuspid valve regurgitation. As in, I might need open heart surgery because my heart was damaged by Phentermine. To be clear, I never took it for more than a few months at a time, was monitored by a doctor, and did everything "right".
My lifespan has likely been shortened to lose a few pounds. Weight I could have lost on my own with a little bit of gumption. It wasn't worth it.2
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