Taken Phentermine? No critics, please. Looking for experiences of those who have taken it
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I took it years ago in college. I remember I had to keep upping the dose because after a while the dose I was on didn't work to suppress my appetite, which was what I was really taking it for. I did lose weight, but gained it back once I was off it. Today, I'm lighter than I ever was on the phentermine, and it was without anything other than CICO and working out. I've been this lean for 4 years now.1
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I've been taking it for a week, and I'm considering stopping just because I'm feeling jittery. My question is: does it do anything besides suppress your appetite? I started losing weight the week before I began taking it, and that was because I was logging my food, eating proper portions, and exercising. I'm thinking that I shouldn't gain weight if I continue doing this. But, if it does other things besides suppress my appetite, I may consider differently. Anyone know?
You'll read stuff that says that it increases your metabolism. Although when you read the actual leaflet that comes with the medication from the pharmacy it only tells you that it suppresses appetite. I have found that it does give me energy that I normally get from caffeine/sugar so I have been able to easily skip my afternoon coke pick me up. For some people that might mean their incidental exercise increases (obsessive cleaning is one common side effect it seems). Mind you when I pick up my script even the pharmacist said physical activity increases its effectiveness but again I think that recommendation is suppose to help alleviate the insomnia issue some people experience (when all that cleaning seems to happen:) )
Personally it has helped my addiction to coke which was related to my energy levels (but also habit after doing it for so long). I still get hungry at the same times, I dont get full anyway and the medication hasn't actually changed that for me. I did skip a tablet on Sunday and I was more hungry than usual so it seems it is having an effect on my appetite as well.0 -
I'm taking it right now, will be a week on Monday. I'm looking to lose about 90 pounds, so I really needed a little help, which is what led me to go visit my doctor about a prescription. I've had no side effects what so ever, a lot of energy and I am sleeping better at night, which is amazing because before I got the prescription I was suffering with terrible insomnia. I've lost 5 pounds so far, which I am guessing is water weight but hey, I will take it! lol
The one thing I keep reading from people who have taken this is that they gain the weight back after getting off the medication because they go back to eating the same way they did before. Which is silly to me, but I guess when you don't really know how CICO works, it's easy to do. I am using this as a tool along with counting calories and getting in more exercise. I am taking this opportunity to change my lifestyle. Less junk food, less processed food, less sugar, more water and more movement. I have given up drinking, drinking soda, drinking coffee (because I liked a lot of sugar and cream in my coffee) and drink only water. I eat a lot of veggies and lean protein. I would say take the medication and make your lifestyle changes now as well. Know that when you stop taking the medicine it is all on YOU to keep the weight off, if you eat like a pig after you quit taking it, you're going to gain weight. Listen to your body and if you have bad side effects, don't ignore them just to shed pounds. Good luck.2 -
WillingtoLose1001984 wrote: »melmarino729 wrote: »I'd like to add a positive review. I never thought I'd be an advocate but I am now. My doctor started me on a very low dose. I've lost about 10lbs in a month (50 more to go). I have previously lost 150 through diet and exercise only. I maintained for a long time but after some tough life things I turned back to eating. As well as dealing with some depression. For me, this has been a life saver. I am motivated to make better choices. I log my food everyday and am on a workout plan. This is not a quick fix for me, but rather a little assistance.
I agree with you. It worked well for me to help me lose weight even on couple psych meds. You do have to remind yourself to eat enough though!
I think that's why it helps -- it sure gives you motivation to eat right and exercise once you see some progress.5 -
I took Phentermine last year and had a lot of success. I am off of it now, and unfortunately gained back some of what i had lost. That however, is somewhat expected. The positive is that i have not gained it all back, i have a gym membership now and i am working to get those additional pounds off. I think having a positive attitude and celebrating the tiny victors even if it is saying no to a candy bar, is crucial in being successful. For me i would have a cheat meal rather than a cheat day. Every time i went to the doctor for my weigh in, if i lost weight i rewarded myself by eating chick filet for lunch. Once i even had a milkshake with it b/c i had lost a lot at that appointment. Remember that it is just a tool to help you and not something to depend on fully. Not that you are, but someone told me that so i'm just passing that advice along. Regarding the side effects water, water, water, almost every side effect of Phentermine can be remedied by drinking water. Good luck!
Fantastic! But from personal experience, watch that weight you gained back. That's a tough one. When I think it isn't working anymore, and I stop taking it, I feel more hungry. It's so easy to put pounds back. My issue is not logging my food. When I don't log, I don't eat as well.0 -
frankiesgirlie wrote: »kommodevaran wrote: »
Don't call the nutcase clinic just yet.Sandythinandfit wrote: »I was working with a doctor/nutritionist once a month. I learned to eat good foods and get to a healthy weight. Once I got into maintenance I slowly started eating a little junk food. Gradually over four years it turned into drinking a lot of wine, like I did before I started taking Phen. I paid no attention to what I ate. More junk food. Less healthy food. Big quantities. I wish I knew why my basic instinct is to overeat. Should I see a counselor?
To get to a healthy weight, you learned how to eat in a certain way to lose weight. Your motivation for eating that way, was weightloss. You told yourself that the food you ate was good, and of course it was, it made you lose weight.
When your reached goal weight, the motivation to eat in that way, was gone.
Losing weight is easy.
Food tastes good, it's easy to eat, it comforts us.
Overeating isn't very difficult to understand.
Overeating as a habit is challenging to change.
Nutcase clinic? Seriously? That’s a very negative stereotype regarding mental health. Please educate yourself about mental health problems and don’t use that term again. It’s insulting to people that have those types of problems,
Or love someone who does.
Aww, I get it. She didn't mean harm, I think she was joking.4 -
GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »sommerrosee2 wrote: »I have been on it for about 2 weeks now. I feel completely fine. no jitters, no heart racing, just a major difference in not feeling as hungry all of the time, and i eat normally. I feel NORMAL. i have a few autoimmune issues so i am very low functioning. no energy, exhausted all the time. so it's really nice to feel "normal". i don't have to force myself, i just eat breakfast, four or 5 hours later i have lunch, and repeat the timeframe with dinner. and ill have usually a piece of fruit or cheese stick or something in the middle of each meal. I am going to try to get my dr. to keep me on it for the max of 12 weeks. after that point i am going to see if they will give me something more permanent to keep me functioning because i dont want to go back to before. it was awful. i also do think that as long as you maintain the same sort of discipline after coming off, you'll be just fine. every story ive heard or read about people gaining weight back is because they didn't to ANYTHING to maintain healthy eating.
This is a contradiction.
The thing that you are going to do to maintain......is look for a permanent prescription, a permanent crutch. Because after you have lost the weight, a smaller you will require fewer calories forever.
Without a permanent prescription it will be up to you to learn how to "not feel hungry all the time." Without a permanent prescription it will be up to you to work through the "no energy, exhausted all the time" feelings.
Most people gain weight back......whether it's pills, meal replacements, or temporary elimination diets. We all have to learn new habits and keep those habits for life. It's always going to come down to behavior modification. Temporary approaches don't exactly foster that.
Not necessarily. It may be another issue entirely that causes the exhaustion, and incidentally exacerbates lower will power due to exhaustion. In my case, I have low level narcolepsy and fibromyalgia. Diagnosing and treating those helped with the brain fog and exhaustion, which has helped me regulate my eating better. The phentarmine could be having a similar effect, even though it is meant for weight loss specifically, because it does increase energy, but the long term side effects are not great. However, getting diagnosed and treated for the real reason for her specific brain fog and exhaustion issues, may help her heal enough get the energy and strength to stick with healthier choices.
As someone else who has several autoimmune conditions (celiac disease, hashimoto's, psoriatic arthritis, and fibromyalgia), I'd just like add a little insight on how I manage brain fog and exhaustion and hope this can help. It also helps regulate my appetite.
My secret? Frequent activity. I built up to it very gradually. I was completely sedentary. I used to be so plagued with exhaustion that a trip to the mall with the family would land me in bed. I needed a cane to walk. I took things very slowly.
I started out walking to the corner. And I went out again the next day, and then the next. Gradually I worked my way up to longer distances. The longest I've walked at once was 8 miles. The longest I've run was 4.5.
A funny thing happens when you live with fatigue and start trying to become more active but just in tiny, tiny increments. It actually improves your energy levels. And for some people, it helps suppress appetite too.
I know what it's like to feel horrible and think you possibly couldn't do things, because that was me at one time. Trust yourself for a five minute stroll. You're worth it. It *will* help.
This is what my doctor has recommended for me. I have been struggling with autoummune related fatigue for years and it's gotten really bad lately. The last few years of my life were high stress (divorce, moving, homelessness, stolen car, twice, and used bike for transportation, deaths in family, working too many hours a day). I collapsed and couldn't get back up for months once things settled down. My doctor told me to take baby steps to regain energy. So I'm walking. A little more every day. A previous dr did give me phentermine, and honestly I loved it. I loved feeling normal while I was on it, and it also helped with my adhd. But I decided to see a new doctor for a second opinion because my old dr didn't seem to have a lot of experience with autoimmune diseases. Things are going well. I am still wiped out. I still wonder if I'll ever feel normal. But i am able to do a little more every day. My current doctor seems to understand and treat my digestive issues better (not every celiac is skinny- i could go a month without pooping). Your story is inspiring and gives me hope.
I hope you feel better. I understand how Phen would help with fatigue and make you feel "normal". I get it. When I was a little girl, I was hyperthyroid. My mom would wean me off the thyroid pills, and I would be okay for awhile, then get hyperthyroid again. It started feeling normal to be hyper and eat a lot of food and stay way too thin. I couldn't gain weight, by metabolism was way too fast. I have a low thyroid now, and the Phentermine makes me feel "normal". Crazy, eh?0 -
I'm back on Phentermine. I started it again in February. I've lost 23 pounds since then. Not fast, just slow and easy. I would have lost more if I had continued to log my food! I'm back to logging now. I had been doing a lot of gardening and skipping Zumba class. I am back to Zumba and raring to go! My goal is to be in a Size Medium by the end of the year. Like in that picture of me on the left!1
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I have taken them before, but it was seven years ago. I decided to try it again so on Friday a doctor gave me a prescription for 37.5 mg and Topamax. I was SO sick. I started research and decided to immediately stop Topamax after two doses. I am still taking the phentermine but I am only taking 1/2. I would like to hear from anyone who takes it about what your schedule is for taking the med and eating. I am still trying to figure out what will be best for weight loss and what will make me feel best.
I take it at least an hour before eating and don't eat until at least an hour after that. You'll figure out the best time. A lot of people take it around 11 in the morning. I take it in the afternoon to keep from mindlessly snacking after dinner.
Topomax! Yuk, I took it once too. I hated the way it made me feel.
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Sandythinandfit wrote: »I have taken them before, but it was seven years ago. I decided to try it again so on Friday a doctor gave me a prescription for 37.5 mg and Topamax. I was SO sick. I started research and decided to immediately stop Topamax after two doses. I am still taking the phentermine but I am only taking 1/2. I would like to hear from anyone who takes it about what your schedule is for taking the med and eating. I am still trying to figure out what will be best for weight loss and what will make me feel best.
I take it at least an hour before eating and don't eat until at least an hour after that. You'll figure out the best time. A lot of people take it around 11 in the morning. I take it in the afternoon to keep from mindlessly snacking after dinner.
Topomax! Yuk, I took it once too. I hated the way it made me feel.
You do realize that all the posts you're replying to are at least six months old. The odds are very low that any of these people are hanging around waiting for a reply.
And as for your question in your OP, I think you should be following the advice of whatever doctor is prescribing this amphetamine for your schedule for taking it and eating, not random people on the Internet who most likely aren't doctors and don't know your medical history.8 -
When you stop taking this, what then?3
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L1zardQueen wrote: »When you stop taking this, what then?
Exactly. When someone stops taking amphetamines, their appetite returns.1 -
L1zardQueen wrote: »When you stop taking this, what then?
Well, hopefully you have learned good eating habits. I'm losing about two pounds a month, which is fine with me. I lost weight way too fast the first time, when I looked like that picture on the left. But think of this. When we go on a 'diet' that restricts calories drastically, frequently we gain all the weight back and then some. It almost feels like our fat cells are crying out "feed me!" It's exactly the same thing when you stop taking Phentermine. It's not sustainable to lose weight fast.
For me, it's going back and forth to the fridge after dinner that is my downfall. I also found out that I have to log my food or I either gain weight or don't lose at all. I hate logging but it keeps me honest. I am taking Phentermine now as a security blanket. It's really not working anymore, but as long as my doctor lets me keep taking it I probably will.
Feel free to friend me
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Not myself, but my husband was on it for about 6 months. He had sleep apnea diagnosed complicated by his weight. They wanted him to drop enough weight to lessen his sleep apnea first. He practiced portion control and tried to work out, but it was hard on the calories he was eating (about 1500-1800). He lost 55lbs, IIRC. He then gained back about 1/3 of what he lost when he got off it, but the sleep apnea was good enough to get off the cpap. He has also been working on exercising and counting calories to continue to lose and he has since lost that "back gain", plus some, just hard work and eating right.
It made his heart race and made him jittery. He agree with his doctor it was best when he needed it, but exercise and healthy eating is better for him in the long run, once he got out of the "danger zone".2 -
I took it. Lost a huge amount of weight, messed up my heart and gained back everything I lost and then some.8
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Yes...used in past as a tool to help teach myself portion control. How effective it is for you, long term, really depends on you. It is a TOOL, not a way of life nor a solution. Gaining weight back comes from not learning, physically and emotionally, when using the tool, how to modify your life and make a plan that you can do...for life. Simply loosing the weight is one piece of the puzzle-where is your body in ALL the ways that can affect weight-LEARN you magic formula so you can survive post assistance. Put 90 pounds on what you see in my picture ( 10 years ago/ pre appetite suppressant). There are success stories.
I think emotionally, any of the various versions of the drug can be a great benefit and their are "rules" to how it should be applied to people, to include testing for risk factors before starting the use. Creditable Providers will put your health first and check in with you monthly...to be sure you are retraining your brain and loosing at an acceptable rate that makes sense. Massive loss, using the drug, in a short time is not healthy and a Provider should pay attention to that. If your genetic make-up puts you in the dizzy head, bad feeling group, then, obviously, not for you, but that is not true for everyone. If we were all the same, genetic engineer would have already weeded out the "fat" genes along with others. When working with a good solid Provider, the drug can be a good solid start for a mental and physical POSITIVE change in your life...but always remember, it is a tool and a lot of other things have to go into the plan.
I do work in healthcare and come from a long line of health care professionals. I also have many family experiences to draw on. I don't think drugs are the answer to everything but I also find the biggest critics are typically people who don't have life long weight struggles or a ton of experiences to draw on. Yes CICO plays a big role but genetics are bigger. The same things don't work for everyone and simply stating it is all about CICO and get exercise, ignores individuality of our body make ups. What are those CICOs made of? Not knowing the makeup of those calories and the role they may play in your unique genetic make-up REALLY MATTERS! You getting board with logging?? How about learning, at depth, and monitoring and experimenting with how marcos affect you? That's a good year of exploring at a thought provoking level.
Hardcore CICO people, who advocate nothing else, forget not everyone has the same hormones, the same thyroid, the same ability to process sugars/carbs/proteins. Point in fact, I have family member suffering from MSUD (special medical formulas and a low protein diet are necessary-or they seize and will die) while others have Type I diabetes (insulin and low carb diets are necessary), others have issues with lipoprotein causing high LDL and need low (certain fats) fat diets. Some have Thyroid disorders (Certain cruciferous vegetables that are rich in fiber like broccoli, cabbage, spinach, kale, and Brussels sprouts can inhibit thyroid drug absorption). This is not even touching on flux in hormones through life cycles (Estrogen dominance -a disproportionate amount of estrogen in relation to your progesterone can cause weight gain. One form of estrogen called estradiol decreases at menopause. This hormone helps to regulate metabolism and body weight). Frankly, "male" certified trainer types - who have never had a period, a baby, or any form of menopause should NEVER present them selves as knowledgeable..to women regarding weigh loss. Book smart is very different than life smart. And you young women, who have yet to experience later stages of life, should also be wary of the line walked. Age will get you too...it is like a car, but you cant buy a replacement, you have to figure out what parts are worn and give it the right mix of fluids to extend its life.
The problem with a "what works/doesn't" list, like cars...body parts were manufactured within a range of tolerance levels, not perfect specs. Even within one family...you know that family Hx I mentioned? I have an identical twin...She has breast cancer, I don't even have the BRCA1 and BRCA2 Mutations in my body. A brother with Type 1, another sister with Hypothyroid and another brother with high LDL (don't get me started on the parents, aunts, uncles (exposed to toxic chemicals when young and cousins genetics)...I currently suffer from none of this... but CBC and other testing show thresholds on the high ends of "average". Since I am in the average ranges, do I ignore the role family Hx plays and where I am on those scales of tolerances before it is a Dx disease? Do I ignore my diet and macro intake (focus on anything within a CICO plan) instead of being proactive for my future? Seems akin to planning for retirement and putting money away for a rainy day. Ignoring until I "test" outside of the threshold seems idiotic. Knowledge is power, know your body-get to know your body while using an appetite suppressant tool. Understand and use all the tools of the medical world, not just the medication.
To that end, we are all our own best advocate. Understanding all the factors that go into getting too and staying at YOUR ideal weight is the key...the magic formula is different for every single person. Talk with your Provider and if you take a suppressant drug, like Adipex, use that opportunity to not just loose weight but find your no prescription magic formula. Your Provider cant do that for you, for can test you and empower you with your stats.17 -
I've found it to be a helpful tool. I only take one every two to four days. It's great paired with calorie counting. But it is a tool, not to be used forever.1
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My roomate and I took phen fen back in college right before they outlawed it. It was aweful; we acted like a couple meth heads.
Of course we gained it all right back after we got off the stuff.
Can't speak to just phen alone, though.
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Thanks for your response. I actually am trying this week without!!! First week since March. I’m hopeful that I can keep my weight down.Sandythinandfit wrote: »I have taken them before, but it was seven years ago. I decided to try it again so on Friday a doctor gave me a prescription for 37.5 mg and Topamax. I was SO sick. I started research and decided to immediately stop Topamax after two doses. I am still taking the phentermine but I am only taking 1/2. I would like to hear from anyone who takes it about what your schedule is for taking the med and eating. I am still trying to figure out what will be best for weight loss and what will make me feel best.
I take it at least an hour before eating and don't eat until at least an hour after that. You'll figure out the best time. A lot of people take it around 11 in the morning. I take it in the afternoon to keep from mindlessly snacking after dinner.
Topomax! Yuk, I took it once too. I hated the way it made me feel.
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Hey newbie here! @kenkel4 I'm on day two and feel it wearing off mid afternoon, have you found this? I may too try the later in the morning too as I get up at 6:15 am and take it. I'm on 30mg.
How many calories is everyone doing, I'm barely reaching 1000, but drinking a truck load of water. Normal?2
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