Weight Loss Medications: For or Against?

Phentermine plus fenfluramine (phen/fen) worked marvelously for me, but once fenfluramine was withdrawn from the market I didn't get the same results from phentermine alone or with some drugs that were supposed to be similar to fenfluramine. Plus the whole fenfluramine being withdrawn from the market due to damaging hearts soured me on the whole prescription diet pill thing.

I didn't internalize healthy eating habits when my appetite was artificially suppressed by taking a legal amphetamine-like drug and I gained all the weight back when I stopped taking it. And now I am on medication for heart palpitations.

Here's my favorite post about Phentermine: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10329901/phentermine/p1

itschanelle 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.

I'm sorry to hear about all you've gone through and I'm happy to hear that you are now under the care of an attentive physician.

There is no real debate to be had in terms of your question because you are presenting that you're taking this stimulant drug for reasons beyond just treating your weight.

In general, the concerns that come to mind are the possibility of side effects from the various drugs one takes. And the likelihood they might occur either with short term or with long term use. A plan "B" should one have to discontinue using a dug is always good to have.

It sounds as if this drug is proving to be suitable for you. Were this universally the case, I am sure the drug would receive less push-back. But the number of significant side effects argues that the drug is not totally safe for everyone.

Ultimately this stimulant drug both suppresses appetite (decreasing calories in) and increases NEAT (non exercise activity thermogenesis, i.e. calories out) when taken as prescribed. Thus by itself, it creates a certain deficit, if you will.

If it is ever stopped appetite will increase and NEAT will decrease (i.e. this deficit assist will disappear) and regardless of prior education and mental preparation the person previously taking the drug will now need to make an immediate adjustment to living without this boost and with no previous experience of controlling their weight within their new limits.

No moral objection, if they work without horrible side effects. If they could give me a pill or a gene therapy to give me a smaller appetite, I would be very happy. Moralizers can go and boil their heads as far as I'm concerned. Its only giving people who struggle with their weight what the naturally slim get for free, and no one has any moral qualms about that unearned advantage.

However, I'm not convinced that such a therapy exists at the moment, apart from possibly barbaric surgery, which I think is very much a last resort given the irreversible nature of the most effective forms.