RX Weight Loss Meds (Phentermine)

Congratulations on the significant weight loss! Great story and nice accomplishment.

I took phentermine two times and lost and then gained back weight after stopping it. It also got less effective and had more noticeable side effects the second time I took it so I could not stay on it very long and it did not help as much. It did work very well when I was originally on it, but I stopped taking it because I was going to hike Mt. Kilimanjaro and no one could tell me what effect it would have on my heart at high altitudes. When I started taking again after returning and having been off it for a couple of months after that trip it gave me very high blood pressure, elevated heart rate and made me feel shaky and like I had injected caffeine into my veins. . . Basically what you would expect from amphetamines! Not sure why the effects were so different as between the first and second time. The reason they say not to take it for more than a few weeks is because it is or was classed as an addictive drug, however my doctor claimed it was not, and I certainly didn’t find it difficult to stop (just difficult to restart!). Finally, I do think it loses effectiveness to some degree in increasing weight loss, but it does help with maintenance, which is why drs prescribe it long term. No one quite knows exactly all the reasons why it works - it does have some appetite suppressant effect, but they also suspect that it has some slight effect on metabolism etc, It is particularly effective and can be effective at very low doses when prescribed together with topiramate (an old drug originally developed to treat epilepsy, but also prescribed for things like migraines and nerve pain), There is now a diet pill that combines the two in one although if your insurance doesn’t cover it your doctor can prescribe each of the drugs separately and they are old, cheap, generic drugs available at a variety of dosages. That is how doctors have been prescribing them for years.

Regardless of my own thoughts about it, prescribing phentermine for weight loss is, as far as I know, a legitimate use of the drug.

The FDA has already made their opinion known about the use of HCG for weight loss. Their view, as articulated, does not seem to support what your prescriber is prescribing. https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/avoid-dangerous-hcg-diet-products

It could be that the FDA is wrong. It could be that you're an edge case. Or it could be that you would benefit more by having a different prescriber in your life.

One things *is* for sure.
In terms of long term weight loss?

What you're doing is not known for that.

*the term "prescriber" is used deliberately

Zilia81 wrote: »

Today is my second loading day. So tomorrow the real regime will start.
How do you feel about your hcg journey so far?

I'm confused. Zilia is not the OP and there was no previous mention of HCG. Was there an HCG post that was deleted?

I am going to comment back on this thread again just because rereading it my comment may have been more positive than intended…. I did lose weight using phentermine years ago, but I regained it and I had many bad effects from it is the intended take away. It was prescribed to jump start weight loss when it probably should not have been because I was not obese at the time. It ultimately didn’t work because I lost weight too fast and without really paying attention to what I was doing to lose it. Weight loss drugs definitely are helpful when prescribed under the right circumstances for your health, and in the context of a true physician patient relationship that evaluates all your medical needs and includes appropriate counseling regarding nutrition and exercise etc. Phentermine can be helpful to some people, but the latest research has shown that it is most helpful and more tolerated in far lower doses than it has typically been prescribed. If it doesn’t work at a low dose, upping the dose only increases negative side effects.