Any successful phentermine stories?

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ambercanfly
ambercanfly Posts: 150 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I did some searching about phentermine on the forums and have seen all the bad stuff that can happen... so I'm not looking for anymore of that. Is there anyone out there that was prescribed this and it helped (and they didn't gain it all back afterwards)?

Here is my story: I've been trying to lose weight seriously since September. I've logged over 2,000 minutes of exercise in November. I have a personal trainer and mix up my routine regularly. My diet is pretty solid. I eat breakfast every day (usually a protein meal replacement) and eat small 4-5 meals a day. I was not losing very much weight (about 6 pounds in total). Went to my doctor and she did blood work, and everything (including thyroid) came back normal. I have great BP (122/72) and am generally healthy besides the inability to lose weight.
In short, I was prescribed phentermine 37.5mg and was told to try a week at half a pill and then start taking a full pill. The only side effects I've had is that I am little jittery in the afternoon (I take my pill in the morning a half hour before breakfast).
So far it's helped me lose weight. It's been 3 days and I've lost 3 pounds.I'm hopeful but want to know if anyone successfully made the transition from being on phentermine to being off and more importantly HOW they did that.
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Replies

  • robinpickles
    robinpickles Posts: 78 Member
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    Drugs don't work.. counting calories and using fit pal with an exercise regime works....
  • doornumber03
    doornumber03 Posts: 221 Member
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    there are no shortcuts......put the work in, and you'll get results.
  • tam823
    tam823 Posts: 85 Member
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    Two of my sister-in-laws tried it. One has done it twice and gained the weight back both times. The other has done it and I believe kept the weight off. I guess it really is just individualized. I have never done it so I can't say for myself.
  • ambercanfly
    ambercanfly Posts: 150 Member
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    Two of my sister-in-laws tried it. One has done it twice and gained the weight back both times. The other has done it and I believe kept the weight off. I guess it really is just individualized. I have never done it so I can't say for myself.

    I guess that's true. Good to hear that someone kept it off. I've read online a lot of success stories but I'm never sure if they're real or manufactured!
  • stephevers1227
    stephevers1227 Posts: 175 Member
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    Hi Amber...I've posted about this a couple of times and keep getting bashed. My doctor put me on the phentermine because I have RA and wanted to see if I could reduce my medications by losing a bit of weight. I've lost 17 of the 20 pounds I want to lose. I didn't approach this as a short cut, I am truly making lifestyle changes. Not doing a drastic diet I can't maintain...have just reduced my portion sizes and trade-offs with exercise when I indulge a bit. I get up almost every morning at 4 am to do about 45 minutes on my treadmill. I've just gone off of the medicine after 2 months so I joined a gym to hopefully get into some different forms of exercise--yoga, zumba, maybe water aerobics. My daughter is so excited and said this is the best thing I've done for her all year (haha). So far, I've been very happy that I took the medicine...hoping that I've made the necessary lifestyle changes so I can continue in this success. Best of luck to you and if you want to keep in touch, you can add me. Oh, and I was jittery for the first 2 days but then I adjusted to it. My husband took it for a while also and it made him angry so watch out for that. As soon as he realized his mood was different, he stopped taking it. My mood has been fine though.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
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    I had a co-worker who took phentermine a few months ago. She only lost about 10 pounds in the month she was on it. Needless to say she gained it all back because she didnt actually change her eating habits. Also, she looked like she was sick when she was on it. Or like she didnt get any sleep. O_o Not sure if that is a common side-effect.

    If you want to give it a try with your doctor's permission and you are actually changing your eating and exercise habits then go for it! Do what works for you.
  • ambercanfly
    ambercanfly Posts: 150 Member
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    Hi Amber...I've posted about this a couple of times and keep getting bashed. My doctor put me on the phentermine because I have RA and wanted to see if I could reduce my medications by losing a bit of weight. I've lost 17 of the 20 pounds I want to lose. I didn't approach this as a short cut, I am truly making lifestyle changes. Not doing a drastic diet I can't maintain...have just reduced my portion sizes and trade-offs with exercise when I indulge a bit. I get up almost every morning at 4 am to do about 45 minutes on my treadmill. I've just gone off of the medicine after 2 months so I joined a gym to hopefully get into some different forms of exercise--yoga, zumba, maybe water aerobics. My daughter is so excited and said this is the best thing I've done for her all year (haha). So far, I've been very happy that I took the medicine...hoping that I've made the necessary lifestyle changes so I can continue in this success. Best of luck to you and if you want to keep in touch, you can add me. Oh, and I was jittery for the first 2 days but then I adjusted to it. My husband took it for a while also and it made him angry so watch out for that. As soon as he realized his mood was different, he stopped taking it. My mood has been fine though.

    I don't see it as a short cut either. I showed my doctor everything I've been doing and she said there was no reason I wasn't losing weight. Three months of almost perfect exercise (~60-70 mins per day) and eating habits (under 1400 calories). She wants me on this to try to restart my metabolism. There was no other reasons as to why I wasn't losing weight. I don't think people understand sometimes it's not just about numbers. There are real medical obstacles to losing weight for some of us.

    Since coming off of it did you gain any weight back? It sounds like you did everything right by going to the gym. I'm hoping once I lose my extra weight I can try new exercises that are more challenging that I currently can't do because of my size.

    I'll definitely add you, thanks for the advice!
  • ambercanfly
    ambercanfly Posts: 150 Member
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    I had a co-worker who took phentermine a few months ago. She only lost about 10 pounds in the month she was on it. Needless to say she gained it all back because she didnt actually change her eating habits. Also, she looked like she was sick when she was on it. Or like she didnt get any sleep. O_o Not sure if that is a common side-effect.

    If you want to give it a try with your doctor's permission and you are actually changing your eating and exercise habits then go for it! Do what works for you.

    I think those are some possible side effects but thankfully nothing I've experienced! I definitely plan on eating right and exercising after to keep it off. I know losing weight is a life-style... not a one time deal. Thank you for the support!
  • lstnlondry
    lstnlondry Posts: 1,794 Member
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    I used it for 2 months just as my jump start. I lost 12 pounds then after returning to MFP I have matched it and I am still going strong. My emotional eating habits are no match for any drug but I was desperate. Good luck
  • payitoffnow
    payitoffnow Posts: 6 Member
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    I have taken it a couple of times. The first time I lost 30 pounds and the second, around 40. I gained the weight back the first time because I got lazy. I did exercise, but I didn't change the way I ate. I just took advantage of the fact that I was never hungry and didn't work at changing my eating habits. I worked on that the second time around. I am no longer taking them and my weight is still going down. I have lost now 50 pounds. I think that the Phentermine did give me the kick start I needed to see some weight loss and give me some motivation. It can work if you really work on changing your habits.
  • maddymama
    maddymama Posts: 1,183 Member
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    I showed my doctor everything I've been doing and she said there was no reason I wasn't losing weight. Three months of almost perfect exercise (~60-70 mins per day) and eating habits (under 1400 calories).

    Ummm... so I'm NOT an expert, but this jumped out at me. You are exercising 60-70 minutes a day and only eating under 1400 calories? How much are you netting (after your exercise calories are subtracted from the 1400?) 900? That might be part of the reason why you aren't losing weight..... for me if I'm exercising and I net under 1200 then my body holds onto every ounce. If I eat 1200-ish PLUS my exercise calores (or most of them) then I find I can drop the weight easily. You might want to up your calories to net above 1200-ish for a month or two and then see what happens.
    I'd rather play around with my calorie intake than take meds, but that is just me. If the p works for you, then you go girl!
  • doornumber03
    doornumber03 Posts: 221 Member
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    I showed my doctor everything I've been doing and she said there was no reason I wasn't losing weight. Three months of almost perfect exercise (~60-70 mins per day) and eating habits (under 1400 calories).

    Ummm... so I'm NOT an expert, but this jumped out at me. You are exercising 60-70 minutes a day and only eating under 1400 calories? How much are you netting (after your exercise calories are subtracted from the 1400?) 900? That might be part of the reason why you aren't losing weight..... for me if I'm exercising and I net under 1200 then my body holds onto every ounce. If I eat 1200-ish PLUS my exercise calores (or most of them) then I find I can drop the weight easily. You might want to up your calories to net above 1200-ish for a month or two and then see what happens.
    I'd rather play around with my calorie intake than take meds, but that is just me. If the p works for you, then you go girl!

    was thinking the same thing after i reread it. that means your probably netting under well under 1000 cals/day......which is not ideal at all. I'd probably up the calories by a few hundred and see what happens. Change MFP to 1lb/week and see what it says to eat.... The problem with drugs is exactly the stories you hear, i lost but re-gained, side effects, it's a crutch, health issues....play with your calories a bit and see what happens, you'll be surprised!
  • ambercanfly
    ambercanfly Posts: 150 Member
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    Sorry, I meant that my net AFTER exercising is under 1400. I have never gone under 1200. :-)
  • maddymama
    maddymama Posts: 1,183 Member
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    Sorry, I meant that my net AFTER exercising is under 1400. I have never gone under 1200. :-)

    Glad to hear that! :-)
  • maddymama
    maddymama Posts: 1,183 Member
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    Double post........

    Now..... how clean are you eating? Processed foods versus natural state foods? You say you have a protein shake in the am, then 4-5 meals. I'm trying to picture that, but you don't have your food diary open. What does a typical day look like? How much sodium do you consume? How much water are you drinking each day? Do you drink any diet sodas?
    Also, are you measuring everything? Measuring cups and food scales? Holding yourself accountable for every bite?

    I'm asking bc phentermine might be a short term fix, but you are in this for the long haul............
  • kschhr
    kschhr Posts: 103 Member
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    I'm glad someone else mentioned the not-eating-enough factor.
    About two years ago I lost twenty pounds, because I was in two PE classes to graduate high school. I was working out for 3 hours a day (1 full hour of cardio, give or take probably 20 minutes with another hour and a half of walking). I wasn't thinking about my diet at ALL, so I was eating things like Burger King and Taco Bell regularly. My calories were definitely really high, but I was losing weight. I had way more success being a gym rat and eating crap than I ever have lowering my intake and working out.
  • ambercanfly
    ambercanfly Posts: 150 Member
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    Double post........

    Now..... how clean are you eating? Processed foods versus natural state foods? You say you have a protein shake in the am, then 4-5 meals. I'm trying to picture that, but you don't have your food diary open. What does a typical day look like? How much sodium do you consume? How much water are you drinking each day? Do you drink any diet sodas?
    Also, are you measuring everything? Measuring cups and food scales? Holding yourself accountable for every bite?

    I'm asking bc phentermine might be a short term fix, but you are in this for the long haul............

    Yes, great questions! You sound like my doctor.

    Currently I'm eating no fried foods, no meat except fish, no dairy (lactose intolerant), and no grains (I'm only doing the no grains thing for a few weeks, but regularly I do just whole grains). I cook most of my meals at home. A typical day for me would be: Naturade Soy Protein powder with raspberries, light soy milk, and half a banana. Snack would be carrots and hummus. Lunch would be a salad with lots of veggies and avocado. Another snack would be almonds and an apple. Dinner would be a stir fry with tofu.
    I drink anywhere from 64oz to 80oz of water.
    I use measuring cups for the most part. I have a food scale but I rarely need it.
    Sodium wise I'm usually between 2,000mg and 2,500mg. It's rare that I go over that. It's been a lot easier since I've cut out fast food!
    I'm usually on my phone tracking every bit of food I ingest. If I have to "guess" I usually guess over to be safe.
    No diet sodas for me! Water & unsweetened ice tea=yum :-)
    If I have a chocolate craving I'll have some dark chocolate. I don't really binge eat. I think my issue was overall eating too much combined with a slow metabolism and lack of exercise. All things I've felt like I've fixed.
  • caramel1920
    caramel1920 Posts: 271
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    It sounds like you're doing awesome! I have taken Phentermine. In 2004 I took it and lost 85 lbs! I kept the weight off for about two years before I started graduate school and fell back into old habits of stress eating and not exercising. And I gained all of it back and it is soooo hard losing it now that I'm older! I tried taking it again but didn't have the same results. I know you are being monitored by your doctor but please make sure you take it as prescribed and don't take it for a long period of time as this may cause permanent damage to your heart. You can look in the PDR or online for info on how long you should safely take it and consult with your doctor. As long as he's monitoring you you should be fine! Good luck and I hope this helps!
  • zbmb30
    zbmb30 Posts: 178 Member
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    I took this after my Freshman year of college. I took it along with eating a healthy diet and exercising reguarly. I never really had any side effects. I lost about 20 pounds and kept most of it off for about 2 and a half years. I gained my weight back because I started to eat poorly and quit working out.

    I am currently taking it again, as well as a healthy diet and exercising. I take mine right after I eat breakfast, it does its job and I don't get shakey or crazy feeling. Again, it works as long as you take it with a healthy diet and exercise. To me, it helps curb my cravings and hunger. That's just me though.
  • stephevers1227
    stephevers1227 Posts: 175 Member
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    Hi Amber...I've actually only been off of it for about a week. I haven't noticed a difference so far except I'm more tired for my 4 am workout haha. My weight actually went up this morning but I think that's because I had high sodium last night. We'll see over the next week if my metabolism slows etc. I'll keep you updated.

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