Any Phentermine users out there?

I tried it in February '09, I lost 15 pounds have since gained back 5 of those.  I  got back on it 4 days ago and am losing, thus far, about 1 pound per day.  My start weight on Phentermine was 262, this morning I was 258.  I am taking it under a doctor's supervision and an having my blood pressure checked weekly.  I have been on this site since September '08, eating better, if not always right, and exercising regularly, but my weight seemed static.  I am trying to jump start things with the Phentermine.  My doc was reluctant to prescribe but at 5'7", 262, the health risks associated with the weight outweighed the risks of phentermine.  He is allowing a short course, 3 months.  When I took it in Feb. the first week was horrible, very lethargic, sleeplessness, dry mouth...after the first week or so it was ok.  This time I am not experiencing the lethargy, not sleeping all night, but not waking tired ( I know I am on speed), but still have the dry mouth.  I think it will help me get through the rough patch while I work on developing better habits.  Good luck to you.

I started taking Phentermine yesterday, my dosage is one pill (37.5mg) a day.  About a hour after i took it, i started feeling really dizzy and like i wanted to blow chunks, but i ate 2 White Cheddar Rice Cakes and it made me feel a lot better, i was a little more energized.  Today i took it and had the same feeling for maybe 3 minutes and that's it. 

My problem is that before i started taking it, food consumed me and my every thought.  i don't exercise, i never have energy... it takes an act of congress to get me in the shower.  Yes i am obviously lazy, no energy to do anything.

So my doctor put me on the Phentermine to curb my appetite and give me energy.  Well today is the 2nd day and i've done nothing but think of food ALL day long.  I'm making myself ignore the hungry feeling, but i don't know how to make myself stop thinking of food.  I'm not really energized, maybe a little bit more than normal, but it seemed to work better yesterday. 

Maybe it's because it takes a few days or so to get you energized, i have no clue.

I need to lose weight bad, this is my last resort to get me headed in the right direction and it doesn't seem to be doing much.

I would like to say that phentermine is evil, but that's not true.  I have taken phentermine, and lost weight and accomplished so many things while I was on it....it was like I was on speed.  Which is exactly what I was on: speed.    If you look up phentermine and its side effects you will see that it can be very dangerous.  you may also find that it's a perfect jumpstart, as long as you use it VERY briefly. 

I doubt you are lazy b/c you don't have energy; I suspect you have thyroid issues, and if you haven't had bloodwork done, I would do that.  Most of us want to be healthy and feel good; from my experience phentermine does not, in the long term, contribute to either of those goals.  good luck!

Original Post by kheather72:

I have taken it before on two separate occasions.  The first time I managed to lose 50lbs in 6 months.  The second time it didn't work for me.  However, I will not take it again.  Because obviously once I quit taking it I put the weight back on.  It can work really well for losing the weight though, not to mention giving you all kinds of energy.  Nothing like "legal speed".  lol

 This is not to offend but this is my FIRST REAL time trying to lose weight and I hear people saying that various diets don;t work because when they stop, such as in your case Phentermine, you gained the weight back. Did this happen because you stopped the medicine or you continued to eat poorly, this causing more weight gain?

Original Post by jcloke:

Instead of pumping possibly harmful drugs into your system, you can try a natural version to help you out.

I would recomend 2 things:
Garcinia :  This is a flower extract, you take 4 a day before meals and it helps supress your appetite, but not in a harmful way

Ephedra: Natural extract which helps speed up your metabilism. Works even better with caffeine (so coffee or guryana)

Do all you can to avoid pharmaceutical chemicals, plus, these are cheaper.

At the moment, I am taking Garcinia and it does help.

ephedra is almost identical to phentermine, Ephedra is a psuedephedrine, aka, the stuff they cook to make METH...and AMPHETAMINE, it is a KEY ingredient in making it because it is essentually natures crank. Phentermine is also an amphetamine, only Phentermine has never been banned by the US government. In 2004 Ephedra was pulled from the market, it was rereleased in 2008 with strict guidelines...No more than 20mgs per dose (almost a 1/10 less than what was SUPPOSED to be in previous tablets, usually there was even more.). You usually take it before every meal, phentermine is 15/30/37.5mgs and is taken ONCE a day. Don't kid yourself thinking that because it doesn't require an RX that it isn't has harmful or doesn't have as many side effects, cause believe me, I'd rather take phentermine under the supervision of my doctor than to self medicate with ephedra and have no one over seeing my blood pressure or heart rate. I have a sleeping disorder, when I was in high school I'd take in upward of 5 caffeine pills at a time to make it through the day...that's 1000mg's of caffeine, then I would take Stackers that contained Ephedrine/Ephedra. Both made me beyond anxious, and would trigger panic attacks and extreme anxiety. And guess what, Ephedra doesn't make you lose weight unless you're taking so many you can't help but be forced to move...kind of like those Meth commercials, what's that song.... Look at me, busy as a bee, where'd I get all this energy, well I can't sleep and I can't eat but I've got the cleaniest house on the street oooo meth, ewwwwww meth. Phentermine has this side effect for the first two or three days, then it just supresses your appetite but causing your brain to release noreprinephrine which blocks your urge to eat. In the case of Fen-Phen, it was found that Phentermine by itself did not cause the pulmonary hypertension, it was the combination of Phentermine/Fenfluramine. Just like anything in the world, some people are going to have bad side effects....some because they took a product that was recommended that with their health conditions they shouldn't take, they exceeded the dosage, or they had an adverse reaction that does not speak for the majority. Anyway, this rant was about how in aw I was when I read that you suggested Ephedra over Phentermine....lol just too funny.

Original Post by nappytop:

Original Post by kheather72:

I have taken it before on two separate occasions.  The first time I managed to lose 50lbs in 6 months.  The second time it didn't work for me.  However, I will not take it again.  Because obviously once I quit taking it I put the weight back on.  It can work really well for losing the weight though, not to mention giving you all kinds of energy.  Nothing like "legal speed".  lol

 This is not to offend but this is my FIRST REAL time trying to lose weight and I hear people saying that various diets don;t work because when they stop, such as in your case Phentermine, you gained the weight back. Did this happen because you stopped the medicine or you continued to eat poorly, this causing more weight gain?

It causes you to lose your appetite, you don't get, once you get off it you no longer have that little area in your mind that triggers you to stop eating when you're full...which is why you gained the weight to begin with. If you lose the weight and maintain a HEALTHY lifestyle, quitting the Phentermine will not cause you to gain weight. Not maintaining your habits while on phentermine and eating whatever you want thinking...hey when I was taking that pill I lost weight and I ate this stuff...is what causes you to gain it back. You don't realize how much less you eat, and you dont have to starve, you can eat normal meals, but you're sufficiently satisfied with say...half a sandwhich at lunch and not hungry again until dinner where you eat.....say...Part of a skinless chicken breast and half of your mashed potatos. Most people who stay thin their entire lives eat like this naturally, they have what we can only get by shear force of will or a pill. 

Original Post by beckyiebeck:

I started taking Phentermine yesterday, my dosage is one pill (37.5mg) a day.  About a hour after i took it, i started feeling really dizzy and like i wanted to blow chunks, but i ate 2 White Cheddar Rice Cakes and it made me feel a lot better, i was a little more energized.  Today i took it and had the same feeling for maybe 3 minutes and that's it. 

My problem is that before i started taking it, food consumed me and my every thought.  i don't exercise, i never have energy... it takes an act of congress to get me in the shower.  Yes i am obviously lazy, no energy to do anything.

So my doctor put me on the Phentermine to curb my appetite and give me energy.  Well today is the 2nd day and i've done nothing but think of food ALL day long.  I'm making myself ignore the hungry feeling, but i don't know how to make myself stop thinking of food.  I'm not really energized, maybe a little bit more than normal, but it seemed to work better yesterday. 

Maybe it's because it takes a few days or so to get you energized, i have no clue.

I need to lose weight bad, this is my last resort to get me headed in the right direction and it doesn't seem to be doing much.

Youre body gets use to it, like....after drinking coffee everyday it no longer wakes you up like it use to..or atleast, not in the way that you use to feel it. The thoughts of food is an obsessive disorder, that can only be treated by a psychologist. There is a term for it but I can't remember, basically you remember every place you've ever been by what kind of food you ate there. And at work, you can't stop thinking ahead too lunch and what you're going to eat, even though its 8am and you just ate. As for the phentermine suppressing hunger, for me, it makes the hunger pains a little less painful. I still get hungry, it's not supposed to make your appetite none existent, though it has for a few. I just makes it a little easier to say no. In a few days you won't feel those pains anymore because by then, youre stomach will have shrunk....the same way it would if you ate the proper portions without a pill. If you truly want to maintain the weight you need to change how you eat and find out why you're so lethargic. If you don't ass soon as you come off that pill you're going to gain back the little bit you lost...and I say little bit because I'm going to make it clear... if you don't watch what you eat or exercise while on this pill, you're not going to lose very much. People who lost significant amounts of weight usually were eating 5 to 6 thousand calories a day...then cut back to under 2000, that kind of reduction is obviously going to show results. And the pill only works really well for the first month, after that your body builds up a resistance like with any other drug. So, try little things to help get you moving... randomly do jumping jacks, or run in place. Even a little bit of exercise helps. 

That's my point exactly Misseevi, people ALWAYS complain...."don't do this diet or that diet because when you stop you will gain it all back." That's bull! You didn't eat right an exercise. I am using my time on Phentermine to develop healthy eating habits and exercise habits. I for one don't think that when I stop taking the pills I will gain all the weight back plus more...I just think that people continue to eat poorly while on Phentermine and then after they stop they gain it all back...like if I eat Mconald's everyday, an continue after Phentermine..Duh..I will be FAT again! Thanks for the honest answer.

Original Post by amanda_rocks1979:

I took phentermine for about 6 months and lost about 100 pounds in that time- I kept it off until 5 years later when I got pregnant- I tried to use it again but it is damn near impossible to get and I am not sure if I got the real deal- this time is hasn't done anything for me.

 Ask your primary care physican for a prescription..that is what I did. Actually, I was sick in April with a tonsil infection..well, I went to an urgent care center that was also a primary care doctor and she gave me the presciption..so I pay my 30..00 co pay and the 28.00  for the pills at Walmart.

I will never understand why people want to use drugs. Doctors push them on people and a lot of people are more than happy to think that is the solution.

My opinion is that drugs are not necessary if you can develop healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle (exercising, etc). Too many people become dependant on drugs instead of putting in the hard work to accomplish it through natural means. It is so easy to swallow pills and get chemical help for your problems rather than doing it naturally.

and unfortunately we can't all be you. People do things others wouldnt all the time. People smoke crack and shoot heroin into their veins every day, of course I can say, I just don't get it, what's the point, if you can just learn to understand your depression/sorrow/hatred and work around it, then you wouldn't have to self medicate...but of course, they feel as though they have an obvious reason to do these drugs. Some people, and dare I say, people like you, would suggest to those same folks that antidepressants could save them from the hell that is drug abuse and addiction....Still a drug, does exactly the same thing for them as the other drugs did...minus the publics disapproval. Since no ones forcing you to take phentermine, what's it matter to you? lol Did you know drugs like phentermine are prescribed to Epileptics so they can maintain normalcy and jobs? They cannot fix a brain disorder naturally, they and a lot of other people would have died off from natural selection had it not been for drugs that help them chemically...through a pill...that they swallow. Same with anything else you take, cure a cold on your own, deal with that migraine, staph infection? hopefully your body can fight it off. It must suck being a hypocrit.

I think what sounds scary is that it is an amphetamine.

But then again I use caffine for basically the same purpose.  I tend to eat when I am tired/anxious/depressed.  Caffine makes me productive, energized and a little giddy.  So I can definately see how it would work.

I too am a caffeine addict...I actually read something the other day that scared me. Some studies have shown that the use of Caffeine, while keeping you mentally alert, actually slow down your metabolism causing your body to burn less fat. When I was losing weight NOT drinking soda I figured it wouldn't hurt to throw in some diet (no calories, right?) I tended to lose very little weight, I couldn't figure it out. After reading that article, I think it definitely seems like it makes sense.

I should have been a little more clear. I am not anti-drug so to speak. Yes drugs can help people with a lot of different ailments. I am referring to certain individuals who look for a "magic pill" for everything. Also doctors used to encourage natural means to medical problems instead of just writing up a prescription which they are more than happy to do nowadays.  They share a lot of the blame for the increasing drug induced culture we live in.

Anyway in the case of filling your body with chemicals to suppress your appetite it just does not seem like a good idea or one that is necessary but that is my opinion. I have lost almost 20 pounds naturally and was I hungry at times?, of course but I have been able to accomplish it without the need with chemicals that would try to bypass my bodies natural responses.