Not sure if anyone pays any attention to this forum but on the off chance someone does.. I was wondering if anyone has tried Phentermine as a weight loss tool and what their experiences with it were?

I have a friend that has said if she knew about Phentermine before she had her VSG should wouldn't have had the procedure and just took her time using that product to lsoe the weight. I've read of the possible side effects and they are pretty unnerving.. though no more unnerving than the unknown of having surgery.

Tamster01,

That's odd. Isn't Topamax used primarily to treat headaches/migraines? I took Topamax over 15 years ago for migraine headaches and noticed that decreased hunger was a side effect of the drug. I assumed the combination of phentermine and topamax was put together because they both help you lose weight and the Topamax would lesson or treat headaches caused by the phentermine. Most uppers like Phentermine cause headaches, or they have for me at least.

Topamax itself helps reduce weight, not just for headaches. That is why it is used in combination with phentermine. I still gained weight on phentermine, so I wasn't ever impressed lol. FYI phentermine was half of PhenPhen, another combination product. The other half is what was taken of the market, which was the main culprit in the coinciding mitral valve disease reported with the combination.

This helped me lose a lot of weight until I went off of it, I went from 160 to 130, and gained back up to 190 in less than 6 months I have always felt taking phentermine did me more harm than good.

I was on this medicine. Lost 60 pounds when 60 pounds would have put me at a kind of semi decent weight. Once I stopped the medicine I gained it all back plus doubled.

fen-phen was a combination of Phentermine and Fenfluramine, Fenfluramine was removed from the market as it caused pulmonary hypertension in 3% of users. I loved it me and my wife both used it but we only got ot use it for 3 months before it was pulled off the market. Tried the replacement which was Phen-Pro aka phentermine and Prozac, which turned both of us into walking meth zombies. Not fun. lol

Ditto what @@JerseyCityGal said. I had this prescribed about 15 years ago and dropped a ton of weight. I worked out like crazy and the extra energy from the drug really helped. Unfortunately, once I stopped taking it I regained the weight.

I have taken Phentermine both pre and post-surgery. Pre-surgery I took it so I could stop eating because my eating was getting out of control. Back then, I'd need two caplets at a time.

Post-surgery, I would take half a pill on occasion and that would be just enough to get me through those times when my emotions were running high and I just wanted to eat, or I had intense cravings for junky food that just would not go away. The half a pill didn't make me jittery and was just enough to take my mind off the food until the emotions or cravings had passed. When I felt it kick in, I would always sit down and write out why I thought the cravings/emotions were happening and how I could handle them without food so I could look back on them next time.

Phentermine can be a useful tool if you are taking it in conjunction with other things. My doctor would not give it to me unless I was also in therapy for my eating disorders (which I was and continue to be), and as a supplement to my sleeve it has been awesome. I haven't taken it for about five months now, but I know its there if I need it.

I take Wellbutrin (Bupropion) for help with post surgery emotional eating and depression. It doesn't reduce hunger, but that is what the surgery is suppose to do. Phentermine is habit forming and raises blood pressure. I wanted this surgery to get healthy, which means isolating drugs like phentermine and tobacco.

Hi, If you had your surgery when did you stop taking the pills?

I was prescribed Adipex (Phentermine) when I was in my pre-Band medically supervised diet back in 2008. I lost 70 lbs with it (and doctor supervision and diet journaling) prior to surgery. At first, taking it made me a little nauseated, so I didn't want to eat - therefore instant appetite suppressant. Then it started to mess with my blood pressure and my sleeping. I took it for almost a year, I think, before and for a little while after lapband surgery. Getting off of it didn't cause the weight to return (or bring its friends), but that was because of the lapband.

Since then, I have had trouble with my LapBand (having revision surgery in Feb 2015), and I was prescribed it once again. Not so good this time.

- If I take it, I'm so jittery that my hands shake and my writing is almost illegible for about 3-4 hours following the dose.

- If I take it, I am guaranteed that I will NOT sleep that night. Maybe 15 minutes total all night. Not even kidding. I would take it between 4-5 am - come night time, I close my eyes and they continue to dart around like I'm in an "awake" REM cycle, my mind races... insomnia is hell.

- If I take it, I will have poor BP results - even a day later.

I have a couple weeks' supply of them left, and I'd have to be REALLY desperate to take them, despite the weight I've gained following the fail of my band.

On a related topic: My mom took the Phen-Fen (Fen-Phen?) concoction back in the late 80s and lost 123 lbs in 8 months - you couldn't nail her down, she was on such a speed-high during that time. However, about 10-12 years later, she was awarded part of the big lawsuit settlement after having an artificial heart valve placed as a result of the "non-phentermine" part of the drug.

My personal opinion - I appreciated the drug years ago, but I'm no longer on the Adipex bandwagon.

Edited January 30, 201511 yr by WendyDTX

I lost a good friend of mine on this medication. She kept losing weight and loved the results. But once she stopped taking it she gained all plus more weight. So she started up again and lost the weight and she didn't want to take a chance to stop. So she kept taking it and died.

I hear it is addictive but then again Everybody is different.

At one time they took it off the shelves because so many people were dying from it.

But it is back on the market because they took out one of the ingredients.

Ever since the change was made....I haven't heard any bad feedback on it.

So I thought of letting you know. You can always ask your doctor what is the safest way.

I had the RNY done in 2013 and it is doing pretty well. I lost 87 pounds. No regrets. May God bless you and yours. :-)

I took Phen Fen before it was taken off the market. I thought it was GREAT. I lost 45 lbs in 1 months.

I would be even painting the doors of my apt. at 2 in the mroning cause of the energy burst.

It was just speed. I lost lmost 100 lbs and I was 230 when I started.

Well guess what, they took it off the market and I gained it all back plus some.

Crushed me.

I had gastic bypass 22 months ago and have never looked back.

I really don't think that the drugs work cause s soon as you get off of them, BOOM the weight comes back on. My opinion.

Find something that will work for YOU and then once you get the tool (either the band, sleeve or gastric) everything will fall in place.

Good Luck

Loved it, lost 100 pounds, gained it back

Used it for close to 4 years legal prescription. Devolped heart murmer, open heart surgery to repair mitral valve, January 2013. Leave it alone.

It made me crazy! The meds don't interact well with everyone's body chemistry. Like the pp stated, it's basically speed and it leaves you wired. For me, it made my temper almost unmanageable. It basically kills your appetite while you are on it, but after a while it starts to rev back up. Also, once you get off the meds, I've known people to say your appetite become heartier than before. Phen doesn't work on emotional eaters. I eat even when I'm not hungry so for me I didn't see much weight loss.