Those who have been on/off Phen for more than 1-2 years?

[cytmom2]

I have been getting Phen from my doctor and Prosac. I go off for periods of time, sometimes a few months. In that time my appetite comes back and I find myself thinking about food all the time. I eat regularly but it is only a matter of time before I eat more and more. I gain the weight back. I go back on Phen and the increased energy helps me exercise, and stay motivated. I know that I can't stay on this forever---has anyone had the same experience and beat it without returning to Phen? :)

[Faye]

Personally, I think that there is no "beating it" as you put it.

I lost over 30 pounds about 10 years ago on Phen. When I stopped, I gained it all back plus 30 more.

Then, I went to Weight Watchers and it took me 18 months to lose the weight. I kept it off for almost 2 years; and suddenly, I couldn't take the hunger anymore, so I gained about 10 pounds back.

I quickly switched to Atkins about a year ago (which I am still on), which prevented me from gaining any more weight. Thank God!

Now, I am back on Phen and want to lose the 10 pounds I gained, but I haven't lost any so far and it's been almost 2 weeks.

Anyway, I personally think that you will be dealing with this issue everyday for the rest of your life, if you want to lose the weight and keep it off.

That's what I've had to do, and believe me it gets really old and tiring, but it beats the alternative of being fat.

[JinxD1]

I spoke to my pharmacist and she told me that she knows women that has taken phentermine and that they take it long after they have met their goal weight to maintain.
She also said that depending on your body type it may continue to work for you or the effects could lessen over time.

[Ms Kitty]

Have a look at what you are eating and the type of foods you are eating. It's not as simple as considering the amount of food you eat and no one should be expected to starve themselves for the rest of their lives. Successful weight loss is the loss from lifestyle change. Lifestyle changes are exactly that and unless you are willing to increase your exercise etc etc for the rest of your life you will be unable to maintain any loss.

Just my 2c

[cytmom2]

Thank you all for your comments and you basically said what I have known but don't want to think about! I once went to my husband's doctor who told me that all you need to do is watch what you eat and exercise. He said we all have to do it. Ok, I thought, he knows nothing about this. Some people just have it harder. I have two daughters. One is my husband's body type and eats junk and doesn't gain weight. The other is my body type and she struggles with food issues all the time. She works out at the gym, measures her food and watches what she eats. She drinks more water than I ever could. If she doesn't do all this and plan her food out in advance, she gains weight. Before I started back on Phen this time, I was reading up on surgery. I met a few people who had it done. They were happy to have the decisions taken away from them. My doctor is leary to keep giving me the Phen. He said it is only short term. I find it works again after a break of a couple of months or so. I worry that I will find out that it causes something bad down the line. I do the best I can but this is such hard work and time consuming. Not eating doesn't even work for my type that conserves what it is eaten. I am now in my fifties and have dealt with this since my teens! I am walking 4-5 miles, five times a week, eating about 1200-1500 calories a day and drinking at least 60 oz of water. My weight is pretty stable and I am not thin. I can't wait until they find the cure for this.
I have enjoyed reading all your posts.
SW 215
CW 170?
GW 150 no more skinny minny for me!

[Magenta]

Hi all. I'm new to this site. I just started on Phentermine 3 days ago. I really related to what Cytmom2 said. I have been exercising for 5 weeks, 5 times a day walking between 1 and 2 miles a day. I didn't lose any weight and when I went to my doctor's visit, I was up 2 pounds from my last visit of 6 months ago, before I made lifestyle changes. Like Cytmom2, my body conserves everything, so eating significantly less doesn't seem to have much effect on me. I've had to watch my weight all my life, but it really ballooned up from 180 to 270 after having my two kids. I don't need to be thin, but I'm at risk of diabetes and heart disease if I don't drop my weight to at least 180. My doctor says Phentermine will help me shed the weight. I weighed 267 the day I started taking the medicine. Day 3 and I'm at 268. I'm probably being impatient, but it is disappointing to be up a pound when you're doing the right things. I suffer from depression/nervousness and I had to get off the antidepressant I was taking to be able to take Phentermine. I'm hoping I'll be okay without the antidepressant which I have been on for 10 years. Anybody out there whose had to drop their antidepressant in order to take this medicine? I could really use some advice. I'm now taking fish oil (for high triglycerides and depression) 3 times a day with my doctor's approval. Are there any other natural vitamins/supplements that help those of us that suffer from chemical depression? Thanks and happy weight loss to all.

[cytmom2]

I would always check with your doctor before taking any suppliments. You might want to discuss
this information with your doctor:

http://www.members.*****com/_ht_a/manchors/phen-pro/phenpro_014.htm

Then check this link and scroll down for information on depression.
http://www.drweil.com/app/cda/drw_cda.html-command=healthConditionDetail-articleType=Condition-pt=Condition-articleId=28

I have heard of St John's Wort and SamE for depression also. Daily exercise is a must.
I found the best diet was eating small amounts of protein and vegetables every 2 - 2 1/2 hours and drinking tons of water. Eventually the exercise, Phentermine and diet did start some weight loss. I can't go by the fantastic results that some people have. My body is "slow and steady may work!" good luck-- you can do it!
Roberta

[gottalose]

Do you also go off the Prozac? I was on Prozac until I had an accident. I stopped taking it because it was so expensive and with a pre-existing condition insuracne is tepp and I could not afford it anymore. After that I gained a ton of weight although I was not eating a lot more. I was apathetic, skipped a lot of meals and ate a lot of carbs and soda. I also was obsessed by food something that I was not before I used and got off Prozac.
I am now on the Phentermine more for energy than for appetite control. I do not overeat but I have bad eating habits. I did a plan called the Perricone Prescription which had more food per day on it than I usually ate in 3 days before it. I lost 5 pounds. When I discussed it with my doctor he did some tests and said my metabolism had become very slow.
I am eating lots to try to speed it up but no white flour products and no sodas keeping away from the sugars and starches helps me to not obsess with the food.
YOu have to take this time to develop a eating habit that can serve you the rest of your life.
Have you looked at the Zone Plan?
If that does not work for you, try L-Glutamine. It helps with thecravings.

[cytmom2]

Yes, I go off the Phentermine because it loses effectiveness. If I go off for over a month, I start to really gain the weight and yes it is because I eat poorly. It is very difficult to ignore the urges. I go to the doctor for the Phentermine so I can feel a little more comfortable with it. I think we all know what to do, drink at least 8 glasses of water, eat often high protein and exercise. When the Phentermnine works, it can help work with the desire to do these things.

[cytmom2]

OOPs, I can't read correctly. I take the Prosac and the Phentermine together for the diet control. I am not really depressed. I don't want anyone to do anything without a doctor but I want to mention that at least one doctor thinks that Prosac and Phentermine help each other so i don't know why you would have to get off the Prosac to take the Phentermine. See this site and discuss it with your doctor: http://members.*****com/manchors/phen-pro/phenpro_004.htm This is what Dr. MAnchors wrote to me, "Read about the 1999 Eli Lilly funded trial of phen-pro and the presentation to the Florida state board on my website. Click on "http://members.*****com/manchors/phen-pro/phenpro_004.htm". That plus the fact that I have now personally treates 2233 patients since 1995 and hundreds of other doctors have given phen-pro to thousands of patients. We phen-pro docs correspond with each other. None of us have see any problems. Only one doctor has been sued for an adverse event and he was sued not for giving the combination but for giving 60 mg of phentermine when the top dose cited in the PDR is 30 mg. He won the case. It is interesting that the plaintiff's attorneys reviewed the safety evidence on combining Prozac and phentermine and concluded there was no issue there. Given that there is no other effective medical alternative to phen-pro, I think that continued resistance to the use of phen-pro is pretty unreasonable."
I guess I am willing to take the chance and I am still not thin--just trying to stay as low as possible and exercise.

[Ms Kitty]

Cytmom as Phen has been around for approx 30 years I'm fairly confident that any nasty long term effects are documented. The amount of time phen has been around was one reason my doc wanted me to use it. I originally wanted reductil. But he was concerned at the lack of long term research completed on it.

Deb

[I think I can, I think I can]

Thanks CYTMOM2 for that website. I was able to read more about the med. that I knew. I am currently being weaned off 2 antidepressant. So my weightloss doctor said wait till I stop taking those to start something new. I would have started this along time ago. Except I have been on these anti's since I had my baby 5 yrs. ago. No one would take me off. I was not to excited about having to take more. Since I have started 2 weeks ago I have already dropped 7.5 pds! I did learn how if you are extremly hungry at night to take your pill later in the day. My doc. says one hour before your meal or two hours after your breakfast. Well tomorrow I will be taking it 2 hours after to see if it keeps me from being hungry in the afternoon and evening. Thanks again for everything!

SW 200.5
CW 193
GW 135

[John Thompson]

I am so glad i found this post about Phen and Prozac. I took Prozac last spring for a few months (at the time i was engaged and she thought i needed to take it since i was getting short tempered with her kids). I stoped when i wised in up and figured my problems were with the relationship not being a good one for me and my daughter (one of her sons has a mental health issue and is violent). After i got out of the relationship i stoped the Prozac (after mds ok). I gained like 30lbs. Last week when i decied that my weight problem had to go. The pschy md said i could go back on the prozac for the weight problem. When i went to my normal md for the Phen,he told me to stop the Prozac since i didnt need both. I think i will still do both.

[Mommy of 4]

John,
So you are saying you lost weight on the prozac? WOW! I gained weight bigtime when I was on it.
I am currently on Toprol,Synthroid and Lexipro along with the Phentermine. I am on the two antidepressants only becuase the combo of the two have helped me remarkably with preventing my migraines. My last migraine scared both my family and doctor so much. They thought I was having a stroke. The migraine temporarily paralyzed my entire right side for about two weeks and then I had to strenthen it up again slowly.
But I haven't had any complications with the combo of these meds together. My only concern is why is it that everyone else has been losing all this weight but me?! I am on my second month and haven't even lost a pound!
Can you believe that?

So glad to know that once you recgonized your realtionship wasn't healthy for you that you were strong enough to get out. Congrat to you! Give yourself a pat on the back!

[galaxygrrl]

I know what it's like to think about food all the time.

There is no answer or cure. You just need to face the fact that this is your battle and fight it. You don't need to be hungry, you just need to eat veggies and low fat foods all the time. You will loose the battle if you are hungry. You also need to exercise all the time. That is the answer. You have to change your lifestyle and you need to fight this battle day in and day out. It's like stopping smoking or fighting booze issues and you need to treat it that way.

I took my weight off (this time) on a liquid fast through a hospital program and it's much easier to diet this way. If I had 100 pounds to loose again, I would loose the drugs and do a fast. PM me if you want to know more.

Good luck!

Beth

[AMYDIONNE]

Galaxygirl was just wondering on the liqued diet you were on, did you stay in the hospital while you were doing it? Can you help me on that kind of diet? I feel really weird on these pills but need to loose the weight. How long did it take you to loose all that weight you lost and what were the lbs you lost per week? 100lbs that just estatic I mean congratulations :D Any help would be appreciated Thanks Amy

[galaxygrrl]

Originally posted by AMYDIONNE:
Galaxygirl was just wondering on the liqued diet you were on, did you stay in the hospital while you were doing it? Can you help me on that kind of diet? I feel really weird on these pills but need to loose the weight. How long did it take you to loose all that weight you lost and what were the lbs you lost per week? 100lbs that just estatic I mean congratulations :D Any help would be appreciated Thanks AmyThe diet was through a local hopital program, it's basiclly soups and puddings. I would call local hopitals and see what programs they offer. I did not need to stay in a hospital. I lost the weight in 6 months -- I worked out a lot too, most people lose slower.

I think you might be too thin for a program like that. In my program you need to weight 40 or more pounds over weight.

Sorry I can't be more helpful. If you don't like the drugs, I would not take them.

Good luck.

Beth