Yesterday marked the end of seven weeks since I started taking phentermine at the urging of my doctor. I think that's about halfway to the point when I will have to stop taking it, since she stated that usually it stops working for people after about 3 months. So far I feel fine on it, and have had very few of the noted side effects that phentermine (aka Adipex) can cause. The most common side effects (found on Drugs.com) include headaches, dizziness, tremors (nope, I had none of these), dry mouth (nope, but I do feel thirsty more often and drink more water, which is good!) and diarrhea or upset stomach (nope). I did experience a few of the other common side effects in the first week. I had trouble falling asleep at bedtime for the first few days; I felt wide awake and just couldn't get to sleep until late. I fixed that issue by taking my phentermine earlier in the day and skipping the afternoon dose for awhile until my body got used to it. The only longer-term side effect I have had that is listed is (TMI) constipation, even though I eat fruits and vegetables and drink lots of water. I even added a fiber supplement with no luck. Now I just drink a cup of Senna tea
Since phentermine is a central nervous system stimulant, one of the other common side effects is feeling restless or "hyperactive" and insomnia. Well, I wouldn't say I ever felt "hyperactive" but for the first week or so I *did* feel more energized and had the desire to get moving more. I sure got a lot of housework and cleaning done that first week! I'd say in the second week, when I was taking half at 7AM and half at noon, the insomnia went completely away along with any jittery feeling. Since then it's been a pretty even keel of yes, having more energy to get out and exercise or get things done during the day, but not as much as I *wish* I could have! Just a bit of a boost. But thankfully, my blood pressure has not gone up and I've had no issues with heart palpitations or racing or anything like that (less common side effects). My doctor sees me once a month to check those things and make sure I'm doing okay.
Mainly the phentermine works in two ways: as an appetite suppressant and an energy booster. I do find I am not as hungry as often and can get by with less food. You can't just take a pill and eat whatever you want, though. You still have to do the work. I went back to what I know best: lower carb eating, based on meats, fats, and produce. I do still enjoy some starches and grains once in awhile but I am really careful to keep them limited. I might have a few corn chips at the Mexican restaurant with salsa, but the rest of my meal would be carne asada and grilled vegetables... no beans or rice or tortillas. And if I am at a potluck I might have some chicken soup and salad and even had 2 bites of a muffin with butter, but I won't have croutons, crackers or dessert. It's moderation and eyeballing my carbs to stay under about 70-80 grams, which isn't too hard for me to estimate after tracking carbs for months and months on other diet plans. I'm not measuring, counting, or tracking anything... just using my knowledge of nutrition to make good choices. As far as an energy boost goes, it's not even the kind of boost you might get from a few cups of coffee. It's more like *just enough* of a difference to get me to go walk the dogs every day instead of blowing it off sometimes, or *just enough* to go ahead and do some yard work instead of deciding to watch TV. My doctor told me that phentermine also would give my metabolism a "boost." I've found conflicting information about that online; some sources say it does speed up metabolism, and others say it only does so by getting a person moving more. Maybe it's a little of both.
Today I weighed in at 236 pounds... a loss of four pounds since last Sunday. It wasn't until Monday that I hit my 239 goal and posted last, but my usual weigh in day is Sunday and I count pounds lost weekly on Sundays. Here's how it has gone each week since starting Phentermine at 258 pounds on August 26th (which was incidentally, a Saturday, so the first week weigh in is one day longer than the rest:
week 1: -9 pounds
week 2: -1 pounds
week 3: -3 pounds
week 4: -3 pounds
week 5: -2 pounds
week 6: -0 pounds
week 7: -4 pounds
Total so far: -22 pounds.
Although it *feels* like a super rapid weight loss and my first month's loss of 17 pounds *is* the most I have ever lost in a month, it's really not overly fast. If you take out that first week loss, which was likely a lot of bloat and water from eating more carbs in the weeks prior, it averages just over 2 pounds a week. That's a nice, steady rate of loss that is within the usual guidelines doctors give for safe weight loss. I'm really happy with this. I can't even explain how much better I feel with 22 pounds gone!
Well this post has gone on long enough. I just wanted to share a few details about the phentermine and my experience. I'd be glad to answer any questions in the comments. Going forward I probably won't be writing about the drug itself much, but more about this process of re-losing, yet again, lots of regained pounds, and hopefully for the final time, escaping obesity.
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