I guess this is a bit of a story as well as a review!
In November 2005 I decided to start getting healthy. I just felt that "click" inside and decided to act on it. I weighed 263. I've been obese all of my adult life - around 220 was my average - and a history of binge & purge. I have 2 daughters (ages 1 & 2) and really do not want them to remember me as "the fat Mom". At that time I felt I needed something to give me an extra edge and get me started. Some of my friends had had good luck on Phentermine. So I started taking Phentermine 37.5. I played around a bit with timing and dosage. Like first thing in the AM vs. after breakfast...1/2 pill broken on the score line vs. a whole pill...1/2 pill fist thing in the AM and 1/2 pill before lunch. What works best for me is to take 1 pill about 2 hours after breakfast on a empty stomach (including pop/coffee) and with lots of water.
I used Phentermine for 3 weeks the first time and then continued counting calories and exercising for a few months. The main reason I stopped after only 3 weeks was I started to have problems after a couple weeks falling back to sleep during the night - I had a young baby that was still waking often during the night - and I couldn't fall back to sleep after she did. By then I had started habits, didn't feel I needed the edge Phentermine provided me and I continued losing weight by counting calories and exercising. I try to eat 4-6 300 calorie meals a day with an emphasis on protein, drink lots of water and exercise at least 5 days/week. Then I hit a plateau after a few months and started the Phentermine again for a few weeks to get me out of the rut. So after months of losing weight, I'm on my 3rd cycle of Phentermine now. My weight loss has been far from fast. But, I didn't get this way overnight either. I had a really slow (only 10 pounds) weight loss this summer. I look forward to being out of the 200's soon though!
As far as side effects--they have been minimal. Like I mentioned, a couple weeks into the first time I used it, I did have a very hard time falling back to sleep in the middle of the night. During this most recent cycle I notice somedays I get a little light-headed/headachy and some nights I have to get up at take a Tylenol PM to get to sleep easily. The first time I used it I felt more "buzzed" and full of energy, but to be honest I don't feel "that" different on days when I use it and days I don't - except for the not "needing to eat" feeling. I'm actually feeling pretty good eating balanced and working out - that's done miracles for my energy on it's own! I am very careful to eat at least 1,200 calories when I'm taking Phentermine though - you could easily be WAY undereating on it. I don't want to mess up my metabolism by not eating enough. For me it isn't actually a "magic pill" - for example if I'm really stressed I can still find myself eating mindlessly - but it has been such a helpful tool when I do need that extra help along the way.
I weigh 218 right now and still have a long road ahead of me. But I'm very encouraged with my progress so far and know that I'll just continue plugging away! What's my other option? Not even going there!
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