I didn't know...

[Tootsiepops]

...that UK private doctors can legally prescribe appetite suppressants.

I had a mobile hairdresser at my house the other week - she said she'd lost four stone in as many months taking phentermine.

I immediately though she was slightly mad and had ordered them off some dodgy internet site, but she was quick to say the pills were from a legitimate clinic, and legally prescribed by a doctor who also works for the NHS.

I did a bit of research, found a clinic, went along today and now I have three weeks worth of appetite suppressants.

Am I being silly? I tent to trust the NHS implicitly, but they do not prescribe these pills (only orlistat which is just awful). I'm currently 16 stone (5ft 4in), and am utterly desperate (I won't bore you all with the names of all the diets I've tried and failed. I've also had extensive councelling, but it did not work for me at all.

Does anyone have any experience with phentermine? I'm very excited about it!

[DoinMiFuckinHeadIn]

Not Phentermine but I had Duromine years ago which I think is similar.

I was constantly on the go, barely slept and my house was never so clean and tidy
I think I lost about three or four stone on them.

[DoinMiFuckinHeadIn]

If these have the same effect on you then I suggest you take a day off from them at least once a week so you do actually get some decent sleep.

[lorelei9here]

I wouldn't take amphetamines anyway, I can't really manage coffee without nausea so I wouldn't, but if it works for you...

I think for me, it wouldn't solve my main issue of boredom eating at work, but your situation might be totally different.

[Tootsiepops]

I was comfort / binge eating and I'm hoping these tablets will interrupt and disrupt that cycle enough that I can break the habit and overcome what is now essentially both a behavioural and physical addiction to food. I've gained 4.5 stone since 2012

I hope this works. As I said, I'm desperate - there's not a bit of me that doesn't ache from carrying so much extra fat.

[Thefitfatty]

I'm not on phentermine but on methylphenidate (for ADHD) and while I am losing weight and my appetite is suppressed, you really have to watch for when it wears off. The thing about amphetamines is that they wear off after about 10-12 hours (depending on dosage) and then you will find yourself ravenously hungry. They also do nothing to solve emotional issues with food (which is really what binge eating is). I had a bad day the other day and despite the appetite suppressants managed to binge eat my way through a few packets of crisps.

I'm really shocked a legit doctor would prescribe them? That's like prescribing you cocaine for weight loss? I live in the UAE and you can only buy them from two pharmacies and I have to give my passport and ID in order to get them!

[Tootsiepops]

The doctors are definitely legitimate. I checked. A lot. Although I am desperate, I did not want to do anything illegal.

The clinic belongs to the Obesity Management Assosiation and is regulated by the Care Quality Commission. I cross referenced the names of the doctors and they all hold positions in respected NHS hospitals.

Admittedly, it does still feel massively dodgy though, but I'm not sure why.

Definitely know that this isn't going to fix the root cause of the emotional eating, but I've had so much counselling already and that hasn't helped either

Thanks for the heads up on timing. I figure if I eat breakfast like a normal person, and take my tablet around 10am, I should be ok? I have an 18 week old daughter so am usually knackered and in bed by 10pm (plus my husband is here in the evenings to talk me out of a binge).

I don't know. Maybe it will help, or maybe it'll be the next thing in a long line of things that also haven't worked...

[Thefitfatty]

I'm not sure what your dosage is. I take 3 tabs at 9, 11 and 1 to space them out for the whole of the day (then again I'm looking for different results). I find I get hungryish about 9 pm at night if I do that, so I usually try to be asleep before then.

I haven't noticed any insomnia, but I have noticed that I can get by on much less sleep then I used to.

What I've been doing is eating a healthy breakfast (usually a hard boiled egg or two), then I make a bottle of juice in my food processor with spinich, celery, cucumbers, beats, apple, pear, blueberries and ginger and I drink that during the day, so I know I'm getting the vitamins I need. Amphetamines make you super thirsty and dehydrated so make sure you drink lots of water.

For dinner I make a healthy meal, but generally I only ever have a tiny portion.

[lorelei9here]

Fitfatty - may I ask how long you've been taking them?

not planning to take them myself, just curious.

[DoinMiFuckinHeadIn]

When I got them it was via a private consultation with a normal GP (not my own one though) and he issued a private prescription which you take to the pharmacy and collect in the usual way but you pay a higher fee.. I can't remember what it was - was a very long time ago :)

Fit, make sure you drink lots of fluids - I did find I had a dry mouth when taking them

[lorelei9here]

DoIn, was it a permanent solution then?

[Thefitfatty]

About a month and a half

[StringTheory]

I've taken them for weight loss and it did work. But that was over 10 years ago and I'm now about 4 stone heavier so only really a temporary fix I'm afraid.

[lorelei9here]

Thefit - so did the weight stay off for a long time?

[Thefitfatty]

Well I've only been on them for a month and a half, so the weight is still coming off. I've read on various ADHD forums that it does stay off as long as you keep taking them. But this is the thing, I NEED to take them, for me they make more focused, stop my fidgeting, etc. which is the opposite of what they will do to someone who doesn't have my brain chemistry. They also raise your heart rate, cause insomina, and are very very addictive, which are side effects I DO get.

I mean, cocaine and ecstasy are forms of amphetamines.

[lorelei9here]

fitfatty, you take them for medical reasons then..... I'm just asking because it is different if you are going to take them for life.

Overall, I'm seeing the "break the habit" point but wondering how long that effect lasts. Also, if someone eats for other reasons, will they end up eating when they aren't hungry despite the pills?

[Emmiy]

Wow!

[Thefitfatty]

It's totally different if you plan on taking them for life. For me, they make sense, but would anyone really want to be on cocaine for life? The weight might come off initially but the minute you stop (and I can't see someone who doesn't need them taking them for life) it's going to pile back on, and you have the potential of having developed one hell of an addiction.

And no, they don't solve emotional issues. While I have stopped "boredom induced" snacking (which to be fair, given my ADHD was a big problem) it hasn't stopped my emotional binges, because those have nothing to do with hunger. I've only lost about 5 or 6 lbs in a month and a half, so it's not like the weight melts off.

[Emmiy]

www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1047441/The-great-diet-pill-lie-Horrific-effects-expense-industry.html

[Emmiy]

www.livestrong.com/article/525444-can-i-take-diet-supplements-while-taking-adderall/

I had just been looking round the web after reading your post. I didn't think they still allowed these for weight loss given the sometimes horrific consequences. Good luck and hope that it helps you though. I do hope that the clinic is monitoring you on a regular basis whilst taking them.

[Tootsiepops]

I'm now day 3 of the tablets, and they have stopped my binge eating dead. I went to the supermarket yesterday and for the first time in about five years, I could not have cared less about eating anything in the entire shop. I went home with a salad.

I've had some instances of waking in the night, but am not having any trouble falling asleep. I have more energy during the day, and took my daughter out for a long walk in the sunshine yesterday.

I understand there are possible side effects, but that is true of almost all medication on earth, and had I carried on binge eating and gaining weight, I'd most certainly be facing a premature death. Scary but true. So I am and have weighed up the pros and cons carefully especially as I have a young baby to look after.

I can also see that although the tablets are not available on the NHS in the UK, they are widely used in both the US and Australia. I feel a bit better about this.

It's only day three though - there's still the possibility that it will all go disasterously wrong

[whatdoIget]

I'd be really worried about psychological addiction and the long term effects on the heart. Also premature ageing. Isn't it just a form of amphetamine?

[Tootsiepops]

They are for short term use only. I intend to take them for three months only. The clinic will not prescribe beyond this. I'm hoping the tablets will give me some breathing space from binge eating every day.

I may end up psychologically addicted, but I am already psychologically and physically addicted to food that is harming me in very real and immediate ways.

I can't say I'd thought about premature ageing particularly. It's not something that concerns me greatly. I'm more worried that my knees are going to give way the next time I try to pick my baby up.

I think it is an amphetamine like drug, yes, but it's not actually amphetamine. I have no idea what the distinction is between the two though

[whatdoIget]

I hope it works for you. I can certainly sympathise with the bingeing thing. It's shit isn't it?

[Frostycake]

I thought they were banned in 2012 at the same time as Reductil? I seem to remember all appetite surpressants being withdrawn due to concerns over heart valve problems.

You will have little appetite while youre on them but you will need increasing doses to get the same effect after a while. They stop working after 3 or 4 months I think. THEN the appetite comes back with a vengence. You'll want to eat anything that isnt nailed down and the weight will pile back on.

I would look at the readon for your overeating with overeaters anonymous or similar. Must cost a fortune too.

[PineappleUpsideDownCake]

Jusy came back to this thread as googling. Anyone still on it say how they got on?

Im desperate.