Help...just started taking phen...

[Leslye]

Hi...I am new to the board, and also new to taking phen. My doctor prescribed 37.5 mg. of phen twice a day along with 10 mg. of Celexa. I have a few questions...

Is anyone else taking that high of a dosage of phen? Also, is anyone taking the phen. with a small dosage of an anti-depressant?

Does the phen. start working immediately to decrease the appetite and cravings, or does it take a few days?

I am so cranky and I've had a headache nearly every day this week. Is that normal?

I'm also very restless at night...I can sleep for a few hours but then wake up and toss and turn. Do these side effects go away with time?

Sorry for all of the questions. You all seem really nice and very informative. Thanks for any help or tips you can give me.

[happishan]

I am new also but i have been put on welbutrin as well. The restless nights i can understand it ****s, so far. But my appetite decreased the day i started taking phen. good luck.

[carlymamma]

Hey welcome...
I take phen and celexa together.
Celexa effects the brain by increasing production of the substance serotonin...
The so called "feel good" chemical.

Celexa helps me because it helps me with my emotional eating....
phen helps with energy and appetite

[carlymamma]

and yes I am also on 37.5 mg phen
Also the good thing about celexa is that one of the side effects can be loss of appetite ...untill you are used to it.
Also my celexa keeps me up (even without phen) my DR said that it does that to some, so I take it in the morning.
For some though it does the opposite and makes them sleepy... they take it at night...
just listen to your body....


Good Luck

[Danelady]

Welcome to phenland

You can take something for your headache

[Islandgirl]

Wow! did I read that right? He has you own 37.5 2x daily??? I would be restless at night too. I'm on 37.5 1x daily and 20 mg Prozac. I've had a couple of headaches and take 2 excedrin (it seems to work)

[carlymamma]

Okay guess I missed the phen two times daily?
Is it the phen you take twice a day or the celexa?
The celexa I take twice a day for a total of 20mg.... I take 37.5 mg of phen I take half in morn half in afternoon
But I can't imagine taking 75 mg of phen a day.. especially if you are new to phen?

[Danelady]

Islandgirl,
Good eye I missed that also. Are you seeing a General practioner or a Baratric Dr? 37.5-2x's a day is a bit much to start out with. Alot of times G.P just don't deal with this med enough to know dosage. If they would read the patient insert they would know that isn't a recommended dose.

[Moonwatcher]

Hi Leslye and.......


My name is Deb but everyone calls me Moon (and a few other things but we won't go there)...Please do me a favor, if you are really taking 37.5mg of Phen twice a day. STOP and call your doctor or pharmacy right away.
This does not sound correct to me. I have never heard of someone just starting out at that dose. Maybe you just typed it wrong up above. Maybe they made a mistake when the ** was filled.......ohhhh.....good law suit!

Anyway, none of us are doctors nor do we play doctors on TV but if all the actors on ER got sick at the same time.......well I'm sure us Phensters would love to fill in for them.

Seriously...please check with someone right away.....now as a matter of fact.

Again....welcome to the Phen funny farm and one of the things all newbies have to do is read my topic about water. It's called the water thing and everyone has to read it. I will go try to find it for you and bump it to the front of the line.

See you again soon and good luck,
Moon

[Leslye]

Hi guys...thanks so much for all of your responses.

My prescription label for the phen. says "Take 1/2 to 1 tablet each morning and another 1/2 to 1 tablet mid-afternoon." They are 37.5 mg. each.

I remember my doctor saying I could start out with 1/2 and use my judgement from there. He said if I needed to take 2 whole tablets a day that would be fine.

On Monday, Tues. and Wed. this week I only took 1/2 a tablet twice a day. I did notice some of my cravings disappear, but I didn't notice a drastic difference in my hunger at meals, although it did help with my snacking. So, yesterday I began taking 1 whole tablet in the morning and 1 whole tablet in the afternoon. I can definitely tell a difference now.

My doctor is a bariatric doctor...in fact, he's on some kind of Board of Bariatric Doctors here in Arkansas. Do you guys think he must be a quack for putting me on that high of a dose? Think I should get a second opinion??

Thanks so much for all of the input!!

[lose]

My doctor gave me 30 MG caps the first time I went, about 2 months ago. This week, after whining and begging he gave me a scrip for 37.5 MG tablets. He is a MD, I think it's harder to get Phen from them. Hope everything works out for you.

[Rena]

This scares me........ 37.5 twice a day is WAY too much!!!
I do not think this makes the doctor a "quack" but I do think you should get a second opinion. Do you mind sharing with us how much you are trying to lose? Personally when I started the phen, I needed to lose 170 pounds.

My doctor also told me to start with half a tablet, see what worked for me. He also told me to NEVER take phentermine (course, he was talking about a full tablet, not sure what he would say to half) after 3 pm. And I have been careful to do that.

Please ask him again, to verify his instructions. If he says it again, to take up to two whole tablets, ask him why, and what benefits it would produce that one wouldn't? That just doesn't sound right.

[Leslye]

Well, I tried to get in touch with my doctor, but, since it's Saturday I'm not having any luck. I plan to contact him on Monday.

For today and tomorrow, I'm going back to 1/2 a tablet in the morning and 1/2 a tablet around 2pm.

I have 160+ pounds to lose...maybe that's why he put me on such a high dosage??

I've been doing a lot of research on the net and I can't find anything that recommends that high of a dosage, so I'm a little nervous.

I'll will let you all know what I find out on Monday.

[Rena]

Leslye.. please email me... you are very close to the same that I was when I first started. Maybe I can help... please...

Rena
music01@network-one.com

[ROBIN]

Leslye,

That's too much phentermine to take to begin with if you want it to keep working later on.

Here's some info from the Physician's Desk Reference...

"Tachyphylaxis and tolerance have been demonstrated with all drugs of this class ... "

If you start out with a high dosage of phen or you up to soon, your are going to build up tolerance QUICKLY. In a couple weeks time, 2 37.5 mg tablets will only be working like 1 tablet did a couple weeks ago. You can't keep upen to get the same or better results! If any little been of phen is suppressing your appetite, then it is working. If you up when it's still working, you are not going to get ahead in the long run.

"Tolerance to the anorectic effect usually develops within a few weeks. When this occurs, the recommended dose should not be exceeded in an attempt to increase the effect; rather, the drug should be discontinued. "

"Dosage should be individualized to obtain an adequate response with the lowest effective dose."

"The usual adult dose is one capsule or tablet (37.5 mg) daily, administered before breakfast or 1-2 hours after breakfast. For tablets, the dosage may be adjusted to the patient's need. For some patients 1 / 2 tablet (18.75 mg) daily may be adequate, while in some cases it may be desirable to give 1 / 2 tablet (18.75 mg) two times a day."

"The rate of weight loss is greatest in the first week of therapy for both drug and placebo subjects and tends to decrease in succeeding weeks."


Here's some from Clinical Pharmacology 2000 ...

"Tolerance to the anorexiant effects of phentermine usually develops within a few weeks of starting therapy. The mechanism of tolerance appears to be pharmacodynamic in nature; higher doses of phentermine are required to produce the same response. When tolerance develops to the anorexiant effects, it is generally recommended that phentermine be discontinued rather than the dose increased."

"Keep in mind that phentermine was intended to be used in addition to a healthy diet and exercise. The best results are achieved this way. While your prescriber or health care professional will most likely prescribe phentermine for only a few months; however, some people have used it for longer periods. Eventually your weight loss may "level out". At that point, the drug will only help you maintain your new weight. Do not increase or in any way change your dose without consulting your prescriber."

"The duration of action following administration of the 8 mg capsules or tablets is about 4 hours and 12—14 hours after administration of the 30 mg capsules, 37.5 mg tablets, or the resin capsules."

"Phentermine is administered orally. Low-dose phentermine hydrochloride should be administered one-half hour before meals or 1—2 hours after meals. The resin complex and high-dose phentermine hydrochloride should be administered in the morning before breakfast or approximately 2 hours after breakfast. Avoid late evening administration because of the possibility of insomnia."

"8 mg PO three times per day, 30 minutes before meals or at least 1—2 hours after meals."

"15—37.5 mg PO once daily as a single dose every morning before breakfast or approximately 2 hours after breakfast. Dose strengths of 15 mg or higher of phentermine hydrochloride are to be dosed once per day, even though they are not formulated as "sustained-release" products."

"15—37.5 mg PO as a single dose before breakfast or at least 10—14 hours before bedtime. Phentermine resin complex is only administered once-daily." (Ionamin)

If you start taking 2 37.5 mg tablets after the first week or month, what are you going to do in a couple weeks when that dosage quits working? You can't go backwards on phen at get better results, or even the same for that matter. And if you do it this way, even if you quit taking it for a couple weeks, it's still not going to work as well as if you did it in slower dosage increases to begin with.

DON'T TAKE MORE THEN YOU NEED IF YOU ARE GOING TO NEED MORE LATER ON.

[This message has been edited by ROBIN (edited March 03, 2001).]

[KeliK]

Hi leslye.
that seems like alot to me too.
I take one 37.5 in the am and 1/2 at 3 or 4 pm. i have started taking the 37.5 one when i first wake up, with a few sips of diet dr pepper, seems to me like the caffeine gives it a boost. I used to take it 1-2 hours after i eat breakfast, but there is usually so much water in my belly at that point that i feel its somewhat diluted.
I have been taking phen since may. lost 60 lbs. I felt like iwas building up a resistance, so the dr suggested the 30mg yellow time release ones, i did 2 days on those, did not like them, also tried the 37.5 all white pills with the number 376 i think on them for 2 months, and had huge zits and periods that lasted 2 days max. so I went back to the ones that a pharmacy mixes right there, its a specialty shop. they are not as strong as the white ones, but i like them the best, less side effects.

geesh, sorry this turned into a long post about me... blah blah blah sorry

welcome,
and try cutting down some.
i agree with robin, that if you start out this high, what can you possibly add in the end?>
the headaches should go away soon.
and the sleeplessness should decrease too,
I still take one tylenol pm to help me sleep, hubby is a huge snorer and i need to REALLY be asleep.
also,
I have never heard of the celexa..
do yall like it ????
never heard of it.

[Leslye]

Robin,
Thanks for all of the good information.

I am new to taking this medicine, and was following the advice of my doctor and the label on the prescription bottle. (which says take 1/2 to 1 tablet in the morning and afternoon) My doctor never mentioned anything about tolerance.

Thanks again for the heads-up.

[ROBIN]

Leslye,
Always get your money's worth when you go to the doctor. Ask him 50 million questions. Doctors love to answer questions

[Joanne M]

I seem to have a lower tolerance for Phen, and experience many of the side effects such as you described. I don't even drink beverages with caffeine, so I was REALLY wired when I started taking this medication! To sleep at night, here's what I have found works for me. Be sure to take your prescription first thing in the morning, so it has plenty of time in your system. At bedtime, I take Tylenol PM or Benadryl to help me fall asleep. I usually sleep 2 - 4 hours, then am wide awake again. If I have time, I will get up and take another Benadryl and go back to bed for a couple hours.

I have found I average about 4 hours sleep a night, if I don't take anything to help me sleep. This is far too little to function well on, even with the boost from the Phen. I will sometimes stop taking Phen on the weekends so I can sleep in past 4am, and try to catch up! Fortunately, I have a close friend who is up at 4am too, so we get a chance to talk once in a while.

[loser]

Whoa, that's a lot of Phen...no wonder your heart's going nuts, and your headaches may be from high blood pressure...check that out...it's "The Silent Killer", seriously.
Well, good luck on the weight loss, and Goody's powders (made right here in NOrth Cackolacky) are #1 for headaches!!