Today’s article is all about the phentermine side effects dangers, warnings, positive effects, symptoms, psychological side effects, etc with a full review.
Being obese or overweight has serious and dangerous health consequences in the long run. For this reason, healthcare providers suggest maintaining a healthy weight according to one’s height and weight. You may check our recent publication on how green tea help you lose weight?
Leading healthy lifestyles, a healthy balanced diet, and physical activity levels are the first steps to lose weight. But losing weight becomes complicated and laborious for some people to achieve. Only diet plans or workouts fail to help them in achieving the weight reduction goal. Hence, they need some additional help to lose weight.
To help them, there are some medications available to use along with diet and exercise to promote weight loss in certain circumstances. Phentermine is one of them. It is a prescription stimulant and appetite suppressant. But several criteria should be observed to figure out whether phentermine drug is or is not the correct option for them.
What is Phentermine?
Phentermine is an oral drug. It is a short-term medication for losing weight. Phentermine works in the human body by decreasing the feeling of appetite. It is a prescriptive drug. So the doctor will have to closely monitor the use of it. The drug is available as a brand named “Adipex-D”, “Lomaira” etc.
- The medicine falls in the category of anorectics.
- This is a Schedule IV drug.
- This medicine is like amphetamine used to suppress appetite.
- This is available as the generic medicine. For this reason, it usually costs less.
- It was approved in 1959 originally by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
- It is also available in combination with topiramate to lose weight.
The medicine is available in three forms:
- An oral capsule
- An oral tablet
- An orally disintegrating tablet
However, for having a long termed permanent effect, one should combine the medication with lifestyle changes and exercise.
What are the uses of Phentermine?
Phentermine is a controlled substance to cut down brown fats from the body. It is basically used for fighting obesity. It is a drug used for losing extra pounds. It is intended to be used as a part of the overall weight loss program.
The oral drug is only used for a short period like a few weeks. The drug is mostly used for aiding the weight loss journeys for obese and overweight people. Hereby, it is prescribed for obese people who have failed to lose the needed weight along with diet and exercise alone. Therefore it is not suggested for the people who are planning to cut a few pounds down.
But it will work only if followed in experts’ supervision and taken along with a low-calorie balanced diet, exercises, and other lifestyle changes to lose pounds.
How to take Phentermine?
The medicine is used to aid weight loss. Possible doses of phentermine vary and depend on some factors include:
- Age
- How severe the condition is
- The condition being treated
- Other medical conditions
- How the first dose reacts
It activates the sympathetic nervous system. That’s why it is known as a “sympathomimetic” medication.
Then the medicine should be taken either exactly as directed on the label of it or as prescribed by the doctor.
And never use it for a longer period than recommended by the experts.
Also one should not take in smaller or larger amounts than suggested by the doctor.
Highlights for Phentermine
It is a prescription drug needed to use with professional-approved exercise, lifestyle and behavior changes, and a reduced-calorie diet plan to lose weight. People who are obese or have certain weight-related medical problems use it to slim down. The medicine works well by decreasing appetite and by increasing the amount of energy used by the body and brain.
Brand Name: Adipex p, Lomaira
Generic name: Phentermine
Drug Class: CNS Stimulants, Anorexiants, Sympathomimetic
Form: Oral capsule
Ingredients: fastin, ionamin, zantryl etc.
Strengths: 37.5 mg
Dosages: Maximum 37.5 mg per day
Directions: take in the morning one hour before breakfast
Storage: Store it at room temperature, 68 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit. And keep this drug away from heat and light.
Diet: a reduced low-calorie diet recommended by specialists will help to lose weight.
How does Phentermine work?
The drug Phentermine belongs to the anorectics’ class of drugs. These classes of medicines work in an almost similar way to treat obesity. It works as an anorexigenic appetite suppressor. Let’s see the food that won’t make you gain weight.
Unfortunately, the exact way how phentermine works to help losing extra pounds is not known. But it is believed that phentermine might work by releasing chemicals largely in the brain that help reduce the feeling of hunger.
So the components in phentermine send chemical signals to neurons that suppress appetite. Thus it helps one to eat less. And consuming fewer calories aids one in losing weight.
The drug is absorbed in the gastrointestinal system and flows in blood in three to four hours. By this time the taker starts feeling the effects. It decreases appetite and prevents one from eating higher calories.
To conclude, obese people who want weight reduction feel fuller for longer after having this anorectic agent.
Side Effects of Phentermine
Mostly all the drugs offer more or less side effects in the body. Phentermine is also not an exception to this. Although the drug is one of the most frequently prescribed weight-loss medications, yet it is not a good option to pick if one has heart disease, an overactive thyroid gland, high blood pressure, kidney disease, or glaucoma. However, it can cause some major or minor side effects for different individuals.
The 11 Serious Side Effects of Phentermine
There are some recognized side effects of phentermine. So one should consult and call one’s doctor if having the effects discussed below:
- Feeling short of breath, even with little exertion
- Having chest pain, having felt like one might pass out
- Pounding heartbeat
- Blurred vision
- Swelling in the lower part of the body; specially in ankles and feet
- Restless feeling
- Anxiety
- Trouble sleeping
- Mood swings
- High blood pressure
- Nosebleed
The 06 Common Side Effects of Phentermine
There are also some more common sides effects may include:
- Itching
- Headache
- Dizziness
- Unpleasant taste: one can experience bad taste in mouth
- Dry mouth
- Irritable bowel syndrome such as, diarrhea, constipation, stomach pain, belly bloating
These effects normally go away during the period of treatment as soon as the body adjusts to the medication. Again, experts may suggest ways to prevent or reduce some of these effects.
Phentermine side effects requiring immediate medical attention
Along with the upper mentioned side effects, phentermine may cause some other unwanted effects. If any of the following effects occur while consuming phentermine, then one needs to check with one’s doctor immediately. The effects are including below:
Rare mental symptoms are:
- Hallucinating
- Severe mood swings
- Uncontrolled mental changes
- Seeing, hearing or feeling things that are not present there
Physical cases are:
- Chest pain
- Decreased ability to exercise
- Numbness
- Fainting
- Troubled breathing
- Racing pulse
- Irregular or fast heartbeat
- Trembling arms, legs, or other body parts
Cautions before taking Phentermine
Firstly, phentermine is not approved for people under 16 years old. You hay have banana shake to lose weight.
After that before starting phentermine tell one’s doctor if one ever had:
1. Coronary artery disease
2. Heart valve disorder
3. High blood pressure
4. Overactive thyroid gland
5. Kidney disease
6. Diabetes
7. Pregnant women
Phentermine’s interactions with other drugs
This medicine has severe interactions with about 42 different drugs. Some of the serious interactions are:
- Isocarboxazid
- Linezolid
- Iobenguane
- Phelenzine
- Tranylcypromine and others
Also it has interactions with about 172 drugs moderately. Mild interactive drugs include:
- American ginseng
- Amantadine
- Desmopressin
- Eucalyptus
- Guarana
- Sage
- Yerba mate etc
Phentermine’s interaction with other medications and foods that cause more side effects
This oral capsule may interact with other medicines, herbs, vitamins, etc. one might be taking. Consuming alcohol with phentermine can cause side effects. Therefore interaction happens when a substance changes the way a medicine works. So the result might be dangerous or Prevent phentermine from working well.
01. MAOIs
Phentermine is prohibited to use if one has used an MAO inhibitor in the last 14 days. MAO inhibitors contain Isocarboxazid, methylene blue injection, rasagiline, linezolid, selegiline, tranylcypromine, and so on. The chemical reaction can be dangerous because of the components between them. Taking them together can cause hypertensive crises.
02. Weight loss drugs
Other drugs for weight loss, for example, amphetamine, benzphetamine, diethylpropion, phendimetrazine, etc. may cause an abnormal heart rhythm or a hypertensive rise in blood pressure.
03. SSRIs
Serotonin reuptake inhibitors, for instance, fluvoxamine, fluoxetine, sertraline, paroxetine, citalopram, nefazodone, and other drugs together again can cause a harmful increase in blood pressure.
04. Reserpine
The diet pill may decrease the working effects of reserpine to lower the blood pressure.
05. Oral Diabetes Drugs
Diabetic-related drugs such as exenatide, nateglinide, rosiglitazone, glipizide, sitagliptin, linagliptin, saxagliptin, and liraglutide may cause a notable drop in blood sugar levels. And if one is taking the medicine along with insulin or any of the diabetes drugs then he needs to monitor the blood sugar level frequently.
In fine, to escape such interactions, doctors should prescribe all the medications carefully. And share all the medications, herbs or vitamins one is taking with the doctor.
Phentermine Warnings
01. Allergy warning
One should not use phentermine if one feels allergic to it. It can cause a dangerous allergic reaction. One can have trouble breathing or swelling the tongue or throat. Using the drug again after having an allergic reaction to it can be fatal.
02. Alcohol interaction warning
Alcoholic drinks increase side effects including nervousness, dizziness, headache, hard stools, dry mouth, trouble sleeping, libido changes, etc.
The 08 Warnings of Phentermine for people with certain health conditions
01. Heart disease
People who have a past history of heart disease for instance, heart rhythm issues; coronary artery disease, myocardial attack, congestive heart failure etc. are not recommended to consume the medicine. This can cause stroke, arrhythmia, heart failure, valve disease etc. serious effects.
02. Blood pressure
People who are suffering from uncontrolled or severe blood pressure are advised to escape the medicine by the health experts. The diet pill may produce a serious and uncontrolled increase in blood pressure.
03. An Overactive thyroid
This medicine can increase eye pressure even more that can even lead to permanent damage to vision. So people who have glaucoma need to be careful for using phentermine.
04. Extreme agitation or nervousness
The medicine can cause anxiety and restlessness. Hereby the nervousness can worse more.
05. Diabetes
Losing weight is good for controlling blood sugar level more. But it can raise the sugar levels in the blood.
06. A history of drug abuse
Phentermine may form a habit. So if one has past records of drug or alcohol misuse then should not take this for longer time.
07. Pregnant women
It is an X pregnancy category drug. It means this category drugs are forbidden to take in pregnancy.
08. Breastfeeding Mother
Lactating mothers are highly recommended not to have phentermine. It causes serious effects for the nursing child.
Dangers of Phentermine
Phentermine dangers happen mostly because of its misuse. A proper guideline from health experts may save one from these below-mentioned dangers.
Phentermine can cause severe allergic reactions to the level that could be fatal. It can increase the blood pressure. Also, it causes cardiovascular diseases such as myocardial arrest, pulmonary hypertension, heart valve issues, coronary artery disease, lung problems, and others.
The appetite-suppressant may increase blood sugar levels. Then thyroid patients can lose eyesight forever. Agitated people may be more restless, fast palpitations for having the diet pill.
There are various dangers occurring because of interactions or side effects of phentermine capsules with other drugs or health issues.
Important considerations for taking phentermine
Cardiovascular patients: They can experience primary pulmonary hypertension, palpitations, elevated high pressures, etc. Fish is a nice food that won’t make you gain weight.
Gastrointestinal patients: they can have a dry mouth, unpleasant taste, nausea, vomiting, constipation, diarrhea, etc. gastrointestinal problems.
Genitourinary Patient: one can feel micturition disturbances after taking the diet pill.
Nervous System: restlessness, dizziness, headache, fatigue, euphoria, dysphoria, and other overstimulation can occur due to the medicine.
Psychiatric Effects: trouble sleeping, insomnia, depression, hallucinations, libido changes and other psychosis frequencies can happen during taking the drug.
Alternative drugs for Phentermine
Phentermine is not readily available in any medical shop. However, there are other drugs to treat the condition. Some may suit better than others. So it would be best to consult professionals to pick an option that may work wonders for you.