Interested in finding out about precription weight loss meds such as Meridia and the like. Thanks in advance for and personal experiences, any insights or stories you may have!!

Hey there - I did try prescription weight loss pills before. I was using Xenical for a few months, and saw very little, if any results. I haven't heard much about Xenical lately, but my experience with the pills were not great.

Basically those pills block most of the fat you eat, and therefore, it has to come out one way, and one way only. (I think you probably know which way) lol. And it's just NOT normal. PLUS you end up having unintentional accidents. It can get quite embarrassing. I wouldn't recommend the pills.

Of course there are others out there. I'd recommend you speak with your family physician to see what type of prescription may be right for you. One thing to remember is that even though it is a prescription from a doctor, it is not a pill that will start melting away fat. You really have to put an effort into it, by reducing your food intake, or eating a healthy diet, and doing some kind of physical activity.

Good luck in your search

~ Kari ~

I'm new here and just want to add my two cents worth of thanks for such an interesting place to visit. In reference to Xenical: several years ago I was highly motivated to lose and willing to work at it. My doctor gave me samples of Xenical, and I found they were helpful, but only if I worked the program according to directions. In other words, eat less fat. I lost a lot of weight, but in addition to eating a low fat healthy diet, I also walked daily. It always comes back to those dull but effective basics-a healthy low-calorie diet, and exercise.
P.S. Has anyone ever heard of a nutritionist named Dr. Jean Meyer (sp. ?)? Many, many years ago I lost 19 lbs quickly following the original Stillman Diet, but, regained and wanted to educate myself. Dr. Meyer's book spelled out how food breaks down and motabolizes in the body. Thanks to his excellent book I have never been able to believe the claims of any hype or fad diet.
Sunny

Oops. Trigger happy here.
Sunny.

Hi I have taken Phentermine before. Although they do work. They severely depress your appetite, they also make you crazy, jittery, and anxious. Maybe not for everyone, but I definitely felt that way.

Bethany

I've tried all sorts of OTC stuff like TrimSpa, Diet Fuel, Xenadrine, and Stacker. I also tried Xenical.

Here's my conclusion:

Pills suck. Period. Yeah, I lost some weight, but I can't spend my life popping a pill every day to ramp up my metabolism or block fat. It's just not right. So after year of yo-yoing on my weight, I just decided that there was no easy way out for me. So now it's sensible portions, lots of veggies, lots of water, lots of exercise.

It's not always easy, but for the first time I feel good, but mentally and physically. Not only am I getting where I want to be in my weight and fitness, I'm doing it without being dependant on anything but myself. That's gotta feel good!

StarPrincess I totally agree with everything you said I however do take meds (meridia) and it helps me greatly!! I am hypothyroid so it is very very hard for me to lose weight and Meridia just kinda helps me along. I, like you, eat tons of veggies drink over 128 oz of water a day, and exercise 6 days a week!! Once I get to my goal I will be able to maintain without the meds by continuing the exercise and healthy eating but in the meantime I am very thankful for meridia for helping me get ahead of my weight gain. I had part of my thyroid removed and was gaining AT LEAST 10 lbs a month, I'm now getting my life back and feeling good.

Congratulations on your great success!!
Michelle

Michelle - you're totally right! There are some instances where it's good and helpful. I should have clarified: if it messes with your metabolism, don't touch it. If you don't learn proper exercise and eating habits, the pills are worthless.

Thanks, Michelle!

meridia reacts with the serotonin in your brain, and it sends the signal that you're full on less food. xenical is the fat blocker [supposedly]. for some folks, like michele, they work great. for most folks, i've been told that they increase the weight loss by about 10%. for others, they don't work at all.

and in most cases, they're not covered by insurance..

LOL I'm soooo lucky mine is covered by Insurance actually my insurance requires that a person try weight loss meds for 6 months prior to being approved for Gastric bypass, so I think they figure they'll save money lol. Wow Jifffy!! I was reading your stats girl and you are doing AWESOME!!!!!!

My personal experience with the meds has been wonderful, for a few reasons IMO, those reasons being: I'm very committed to this journey, I exercise daily, I eat right, I drink lots of water, and I'm not expecting to be a twig after 2 months on meds I just want to be in a Normal weight range which is anywhere from 110-140 for me and once I hit 140 oh let me tell you, I will just have to celebrate. I didn't go on Meridia searching for the "Magic Pill" I just needed a little help to get the weight loss going
Alot of people assume that because I'm taking a med to help lose weight that I'm looking for the easy way out which is totally wrong!! I work my butt off and when I reach my goal I'll know I worked hard to attain it

All you ladies are sooo great!!! I don't know what I would do without 3fc!!
Michelle

I have never tried meds to lose weight but I have tried supplements and I find that some of them do work but the cost is high. The company I get my stuff from is Advocare. They are a big company in Texas. I take them because of the health benifits but they can be costly. I agree it is eating right and exercising is the way to go.

My personal experience with Xenical was awesome. It was expensive. The main reason I started on it was to keep myself from cheating. If I took the pill-I didn't want the side effects. I think I may have had one "accident" in the two to three months I took it. In about a year (with only being on Xenical 2-3 months) I lost about 90 pounds.


As I mentioned it was expensive and I slowly weened myself off because I had changed my eating habits. I wouldn't take it at breakfast because that was ALWAYS low fat. It did jump start my weight loss, but mainly because I ate fewer calories, less fat, exercised & drank lots of water. For me it was the "negative reinforcement" that kept me from cheating.

I did have a friend who took it at the same time, cheated & had the negative effects---often.

I've actually considered taking it again to do the same thing. Mainly to help put me in the right mindset to lose the weight and to keep me from cheating.

I was on xenical for about 5 months and it worked great for me. And just like JenJen said it kept you from eating the wrong things because you don't want the side effects. I would be taking them now but I'm breastfeeding and I don't think it's safe. But my insurance didn't cover it so it got to be very costly. At $108 a bottle I couldn't keep up. They said I wasn't "fat" enough for them to cover it. I was almost 300 lbs at the time. I know for some people thats not a lot but for me it was. But the bottom line it xenical worked for me
Rea

I was on phentermine in 1997.

Then certain people started getting lawsuit happy. No one held a gun to your head making you take those pills. You are an adult, you make your own choices. (I am still very bitter about the lawsuits, and about all the ppl who have asked me over the last 7 years why I didn't call all the 800-numbers being advertised to help me get money for my 'pain' and 'suffering'. Please. What a farking joke. Anyhoo...)

The only problem I had on phentermine was right before they took me off it, they should've cut my dosage a bit. I was on 30 mg a day, exercising half an hour every day & supposed to be eating 1000-1400 or 1500 calories a day. Let me tell you what i ate in a day during those last 3 weeks:

a chicken breast
10-12 baby carrots
a yogurt

That is all I was hungry for. So my dosage needed fixing.

But then the lawsuits happened. My dr pulled me off the meds sue to the widespread panic. I went from 30mg to 0mg overnight. Withdrawal set in. Headaches & the desire to EATTTTT. It didn't help that my best friend was pregnant. We both gained a good 50-70 pounds during her pregnancy. And I gained another 30 after that.

I'm now at about the weight I was when the Phentermine was first prescribed. and I feel a lot better. I wish I had more energy some days, but everyone feels that way, that doesn't make me special.

So that was Phentermine. I would order it off the internet, but a) those drugs aren't regulated and b) I have HBP now, from being on the Pill for so many years, coupled with my kidney disease. I won't do it. The kidney doc wants me to lose no more than 25# a year. Frustrating. But I know the weight will stay off this way & I am learning lifestyle changes that will last me forever.

Xenadrine--the way it works is, it makes you so nauseated, you dont feel like eating. Also, wayyyy too much caffeine.