- With Mayo Clinic preventive medicine specialist
Donald Hensrud, M.D.
Weight loss basics (6)
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- Slow metabolism: Is it to blame for weight gain?
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Diet plans (5)
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Mayo Clinic diet (1)
- Weight loss: Better to cut calories or exercise more?
Diet and exercise (5)
- Weight loss: Better to cut calories or exercise more?
- Belly-dancing: A good exercise for weight loss?
- Weight-loss exercise: How do I fit it into my day?
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Diet pills, supplements and surgery (15)
- Phentermine: Can prescription medication help weight loss?
- Hoodia: Does this dietary supplement help weight loss?
- Water retention: Are there any natural diuretics?
- see all in Diet pills, supplements and surgery
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Question
Phentermine: Can prescription medication help weight loss?
Is phentermine a good option for weight loss?
Answer
from Donald Hensrud, M.D.
Phentermine (Adipex-P) is an amphetamine-like prescription medication used to suppress appetite. It can help weight loss by decreasing your hunger or making you feel full longer. Phentermine may be recommended if you're significantly overweight — not if you want to lose just a few pounds. Phentermine is one of the most commonly prescribed weight-loss medications, but it does have some potentially serious drawbacks.
Because the clinical trials of phentermine were short and indicated a slight potential for abuse, phentermine was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1959 only for short-term obesity treatment — about 12 weeks or less. Phentermine may be a way to kick-start your weight loss. But once you stop taking phentermine, you're likely to regain the weight you lost. That's why phentermine should be used as part of an overall weight-loss plan that includes healthy eating and regular exercise — you're more likely to maintain your weight loss over time if you don't rely solely on medications.
Phentermine side effects may include:
- Increased blood pressure
- Blurred vision
- Dizziness
- Dry mouth
- Sleeplessness
- Nervousness
- Constipation
Don't take phentermine if you have certain medical conditions, including heart disease, high blood pressure, an overactive thyroid gland or glaucoma. Also don't take phentermine while taking other weight-loss medications.
In the past, phentermine was combined with fenfluramine — a combination known as fen-phen — for obesity treatment. But fenfluramine was removed from the market in the late 1990s because it was linked to serious heart and lung disorders.
Next questionHoodia: Does this dietary supplement help weight loss?
- Anorexiants. Facts & Comparisons. http://online.factsandcomparisons.com/index.aspx. Accessed July 21, 2009.
- Bray GA, et al. Drug therapy of obesity. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed July 14, 2009.
- Phentermine. Micromedex Healthcare Series. http://www.micromedex.com. Accessed July 9, 2009.
- Prescription medications for the treatment of obesity. http://www.win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/prescription.htm. National Institutes of Health. Accessed July 21, 2009.
- Hensrud DD (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Aug. 6, 2009.
