Conference rocks::weight_control

    I tried Dexatrim once.  Only once.  I gave me terrible jitters and
    did nothing to "suppress" my appetite.  I was jumpy, irritable,
    and the capsule made me feel sick.
    
    I've tried other "bulk-type" appetite supressants.  They didn't
    do anything either.  *sigh*

After the birth of my second daughter I hit a weight I did not think was
even possible to hit at 5' tall and a medium frame.  I was so depressed
by the way I looked I went to the doctor one day in tears.  I had felt
a lump under my arm and when he told me it was a fatty tumour that had
probably always been present but was pronounced because of my new found
girth I cried out loud.  

Well he gave me a strict 800 cal. a day diet (and let me tell you that was
in the days prior to imaginative 800 cal. diets.. that thing was horrible)
and a precription for a diet pill called 'fastingcaps' or 'fastincaps', not
sure of the exact spelling.  Well the first week I lost 9 pounds.  When I
went for my weekly weigh in the nurses all applauded.  The second week 5 more
pounds.. again applause... third, and forth weeks still loosing 3-5 pounds
a week.  It was wonderful, within a month I was noticably more streamline and
had gone from an obscene size 18 to a manageable 13/14.  

Well it all looked so good...  everyone was so impressed... but the truth
was I was living on those diet pills.  The instructions said to take one
in the morning after breakfast (they were time released capsules) I was
taking 3 a day, one before every meal and skipping the meals... they gave
me such a rush and a high I could clean the house, do the shopping and 
chase an active baby and a toddler with no problem.  I could not sleep at
night so I would stay up for hours planting, cleaning, painting, you name it!
I had been given a 3 month supply of those diet pills and killed them in a 
month.  When I lied to the doctor and told him my oldest dumped them 
accidentally he gave me a lecture about leaving medications around little
ones and refilled the precription.  The second month was the same, diet 
pills three times a day with little to no eating... then one day I 
collapsed... I remember laying on the sofa with my heart trying to 
beat out of my chest and not being able to move... I was a wreck!.. My
husband came home and found me and told me my eyes looked like to lumps
of coal ready to leap from my face... he called the doctor and took me 
in.. he made me confess to drug abuse and the doctor told me to flush
any remaining pills I had at home.  I was put on a coarse of vitamin 
therapy and given very strict warnings about continuing to starve myself
or trying to get more diet aids.  I did give the pills up, I was so 
run down and so tired I was almost glad to do it.  By the time I did
though I had lost well over thirty pounds but was so weak and run
down I still wonder if it was all worth it.  

That was over eight years ago.. with the exception of trying some
fibre diet pills and an occasional dexitrim I have not used diet pills
since.  I really think it is better to do it the old fashioned way,
by cutting down and exercising rather than using drugs.

gailann

    Did I take diet pills?    Yes.
    
    Did I lose weight?        Yes!
    
    Did I regain the weight?  Yes!!! 
    
    
    Guess there is no substitute for good eating habits.
    
    Marion
    

    Dexatrim made me sick to my stomach and also very moody.
    I found I had to keep taking the Dexatrim so I wouldn't
    get so moody so I would be "cheery" all the time.  After
    taking two or three pills a day I found I could not 
    fall asleep until after 3:00 in the morning.
    
    A couple of months ago I asked my gynecologist for a prescription
    for Appetite Suppresents and he said No, not because he was being
    mean but the FDA do not allow them to prescribe them anymore.
    
    Kathi
    

   When I am dieting faithfully, I use the DietWorkshop's Diet Tabs...
    
    There are no real checmicals in them, they are a B12 supplement.
    I don't know if they work or not, but my brain says they do. You
    take 4 times a day, 7:30am, 11:30am, 3:30pm, and 7:30pm.  I find
    when I take them, I tend to not eat as much... it may just be "my mind"
    but it works for me.  Since there are no chemicals in them, I don't
    mind taking them either - besides you can chew them, and they come
    in chocolate flavor (other flavors too!)
    
    Glk
    

        I'll bet I've taken every kind of diet pill available at one
    time or another; including the most popular dexatrim. I have found
    that with each one I ALWAYS lost weight, and I ALWAYS gained it
    right back again. Establishing good eating habits is the way to
    go. 
        I wouldn't recommend anyone taking diet pills because they have
    a tendency to make you nervous and jittery and give you a feeling
    as if you are really "HIGH ON DRUGS",and a nauseating feeling deep
    in the pit of your stomach.
    
       The reason most people do lose weight with these pills is because
    your so full of nervous energy, and feeling sick that you don't
    have time to eat! Cutting caloric intake and exercise are the only
    way to go as far as I'm concerned.
    

    WOW!!!  After reading note 96.2 I have to really wonder about taking
    them...
    
    I just started taking Dexatrim and you're right it makes you very
    jumpy and jittery, but I find near the end of the day I am more
    tired than ever.  I fall right to sleep and get a super nights sleep.
    
    The diet that comes with the pills is fine and if I could stick
    to it, it would proberly be good.  I take only one pill a day, not
    3 like some people have mentioned.
    
    I'll keep everyone posted with my health condition.
    
    Linda

      I went to my G.P. weighing more than I had ever weighed in my life.
    I had no ambition to exercise, but wanted (needed) to loose that weight
    despiratly.  He prescribed Tenuate Dospan for me to take once a day
    for three months.  I have never lost weight like that before or ever
    again for that matter!  I lost approximately 30lbs in the matter of 14
    weeks.  I looked and felt fabulous.  I kept the weight off nicely for 
    about 2 months, and that's when I got pregnant.  Two years later
    and now heavier than I have ever weighed I am dieting and exercising
    out of pure ambition to loose all the weight I have been carrying 
    around since the baby.  I have since tried those pills, but they 
    won't work, cause I didn't have the drive or motivation to want to
    work on it to loose the weight.  Luckily I didn't get dependent on them
    but I still have pictures of what I "used to" look like at 125lbs, and
    want to get down there again.
    
    Patti

    
    I think there might be a difference between appetite suppressants,
    amphetamines, and "stimulants".   
    
    Most of the prescription drugs that have been described here sound 
    like amphetamines, which used to be (commonly?) prescribed for weight 
    loss about 15-20 years ago, but are no longer.  
    
    What does DexaTrim have in it?  Caffeine?  The over-the-counter
    diet aids have stimulants in them, of which caffeine is one, and
    I'm sure there are many others. 
    
    The way I understand the difference between appetite suppressants,
    stimulants, and amphetamines is that amphetamines and stimulants
    do result in a loss of appetite, but by speeding up your metabolism
    (stimulants less so than amphetamines).  Appetite suppressents do only
    that: they suppress the appetite, without a corresponding increase in 
    metabolic rate.  I read something about some studies being done with 
    suppressants years ago, in a magazine like Time or Newsweek, but
    haven't heard anything about them since.
            
    CQ

Re: -1

I believe that even the suppresants frequently have "uppers" in them,
but since they are over-the-counter medications, the drug companies
are limited as to what they can put in them, so caffeine is a common
stimulant used. The really hard-stuff would be available only prescription
only. I *believe* that one reason they put uppers in, is because the
other ingredients make you tired! They are trying to counteract the
downers with uppers.
For example, I've checked the labels on some of these things and they
include some ingredients commonly found in allergy medecines. Since I
have hay fever I was able to recognize the names. From experience,
I *know* that antihistamines used to treat hay fever, have the side-effect
of depressing your appetite. They also have the side-effect, more pronounced
than the appetite suppression(!), of making you *exhausted* all the time!

I think the hard way of losing weight is the only *safe* way, as well as
the only way where the results will last!

-cg

    
    My medical doctor just started me on Tenuate Dospan about 2 
    weeks ago.  I usually don't like taking appetite suppressants
    due to things mentioned in previous notes about them being
    stimulants and creating a "high" feeling.  
    
    However, the tenuate dospan does not give me that feeling. 
    Nor does it make me "hyper" or nervous.  It does, however,
    help my appetite.  I just don't feel as hungry.  And when I
    do sit down to eat I cannot eat very much at a time before
    feeling full.  I still follow a low calorie diet...not 
    perfectly, but somewhat closely.  I have noticed that the
    appetitie suppressants seem to help me avoid the "munchies"
    in the afternoon, evening when I would be tempted to hit the
    candy machine or some snacks at home!  
    
    I will keep you all posted on how these affect my  health as
    my Dr. is very conscientious about doing periodic blood work,
    and keep tabs on my heart rate, blood pressure, etc.  I'm scheduled
    to see him toward the end of this month. 
    
    	Later...
    
    		My

Hi My, I realize it's been five months, but how did the pills work for you?  
What did the doctor say.

I note that Phenylalanine, the same chemical in NutraSweet, is also in 
Dexatrim. I find this to be curious.  From what I understand, phenylalanine is 
manufactured naturally by the body but in excess can be harmful.  There was a 
discussion of this not long ago in Hydra::Holistic.

My mother used little orange "speed" pills when I was a kid and lost all the 
weight she needed to use until my dad went away for a year, when she gained it 
all back.  She's spent most of her life that I've been around, hating her body 
and showing complete lack-of-control where food is concerned.  I am working 
very, very hard to overcome this (and other forms of) negative conditioning.

Meredith

    Does anyone use an appetite suppresant?  I know of several people that
    have used Accutrim and have lost weight without being nervous or light
    headed or anything else that I have associated with diet pills.  One
    lady lost 37 lbs. and has now kept it off for over a year without
    taking the Accutrim after she lost the weight.  I'm thinking about
    giving it a shot.
    
    Virginia

Hi Virginia,

I tried Accutrim a few years ago and I HATED it.  It made me feel so unsettle
and tense.  I was so peeved that I sent the package back to the manufacturer
for a refund (which they did send).  I haven't known anyone else who's tried it.  

Rachel