What to Take When Nothing Helps You Lose Weight

It’s no secret that the “secret” to weight loss is eating less. But for some people, this is not as easy as it sounds.

So is there a way to help people like that? And is it safe and easy to do?

A study recently published in the medical journal Obesity suggests there is.

It has to do with a drug by the name of phentermine. Phentermine is an inexpensive weight-loss drug approved more than 60 years ago. Although it works great, its long-term use has been concerning due to potential negative effects. So, researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Health and the Patient Outcomes Research to Advance Learning Network set out to settle the matter on the long-term safety of phentermine.

The first author of the study, Kristina H. Lewis, MD, is an assistant professor of epidemiology and prevention at Wake Forest Baptist. She said it all when she said, “Although diet and exercise are critical components of any weight loss program, up to half of patients don’t have long-term success with lifestyle changes alone.” Dr. Lewis wanted to know whether the long-term use of phentermine is not only an effective way to control weight but also safe.

So, here is what she and her team did. They analyzed data from the electronic health records of 13,972 men and women who took phentermine for short-term use and compared them with those who used it for more than a year. The study found that people who stayed on phentermine longer experienced greater weight loss than those who took the drug for three months or less. And more importantly, they also found that longer-term use was not associated with increases in blood pressure or increased risk of heart attack, stroke, or death.

It’s important to note that the participants had no history of heart disease before the study. And most of them were young or middle-aged women. For that reason, Dr. Lewis cautioned that since phentermine is a stimulant, it should be used only very carefully in people with heart disease, stroke, or uncontrolled high blood pressure. She added, “But for those with low cardiac risk, normal blood pressure or high blood pressure that is well treated, it could be a good and affordable option. In general, the longer patients were on the medicine, the more weight loss they had.” Lewis also said, “For patients who respond to and tolerate it, phentermine may be a safe and affordable way to achieve greater and longer lasting weight loss.”

Appetite is controlled by several mechanisms involving the nervous system, psychological system, and the hormonal system. Many people have imbalances in one or more of these systems that cause them to feel hungry when they don’t really need to eat. For them, sticking to any diet long-term is impossible unless they first clear up these imbalances. Phentermine suppresses the appetite by releasing the brain chemical norepinephrine. To a lesser extent, it also works by increasing the levels of the brain chemicals dopamine and serotonin. These brain chemicals are in a state of imbalance in people with abnormal appetites.

Now, some of you might be a bit surprised that I’m talking about the long-term use of a drug. So, if you’re that person, let me say this. After practicing medicine for close to 50 years and specializing in natural cures for more than 40 of those years, I’ve learned quite a few things. And one of those things is that there are always those special cases in which natural therapies are not sufficient for the job. And that’s where phentermine can come in.

The natural ways to balance epinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine are through the use of the amino acids 5-HTP, L-dopa, phenylalanine, and tyrosine. So, before resorting to phentermine, it makes good sense to give these aminos a chance to work. I can’t tell you doses because that is such an individual thing. The idea is to work with a practitioner who is familiar with dosing and combining.

The good news is that when they do work, and when the right combination and doses are used, they work almost right away. So it should not take long to find out whether they’re going to be effective. If so, great. If not, the other good news is that phentermine has now been shown to be safe for long-term use in healthy people.

Whenever possible, doctors should look for natural solutions to medical problems. Drugs should be used only when all else fails. But there will be times when a pharmaceutical is not only needed but is also safe. Phentermine is just such a medication.

Yours for better health,

Frank Shallenberger, MD