[Karen W.]

Hey Joy, I am so sorry you are hurting and I know it will come up and slap you in the face regularly so please be strong.. It is always so very hard to loose a loved one.. Your brother looks so much Like my friend who had the heart attack...You would not believe it!

Be strong and keep holding on.. Think about you often and wish the best ... I always go snuggle up with my photo album and a box of kleenex and have myself a full on bawl!! It seems to let out those sad emotions so we can move forward!! Hugs and kisses Joy! Love you , Karen...

Karen

[Jody]

Sweeties - The greatest joy in this life is the people we love, and the greatest pain is to lose them.  Be assured that God knows what He is doing, and our loved ones are safe in His keeping until that awsome day when we are together again.  Celebrate the joy of your time together!  When you lose someone you love, don't have a [] funeral [], have a [] PARTY [], for they are beyond pain and sorrow, and oh-so-soon we will join them to REJOICE FOREVER!

Here is one of my favorite poems by Christina Rossetti which always touches my heart:

REMEMBER
 
REMEMBER me when I am gone away,  
Gone far away into the silent land;  
When you can no more hold me by the hand,  
Nor I half turn to go, yet turning stay.  
Remember me when no more day by day
You tell me of our future that you plann'd:  
Only remember me; you understand  
It will be late to counsel then or pray.  
Yet if you should forget me for a while  
And afterwards remember, do not grieve:
For if the darkness and corruption leave  
A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,  
Better by far you should forget and smile  
Than that you should remember and be sad.


Jody

[kkeegs]

JOY:  What a nice picture of your brother.  He looks like a very handsome man and very in shape.  I am so sorry for your pain - it takes so long to move past grief and it hits you sometimes when you least expect it.  Just take it day by day and feel sad when you need to - that is totally normal.  I just wanted you to know how sad I am for your family.  It doesn't seem fair, I know and it is hard to understand the "why's".

JODY:  I was figuring it was Acomplia and I'll have to do that search on it.  With my BMI, I am considered Obese so I would think I would be able to get this.  I had heard it helped with stopping smoking.  I was interested in this because my Mom who is turning 60 this year quit smoking last year.  She had started when she was 16 yrs. old so she had been smoking a long time.  She since has gained weight and still fights urges to smoke.  I thought this would be great for her because it would help her in both areas.  I wish the FDA would get on with it and stop dragging their feet!  If it is okay in other countries - why isn't it in ours?[!]  

I have been worried about how long it is taking to be approved so I ordered some Phentermine online and had a Doctor approve it online.  I ordered the 37.5 mg.  Is that what dosage you are on Joy?  Will it make my heart race?  I did very well on the Metabolife 356 years ago and got down to a size 7/8 and felt wonderful.  However, it didn't last and wouldn't unless I had continued on them.  It seems like they give you energy and help reduce your hunger.  I'm all for this - I just hope it works.  

I did walk on Monday.  I am soooooo out of shape!  This Spring I could do 4 mi. on the treadmill in an hour at an incline and at 4 mph.  On Monday I started at 4 mph at an incline and my heart was racing so fast after 5 minutes!!!  My legs felt like someone was stabbing them.  I told my husband that my body was screaming at me "What are you doing to me lady"!!  I ended up reducing the mph to 3.7 mph  and by the time I walked 19 min., I felt good.  So I walked 2 miles in 33 minutes.  It sure doesn't take long to get out of shape!  

I didn't get true exercise in yesterday - I just had a ton of running around to do - which I got some exercise just doing that and I ate within my calorie limit so I was happy about that.

Today, I am getting ready to go downstairs and walk on the treadmill for a half an hour.  I have to make myself do it but after I get going, I am happy I did it.

I just had a knock on the door and it was Fed Ex - my phentermine arrived!  That was really fast!  It says to take 1 pill before breakfast and only take 1 pill daily.  Is this how it works Joy?  So only 1 pill and I will feel good all day?  I hope this works - I'll start in on that tomorrow!

Hello to all!

Take Care Everyone!  

Kelly

Age:  37 yrs.
Height:  5'3"
Start Date:  10/9/06
Current Weight:  202 lbs.
Weight Lost This Week:  
Total Weight Lost:  
Lbs. to go:
Goal Weight:  140


Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much

[another_someone]

quote:Originally posted by Jody

Hi Kelly - Just wanted to let you know that the promised diet drug your doctor is talking about is probably Acomplia.  (I saw a headline on the "scandle sheets" saying that everyone in Hollywood is using some new miracle drug - I imagine this is it, and they're getting it from the UK - not an option for the rest of us, unfortunately. [])  Everything I have heard about Acomplia is fantastic except for these few things:

1.  It probably won't be released in the US until sometime in 2007.  The FDA is dragging its feet about the approval, but they won't say why.  My guess it has to do with "worries" from the health industry that...

2.  It will be used by people with "only" 20+ pounds to lose.  This, they claim, is not what it was "designed for."  They say it was intended for people who are morbidly obese but, the fact is, it was originally designed to help people quit smoking.  It didn't work very well for smoking, but it works GREAT for diet.

BESIDES WHICH (here I go on my soapbox again) if the stuff works, why can't we ALL have it?  Why does weight loss and maintenance have to be a continual BATTLE?!  Why do we have to be at death's door before a doctor will recognize that this is a DISEASE, not just laziness?!! Is it some sort of PUNISHMENT for being fat?! GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!  I just get SOOOOOO ANGRY!!  [!][!][!]

I don't normally pop in here, since despite being overweight, I am not going to get paranoid about it, and I certainly am not going to fill myself up with medication over it.

Yes,  Acomplia has been made available in the UK, but only with a prescription from a GP, it is not casually available to all and sundry.

Drugs are not sweeties, and no drug should just be casually consumed.  All drugs, even aspirin, have adverse side effects.

As for Acomplia, it seems that it has been associated with creating depression, and at least one report speculated that it may be harmful for a foetus:

http://www.xagena.it/news/medicinenews_net_news/1ef4c899cd6f0d5cae3a2ea3a91adc1c.html

quote:

Acomplia may be dangerous for women of reproductive age

Anandamide is a lipid signal molecule that was the first endogenous agonist for cannabinoid receptors to be discovered.
Cannabinoid receptor type 1 ( CB1 ) is widely distributed in neurons and nonneuronal cells in brain and peripheral organs including sperm, eggs, and preimplantation embryos.

A study by Wang and colleagues, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, has demonstrated that a critical balance between anandamide synthesis by NAPE-PLD enzyme and its degradation by FAAH enzyme in mouse embryos and oviducts creates locally an appropriate "anandamide tone" required for normal embryo development, oviductal transport, implantation, and pregnancy.

Adverse effects of elevated levels of anandamide on these processes resulting from FAAH inactivation are mimicked by administration of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol ( THC; the major psychoactive constituent of marijuana ), due to enhanced signaling via CB1.

Attempts to understand the mechanisms responsible for the psychoactive properties of THC in marijuana led to the discovery of cannabinoid receptors and their endogenous ligands, the endocannabinoids.
Two subtypes of cannabinoid receptors have been identified to date, the CB1 receptor and the CB2 receptor.

Anandamide signaling via cannabinoid receptors is not restricted to the central nervous system.
It is known that CB1 and CB2 are widely distributed in nonneuronal somatic cells of peripheral organs including those of the reproductive system. This may account for the effects of marijuana and THC on multiple aspects of reproductive physiology.

Aberrant functioning of anandamide signaling systems in embryos and oviducts in women may lead to ectopic pregnancy in the oviduct and/or impaired fertility.
Similar adverse effects may be associated with abuse of marijuana by women of reproductive age.
Reduced peripheral FAAH activity is associated with spontaneous abortion in women.

As the first endocannabinoid to be discovered, anandamide has attracted the most attention from investigators. Similarly, the biological functions of CB1 have been studied much more extensively than those mediated by CB2, because CB1 receptors in the brain are directly involved in the psychoactive effects of THC.

Anandamide signaling presents many potential targets for the development of novel therapeutic drugs. Unfortunately, cannabinergic ligands affect almost every physiological system investigated. Thus, drugs acting on anandamide signaling may produce a wide variety of side effects that would limit their utility. For example, possible medicinal uses of THC are limited by its psychoactive properties.

One strategy for drug development targets specific cannabinoid receptors. The CB1 antagonist Rimonabant ( Acomplia ) suppresses appetite. The EMEA ( European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products ) recently has approved the use of Acomplia as a weight-loss drug.

An alternate approach targets removal and degradation of anandamide. Basal levels of anandamide in the brain and peripheral organs are quite low. It is rapidly released and degraded locally. Thus, drugs that prevent anandamide reuptake and hydrolysis might be useful clinically.

However, these drugs should be “carefully evaluated to judge their effects on women of reproductive age and those that are pregnant”, says Herbert Schuel, at the University at Buffalo.

I suppose the fact that the drug is trying to have an opposite effect on appetite to that which cannabis has should be no surprise if it also has effects on the brain in the same areas the cannabis might have an effect, but in the opposite direction.

George

[Jody]

Hi George – I’m not saying that diet drugs (or ANY drugs) should be handed out like candy.  I understand that EVERY drug has its place and should neither be abused nor dispensed to people to whom it may be harmful; HOWEVER,

I AM saying that obesity has been clinically identified as a chronic disease by the medical community, and should be treated as such by our hometown doctors, rather than as a defect in character.

I AM saying that diet aids (drugs or other) should be readily available to people who need them, and that a so-called “easy fix” for obesity should not be frowned upon any more than insulin is frowned upon as an “easy fix” for diabetes.

I AM saying that a person who has won the horrific battle to lose 30-50-100+ pounds should not be penalized by having diet aids taken away or withheld until they regain all the weight and are again at serious health risk.

And, while it may be my personal preference, I also believe that people who have never been overweight more than 5 pounds should refrain from telling those of us with lifelong obesity issues that if ONLY we’d eat an apple instead of a chocolate sundae, and take the stairs instead of the elevator, all our weight issues would go away.  To me, that’s like a teetotaler telling an alcoholic how easy it is to quit drinking.  Get real…


Jody

[another_someone]

Hello Joy,

OK, to clarify a few points.

Firstly, I am the last person to classify obesity as a character defect, and that certainly was not my point.

I was a little concerned when people start talking about 'miracle' drugs, and 'why can't we all have it'.  Maybe I had read more into your words than was meant, and possibly you have into mine.

You claim at present to be 110lbs (which I translate to about 7 ½ st), my own weight is 18st (which I translate to 252lb).  I may have a few inches height over you, but not enough to make that much difference.  We are not talking about someone who is merely 5lbs overweight.

I am not sure if I agree with you that obesity is a disease (although I know many others would like to think it so), but I feel it may be more a symptom, and addressing it may not necessarily make as much difference as all that unless one understands the underlying cause.  But that is my own view, and I don't claim that all and sundry will share that view.

I am not saying that doctors should not have drugs like this available (by the way, it is also considered an anti-smoking drug – and that I certainly would regard as a chronic disease), all I was objecting to was the labelling of it as a 'miracle' drug.  No drug is that, and before anyone takes any drug, they should weight the risks realistically.

I am not trying to restrict people's freedom of choice.  Even if I may find it unacceptable to use such a drug for my own weight, I am not trying to deny others the right to that choice; merely that it should also be viewed as a risk, and carefully assessed as such.

Sorry if I sounded a bit heavy (metaphorically speaking, not talking about my body weight here).

George

[tootsie78]

WOAH WOAH WOAH!!!  Um, excuse me another_someone, but I think it is JODY you want to address, NOT ME!!!  Thank you!!!

~Joy~

[another_someone]

Joy, Jody - apologies to you both (what's a 'd' between friends [:I]).

George

[Carolyn]

quote:Originally posted by another_someone

Joy, Jody - apologies to you both (what's a 'd' between friends [:I]).

George

Hi George - LOL.  Haven't I mentioned how much I love
your sense of humor?

Hi Karen, Joy, Jody, Kelly, Lo, Diana, and everyone else.  
Hope everyone is doing well.

Thanks George for your contribution here.  I agree
with so much of what you say.  I have tried the zetas,
along with several others.  I recently have tried the
phentermine.  I hate them.  I lasted almost 2 weeks on
them.  I did lose weight the first week, 8 lbs. in fact.
They absolutely did control my hunger.  I could not
deal with the side effects at all.  I was always
exhausted.  Had trouble making my eyes focus, and
 had headaches.  Could go to sleep at night, but
woke up tired and several mornings I woke up with my
mouth bleeding.  I bit my tongue several times.  
The last day that I took it, I was sitting & observing
in my sons Karate class.  My heart started racing and
pounding.  I thought I was having a heart attack.  I also
battle depression.  I don't know if the medication had anything
to do with it or not, but while I was taking it, I was a
miserable person.  Again since I struggle with depression
from time to time anyway, I don't know if it was the meds.  
I just know that I feel better off of it.  For all of you
that have had success with the zetas and phentermine I'm
thrilled for you, and a little jealous.  I'm just going
to have to keep pluggin away at it.  What works for one
may not work for another.  Unfortunately, I haven't found
anything other than doing without and exercise.

While I believe obesity to be a serious problem today,
I don't believe it is a disease, nor is it a character
defect.  If my character is defective, it has nothing to
do with my big behind. Based on personal experience, I am
very cynical when it comes to the medical community and I
wonder if identifying obesity as a disease is another way
for the big drug companies to open the door to more costly
weight loss products.  Again, this is just my personal
opinion.    

Hope everyone has continued success with your weight loss
journey with whatever method you decided to use.  
Love you all.

Carolyn

[Jody]

WOW, Carolyn!  I’m amazed at your phentermine nightmare!!  [:0] I’ve heard of the racing heart before, but I’ve never heard of anyone having most of those symptoms before.  Just goes to show, as George said, that drugs should be dispensed carefully and not everything is for everyone!!

Hey George!  While I don't mind losing the "d" to match Joy, I'd REALLY like to lose the 80 pounds I have on her! []

Sorry, I didn't mean to put words in your mouth. [V] I was talking more about the attitude of the general (thin) public.  Every overweight person is familiar with the common attitude (even among many doctors) that they are simply lazy and can't/won’t control themselves.  As obesity becomes epidemic in this country, that attitude is beginning to change, but it's still an uphill battle.

I agree that labeling any drug a "Miracle Cure" sets expectations unrealistically and dangerously high.  The term should be avoided, and I don't believe I have ever used it.  At least, I hope not...

I understand that the "Powers That Be" (sorry, I don't know the names of the appropriate medical societies) have officially designated obesity as a "chronic disease."  [xx(] I assume they are using the term in the same way that alcoholism is labeled a disease.  Sometimes I think alcoholics have the easier road, because, although extremely difficult, they have the choice to completely avoid the thing that damages their body.  We "food-aholics" don't have that choice.  I wonder how many recovering alcoholics could stay sober if they were forced to take one drink a day.  Just one TEENY, little drink and no more.  My guess is, almost none of them could do it.  And yet, that is the position "food-aholics" are in.  Sorry, I'm rambling...

My point about obesity being a disease is that, while it is usually accompanied by other, more traditionally recognizable disorders such as depression, the average depressed person doesn't pack on 200 pounds.  Also, I must wonder, when a morbidly obese person is diagnosed as having depression, which is the symptom and which the actual illness?  If you were to suddenly (let's not say "miraculously” LOL!) put that overweight, depressed person into a normal-weight body, where they did not have to deal with the exhaustion of carrying around 100+ extra pounds, the social stigma and the feelings of failure, might not that depression be largely alleviated?  [?]

A final thought:  I have a very dear friend who has fraternal twin girls, around 4 years old.  One is what people used to lovingly call a “Little Fatty.”  The other is a normal-weight.  These children live in the same house, eat the same, play the same, and yet one is thin and one is fat.  Something, call it “disease,” call it “predisposition”, call it what you like, SOMETHING is going on in the fat child’s body that is DIFFERENT.  I, personally, would appreciate it if society would recognize that difference, and if the medical community would take it seriously.

PS:  Please don’t take ANYTHING I say personally.  I know we’re in this together!! [:I]

Jody

[another_someone]

quote:Originally posted by Jody
Every overweight person is familiar with the common attitude (even among many doctors) that they are simply lazy and can't/won’t control themselves.

Not sure this is anything new – just look at Victorian caricatures.

Ofcourse, there were times in history when it was quite fashionable to be of a size we would consider to be 'obese'.

quote:
I agree that labeling any drug a "Miracle Cure" sets expectations unrealistically and dangerously high.  The term should be avoided, and I don't believe I have ever used it.  At least, I hope not...

I wont harp on this, merely explaining why I thought as I did – you quoted the press as referring to it as a 'miracle drug', which you then commented upon with 'I imagine this is it ' - but I imagine that was an off the cuff remark that you had not thought would be taken as literally as I did.

quote:
I understand that the "Powers That Be" (sorry, I don't know the names of the appropriate medical societies) have officially designated obesity as a "chronic disease."  [xx(] I assume they are using the term in the same way that alcoholism is labeled a disease.

In the past, homosexuality was also labelled as a disease.  Such labelling is something I am very wary of.

quote:
  Sometimes I think alcoholics have the easier road, because, although extremely difficult, they have the choice to completely avoid the thing that damages their body.  We "food-aholics" don't have that choice.  I wonder how many recovering alcoholics could stay sober if they were forced to take one drink a day.  Just one TEENY, little drink and no more.  My guess is, almost none of them could do it.  And yet, that is the position "food-aholics" are in.  Sorry, I'm rambling...

I don't regard myself as a food-aholic (excepting in the sense that if I were totally deprived of food I may have severe withdrawal symptoms leading to death).  Yes, I am a chocoholic, but that is a different matter.

quote:
A final thought:  I have a very dear friend who has fraternal twin girls, around 4 years old.  One is what people used to lovingly call a “Little Fatty.”  The other is a normal-weight.  These children live in the same house, eat the same, play the same, and yet one is thin and one is fat.  Something, call it “disease,” call it “predisposition”, call it what you like, SOMETHING is going on in the fat child’s body that is DIFFERENT.  I, personally, would appreciate it if society would recognize that difference, and if the medical community would take it seriously.

Precisely the point – two people, having the same lifestyles, can still have different weights.

I myself have varied in weight quite a bit, peeking at around 280lbs, then dropping to around 230lbs, and now back up to around 250lbs (as a child and teenager I was quite slim).

My own feeling is often that it is as much about my own emotional disposition, and the impact it has on my metabolic rate, than it is about food consumption.

I also think that sometimes my problem is not that I eat too much, but I eat too infrequently (being lazy, and only cooking for myself,  I cook one large meal a day, rather than many smaller ones).

George

[Jody]

quote:Originally posted by another_someone

quote:Originally posted by Jody
Every overweight person is familiar with the common attitude (even among many doctors) that they are simply lazy and can't/won’t control themselves.

Not sure this is anything new – just look at Victorian caricatures.

Ofcourse, there were times in history when it was quite fashionable to be of a size we would consider to be 'obese'.

I didn't mean to imply this was something new, just an attitude that needs to be corrected.

quote:Originally posted by another_someone

quote:
I agree that labeling any drug a "Miracle Cure" sets expectations unrealistically and dangerously high.  The term should be avoided, and I don't believe I have ever used it.  At least, I hope not...

I wont harp on this, merely explaining why I thought as I did – you quoted the press as referring to it as a 'miracle drug', which you then commented upon with 'I imagine this is it ' - but I imagine that was an off the cuff remark that you had not thought would be taken as literally as I did.

Sorry, when I said "I imagine this is it", I meant "I imagine this is the pill they are refering to."  I didn't mean to imply I agreed it was a "miracle pill."  Ah, the vagaries of the English language...

quote:Originally posted by another_someone

quote:
I understand that the "Powers That Be" (sorry, I don't know the names of the appropriate medical societies) have officially designated obesity as a "chronic disease."  [xx(] I assume they are using the term in the same way that alcoholism is labeled a disease.

In the past, homosexuality was also labelled as a disease.  Such labelling is something I am very wary of.

And yet you said you consider smoking to be a disease...

quote:Originally posted by another_someone

quote:
  Sometimes I think alcoholics have the easier road, because, although extremely difficult, they have the choice to completely avoid the thing that damages their body.  We "food-aholics" don't have that choice.  I wonder how many recovering alcoholics could stay sober if they were forced to take one drink a day.  Just one TEENY, little drink and no more.  My guess is, almost none of them could do it.  And yet, that is the position "food-aholics" are in.  Sorry, I'm rambling...

I don't regard myself as a food-aholic (excepting in the sense that if I were totally deprived of food I may have severe withdrawal symptoms leading to death).  Yes, I am a chocoholic, but that is a different matter.

Not everyone who eats is a "food-aholic", just as not everyone who drinks is an "alcoholic." By food-aholic I refer to someone who is not in control of his/her eating habits, as an alcoholic is not in control of his/her drinking habits. An alcoholic has the option of giving up alcohol, but as you correctly point out, a food-aholic does not have that choice. I also certainly do not mean to imply that everyone with a weight issue is a food-aholic, but there are many of us out there. (We'd better not talk about chocolate.  There's a candy machine in this building and it's not safe! [}:)])

quote:Originally posted by another_someone

quote:
A final thought:  I have a very dear friend who has fraternal twin girls, around 4 years old.  One is what people used to lovingly call a “Little Fatty.”  The other is a normal-weight.  These children live in the same house, eat the same, play the same, and yet one is thin and one is fat.  Something, call it “disease,” call it “predisposition”, call it what you like, SOMETHING is going on in the fat child’s body that is DIFFERENT.  I, personally, would appreciate it if society would recognize that difference, and if the medical community would take it seriously.

Precisely the point – two people, having the same lifestyles, can still have different weights.

I myself have varied in weight quite a bit, peeking at around 280lbs, then dropping to around 230lbs, and now back up to around 250lbs (as a child and teenager I was quite slim).

My own feeling is often that it is as much about my own emotional disposition, and the impact it has on my metabolic rate, than it is about food consumption.

I also think that sometimes my problem is not that I eat too much, but I eat too infrequently (being lazy, and only cooking for myself,  I cook one large meal a day, rather than many smaller ones).

My point exactly!!  [] If I eat and excercise exactly the same as you (and by "you" I mean anyone,) and yet you gain weight and I don't, why should you be penalized for it?  Why should you have to chose between being constantly hungry and putting your health at risk with obesity?  This is where I believe society's judgemental attitude needs to change, and the medical community needs to do what it can to help.

BTW, like you, my husband eats only one large meal a day, and that in the evening.  Yet he never gains an ounce.  I find this EXTREMELY annoying in him. (LOL!) []

Jody

[Karen W.]

Posted - 06 Oct 2006 :  20:57:52                
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
MONDAY MORNING WEIGH-IN
Carolyn = 30 lbs.
Diana = 15 Lbs
Karen w. 103Lbs


Total Lost =148 lbs.

Sorry I forgot to put it in Monday.. Sorry ladies had losts going on.. Be well and here it is! Great Job everyone... keep up the good work!!!


Karen

[Jody]

WHOA Karen!  Another pound!!  Too cool!  [][][]  I've been doing really well this week, but I'm still afraid to get on a scale.  Maybe next week.

Jody

[another_someone]

quote:Originally posted by Jody
And yet you said you consider smoking to be a disease...

I should probably have better said that tobacco addiction was an illness, but since tobacco is so highly addictive that a fairly high percentage of people who smoke are addicted to tobacco, thus there is a fairly clear correlation between the two, but I accept that they are not one and the same.

In the same way, one might say that eating disorders (whether anorexia of obsessive excessive eating) is a disease, there are a far wider range of causes of obesity (including thyroid disorders, various medications, and numerous other conditions, probably some not even understood), hence why I would argue that obesity is merely a symptom of one of many underlying illnesses.

George

[Karen W.]

I have a huge thyroid disorder! Mine is extremely low! I take medication regularly to try to balance it outand even the playing field.. Helps with moods skin texture energy memory, not being cold all the time and weight gain! So many things that creep in when I miss my meds, even just a thyroid pill! Yes George is right and thyroid cannot be diagnosed with a single test one time it should be done several times as a thyroid flutuates greatly in its ability to function right when it is sick..

Karen

[kkeegs]

HELLO EVERYONE!!  HAPPY FRIDAY THE 13TH!!! []

I started on the phentermine yesterday.  I can tell that it raises your blood pressure - I could feel it rising!!  Luckily my blood pressure is normal but I am going to watch it!  I have to say that I seem to have more energy and I was even able to sleep well last night - so I was glad for that.  I did wake up an hour early but I feel really good today.  I have been walking 2 mi. on the treadmill everyday and I think it has improved my mood!  I feel ALIVE again!  It is amazing how when you are eating like a pig - you feel like crap but you can't stop yourself from doing it.  It is a disgusting cycle.  Anyway, I can't believe how well the phentermine has subsided my appetite.  I feel like this could be the thing to really help me.  I didn't eat much yesterday - because I wasn't hungry.  I just made myself eat lunch today - I wasn't hungry - I just felt like I needed it because I felt kind of weak.  I know I can make it to supper without snacking in between.  I finally feel like I have control!  I did have a tiny headache - not really anything - but I always have sinus headaches or I do get migraines once in a while and this headache wasn't anything like either of those.  I can handle this kind of headache.

Joy:  I wondered how long you have been on the phentermine?  I also wondered if you were told how to wean yourself off of them?  From what I have read - they can become highly addictive and you need to wean yourself off of them - not just quit taking them cold turkey.  I don't see anything, however, telling you how you do that???  Do you decrease the mg dosage?  Take one every other day?  If you know anything about this and can help me - I'd appreciate it.  My hubby is taking them also and his appetite has really decreased.  We are very hopeful about them.

I hope everyone is having a good week!  I'll post more later.

Kelly


Age:  37 yrs.
Height:  5'3"
Start Date:  10/9/06
Current Weight:  202 lbs.
Weight Lost This Week:  
Total Weight Lost:  
Lbs. to go:
Goal Weight:  140


Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much

[kkeegs]

I forgot to say that for lunch I had a Lean Cuisine Panini and it was really good.  

My favorite low-cal frozen meals are the Lean Cuisine - they have no preservatives and the quality of the food just seems better to me.  Anyway - I like trying new ones that come out and the Panini's are really good!  

[]Just some food for thought[]!!!

Kelly

Age:  37 yrs.
Height:  5'3"
Start Date:  10/9/06
Current Weight:  202 lbs.
Weight Lost This Week:  
Total Weight Lost:  
Lbs. to go:
Goal Weight:  140


Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much

[Jody]

Hi George - I think you and I have a problem with semantics (perhaps UK English vs. US English? []) because I think we largely agree.  I would certainly agree that excess weight in and of itself is not a disease or illness. It must have an underlying cause, whether that be thyroid, some genetic disorder or "who knows what."  And I would also completely agree that a person who overeats, doesn't exercise and is generally a "couch potato" is going to gain weight.  But I also believe that a person who can only control their weight by virtual starvation and enormous quantities of exercise has a medical problem that needs to be addressed, even if that person is considered "healthy" in all other ways.

For example, one might argue that a slow metabolism is not a disease.  But when a metabolism is slow enough to cause serious obesity, it is, in my opinion, SOMETHING (disease[?] illness[?] condition[?] [xx(]) that needs to be corrected.  Is the slow metabolism a symptom of something else? Maybe. That's what research is all about.

Karen - You are SO FORTUNATE that you have a doctor who really looks out for you.  [] (My personal experience with doctors hasn't been too great. []) Thyroid problems are terrifically difficult to detect by standard tests - the so-called "normal" range is HUGE!!  So I think its wonderful that you're getting the help that you need.

Kelly - I'm thrilled that the phentermine is working for you.  [] I found that it worked for me for a few weeks but eventually stopped having any effect.  [V] I understand that you only have to worry about it becoming addictive if you keep increasing the dosage as the effects subside.  I've never heard of anyone having to be "weaned" off of it, since by the time most people quit taking it, its effectiveness has pretty much ended.  Of course, EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT, so talk to your doctor and BE CAREFUL!

BTW, I love Lean Cuisine too!  I just wish so many of their meals weren't some sort of Italian dish.  I LOVE Italian, but I do get tired of it after awhile.

Jody

[tootsie78]

Kelly,
Really, a person is only supposed to be on Phentermine for 13 weeks, & then take a 13 week break, & then be on it again if needed.  BUT!  A lot of people stay on it longer, especially if they get it online. I have personally been on mine 15 weeks today. I don't feel like I'm "addicted" to it, but I really can't imagine going off of it cuz I don't want to feel hungry all the time again, ya kwim???  About 2 weeks or so ago, I started feeling like it wasn't working too well on my appetite anymore, so I upped my dosage a week ago to 1 1/2 pills/day.  I have noticed a HUUUUGE difference & am loving it!!!  []  But...I still gotta snap back to reality & realize that I can NOT be on these the rest of my life!  I at LEAST wanna stay on them through the holidays though, cuz that scares me BAAAAD!!!  []  TOOOOO  many sweets around at that time of year!  [:I]
Have you noticed your sweet cravings are gone???  I know a LOT of ppl say they notice that their sweet cravings disappear while on Phen, & I must say, I noticed a DRASTIC difference!!!  It was NICE!

~Joy~