Adapex and Eating Disorders

My sis went to her PCP last week to begin her six month pre op diet that is required by her insurance.  I am so proud of her as this is a very huge step for her, she is quite scared as she has never really seen a doctor in her lifetime and certainly has never had surgery.  I have a couple questions for you guys because I don't have any experience in a couple areas that she has asked me questions about.

First her doc has prescribed Adapex, her insurance will not pay for it.  Has anyone ever used it?  What are your opinions?  Does it make you feel weird like the black beauty's and things of the 70's because we both have no tolerance for that and it makes us both very sick so it would be a waste of money.

Eating disorders?  Have you suffered eating disorders before weight loss surgery?  Does it make you more prone to eating disorders after surgery? 

Jeannie

Jeannie
I personally have never takin adapex but i have family members that have and they have done well.
They had no weird feelings that come from the fastin tablets or black mallys.
Wish i could be of more help

Adipex, hmm, how to answer those questions. I took it, lost 60 pounds, then gained everyone of those pounds back when I went off of it. Yes, it made me jittery and feel high for the first week or two, but then those feelings faded. Gave me horrible dry mouth too. I'm surprised her doc wants her to use adipex as a way to lose weight prior to WLS. My fear would be that she would drop tons of weight on it then her insurance won't pay for surgery.Then she stops the meds, and gains all the weight back. I think if I were her, I'd ask for a diet and weightloss program only. Just my two cents.

I worked with a girl who was on it.. I feel she thought that was the only answer and didn't change her way of eating and maybe lost 20 pounds and then nothin'. i would say a waste of money. I say ditto to melissa's answer. A diet plan would be a better preop solution. Like Clarians Liver reduction diet.

I took Adipex and it was not for me. I have had some heart issues in the past and I am sure the Adipex did not help them out one bit. As a matter of fact, I was rushed to the ER because of that medication and what it did to my pulse rate.I did not learn to eat healthy with Adipex. The doctor who prescribed it later passed away from years of being addicted to that medication as well as others. I think that doing a preop weight loss is great but only one that will help you after WLS.

I wish your sister many blessings in her weight loss. She certainly has a great support person...you!

Hey there! I have never taken that drug for weight loss. I would worry in a similar fashion though to some other posters on this topic. She might lose weight, not qualify for surgery, and then not be able keep it off after discontinuing the drug. I really have never heard of anyone who kept off weight that was lost with a drug. Then there's also the cost of a drug not covered by insurance. If her insurance company doesn't require her to try it, I would opt out!

Does your sister have an ED (eating disorder)? I think that if I'd been honest with myself, I would have met the criteria for binge eating disorder preop. I wasn't though. I obviously don't still binge eat. I can't. To be honest with my friends though, even though I don't admit this often, I do meet the criteria for ED NOS (not otherwise specified) now. It would be bulimia, except I don't 'binge'. I am working with a specialist to get past this hurdle in my health. I know I can make it past this. If your sister has an ED, I would tell her to get treatment now.

I am sooooo happy for her.  Tell her to get on here so that we are able to shower her with support.  I wouldn't be real quick to take that medication.  If it worked long term, would they do WLS??  

Just my 2 cents.


Kim

Hey Jeannie,

It's super about your sis!  Tell her to be patient with the program, but it will pass very quickly...It did for me....

Please tell her to be careful with the Adipex.  It's been a commonly prescribed diet pill around for eons....and I took it probably when I was in my 20's....It can cause jitteriness, weakness in her extremities and it contributed to some High blood pressure in me.  If her BP is already high, be careful.

I wish her the best of luck..

Michelle

Jeannie,  tell your sis "Good for her"!!  I did take adipex before I had WLS when I was going to a bariatric doctor and on a weight loss program. Once I got to the point where I wasn't losing much weight on the program the doctor prescribed the adipex for me. I only took 1/2 of a pill a day and was still able to eat lightly with my meals but, wasn't out of control. It worked perfect for me at first and then it slowly stops working because you build a resistance. I didn't feel dizzy or hyper or anything just a bit more awake and energetic than usual. What I didn't like about the doc was that when the meds stopped working so much he wanted me to take an additional pill and what I soon found out was that he was mostly a pill pusher. My feelings are that if you rely soley on a medicine (any kind of medicine) to give you relief from hunger, pain or whatever it is, then you will not learn to do it on your own. Her doc is probably just trying to get her to lose the pre-weight before her WLS. It would be a good way for her to drop a few pounds quickly but, encourage her to take it wisely and to eat smart while using the meds. It's like a speed from the past, yes but I think its a lot less harmful than the pills of the past. I don't think doctors even give out most of those old medicine anymore. The FDA has come in and banned so many because of heart problems that people develop. Once your sis has the WLS she will not even want or need the adipex anymore. Good luck to her and as Kim said, tell her to get on here so we can give her all the support she needs.