The Perfect Diet Pill

Ready to sign up? I think we're all looking for that pill that let's us skip exercise and eat whatever we want, but still allow us to lose weight effortlessly- and oh yes, with no side effects. Sigh. I hate to disappoint you, but no such pill exists. I often think patients believe we doctors are hoarding this mysterious pill somewhere, keeping it for our own use! But seriously, if there were such a pill, there would be no overweight or obese doctors, right? And look around...doctors struggle with their weight as much as the next person.

What IS out there, and why don't we use it more? The main drug still on the market for weight loss is phentermine. The common brand names are Adipex, Fastin, Obenix, and Oby-Trim. Phentermine is a very effective appetite suppressant. It is a stimulant (similar to amphetamine) and can be addictive. It doesn't magically speed up your metabolism, it simply suppresses your appetite so you consume fewer calories. In the past, it was combined with another diet medications (fenfluramine and dexfenfluramine) but this combination turned out to potentially cause pulmonary hypertension- a very serious and possibly fatal lung disease. By itself, however, phentermine is usually well-tolerated, though it has it's own list of side effects, and it cannot be taken along with many antidepressants. Phentermine is thought to raise blood pressure, increase heart rates, and increase your risk for heart disease. A study published last month in Obesity, however, suggests that these cardiac effects may not be significant, or in fact, may not be there at all. While this was not our highest quality study, its numbers (300 patients) and methods are enough for us to take note.

So, if you don't have heart risk factors (beyond obesity) and you are not taking an antidepressant, should you rush to your doctor for a phentermine prescription? Probably not. If you need to jump start a weight loss program and you are ready to really improve your diet quality and quantity along with pursuing a solid exercise program - maybe. It's worth a discussion. However, you need to know from day one that most people REGAIN the weight when they go off the drug. Again, not magic, just they quit suppressing their appetite so they are more hungry, and they eat more.

I rarely prescribe phentermine, probably less than five patients per year. My personal standards are that the patient needs to be seeing a registered dietician and demonstrate that they are exercising daily for a least a month. I see the patient back in one month, and will not prescribe phentermine for more than two months. This is not a "cure all" drug, but in selected patients, it can be a wonderful jump start towards better health.

BOTTOM LINE: If you feel overriding hunger is truly keeping you from losing weight, open the discussion with your doctor about considering a prescription appetite suppressant.