It’s weekend time, but not without a quick post first!

I love these “question with an answer” posts…gives us a good idea of what other people are thinking/going through.

Here’s the question:

Could you explain how Phentermine works and is it dangerous to take it for more than 3 months at a time?

This is what I had to say:

Phentermine stimulates your central nervous system which will decrease your appetite and/or give your body a sense of fullness.

Whether it is dangerous for a person to take phentermine for more than 3
months depends on the individual!  This medication commonly increases heart rate and blood pressure.  In fact, it should not be used in patients with
cardiovascular disease at all (i.e. moderate to severe high blood pressure,
history of heart attack or stroke, etc.)

It may be used with caution in patients with mild hypertension, so long as
they are being monitored!

It is possible for a patient to develop high blood pressure by taking this
medication, but usually that would occur if the patient were borderline
hypertensive (though not impossible for a perfect healthy person to reach
high blood pressure levels).

I see many patients taking this medication for much longer than 3 months, so the main reason why the FDA has it approved for short-term use only (often interpreted as 12 weeks) is it can become a drug than one would abuse (slim chances but possible)!

The medication is relatively safe to use for more than 3 months if your
blood pressure/heart rate can tolerate it and you don’t have a tendency to
abuse medications.

Another reason you may only use phentermine for a short time is because it’s possible your body will develop a tolerance to it… the medication may not work after a certain about of time.  Once tolerance develops you should stop the medication because the risks now outweight the benefits of taking
phentermine!

The end.

Thanks for checking in again.  Any further questions on this matter?  Let me know by leaving a comment below or e-mail me at Cate@getpharmacyadvice.com.

Last thing…make sure you check out our FREE video course on how to save money on your prescription medications!