I've just read a study
dealing with appetite-suppressing drugs, principally one called
Phentermine (that's the generic name; it's branded with other names
such as Fastin). I had to read the report three times before I understood it…full
of long words and clinician-speak! But it seems to me that this drug deals with the symptoms of the
problem, i.e overeating rather than the problem itself, i.e why
people overeat. People overeat for many reasons, among them boredom, depression,
stress and sometimes just habit. Eating is pleasurable; it stimulates "feel-good" chemicals
in the brain. Chocolate is renowned for this, surprise, surprise.
After all, what is better than a family-sized bar of Fruit and
Nut? Sex? Miles behind!! On a more serious note, this good feeling doesn't last. So you
continue eating. And eventually it gets to be a habit that you
can't stop. And don't want to. You see your body ballooning. So
you make a huge effort and go on a diet. Big mistake! (See our
other articles for what we think of diets!). So now you're miserable.
All you can think of is food. By Tuesday lunchtime you've given
up. So you mentally beat yourself up. And so it goes on…. In a nutshell, and without any technobabble, there is an area
in your brain that tells you when you are hungry. So you eat. There
is another area that tells you when you have had enough. So you
stop eating. But you can override these "switches" if
you try hard enough. Hence eating disorders, both those in which
you eat too
little (such as anorexia) and those where you eat too much - leading
to obesity, feeling out of control, and resorting to desperate
measures. This is where you turn to the likes of Phentermine, which
works by interfering with the "switches", therefore decreasing
your desire for food. Phentermine also stimulates the hormones
which control your body's "fight or flight" response,
which switches off the "hunger" sensor and reroutes more
blood to the muscles and less blood to the stomach and digestive
system ready for the command for "Action!" Which never
comes. Think about it; if something startles you, or you have to suddenly
run to snatch a child out of the road, food is the last thing you
think about! These appetite-suppressing drugs interfere with the
chemistry in your brain. They can only be obtained on prescription,
and that's only after a thorough medical check-up - they won't
be prescribed if you have certain heart problems as they narrow
small blood vessels and can cause critical disruption to the oxygen
supply to the heart. They can also raise the pressure behind your
eyes, so they won't be prescribed if you have glaucoma. Or overactive
thyroid. Or a history of kidney stones. And usually you will have
to have a Body Mass Index over 30 (i.e obese) to be considered. Still, it looks like Phentermine is an improvement on the former
drugs used for appetite control Amphetamines. Yup, I kid you not.
But the major problem with them (apart from the side - effects)
was that people became addicted! So if they didn't keep taking
them, they suffered from withdrawal, sometimes becoming seriously
ill. But Phentermine does have long term side - effects; among them
risk of anaphylactic shock (oh lovely!), dry mouth, arrhythmia
(irregular heartbeat), shakes or jitteriness, anxiety, insomnia,
loss of sex drive, increase in blood pressure…Shall I continue?
And although not classed as addictive, they can be habit-forming,
leading to symptoms of withdrawal. And to cap all that? You can't take them for long as your body becomes tolerant and
they stop working! Overeating has a cause. It is this that you need to deal with,
rather than resorting to drugs. Alternative therapies such as hypnotherapy
and acupuncture have been known to be helpful. Keep an open mind.
Phentermine should be a last resort.
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