Doctor just put me on Qsymia

Type 1 and LADA
1

Hi ya'll. My Endo just put me on Qsymia. She told me at my last appointment the other day that I needed weight loss surgery. I have gained approximately 20 pounds in the past 5 years and approximately 80 pounds in the past 10 years. I've tried everything. I am 50. Type 1 diabetic and had my thyroid removed over 30 years ago and have been on Synthroid ever since. I would give anything to have my thyroid gland back.

Anywho, she asked me if I would be opposed to going on a diet pill before going the surgery route. Of course I wouldn't mind. She put me on Qysmia.
phentermine and topiramate extended-release. You start out on a 14 day free trial titration, getting the coupon from their website, then the strength is raised for the following months. I starting taking it over the weekend on Saturday. Today is Monday. You take it along with watching your food/carb intake and increased activity, so you have to be diligent, not a magic pill. It's still early, but so far, so good. I did really well and wasn't hungry much at all over the weekend and my insulin totals went from 50 - 60 units/day to 20 - 25 units/day. HUGE. It seems my insulin to carb ratio has gone down as well, but that will take some extra time and close attention.

My question is, has anyone here been on this or are on it and how did it go? I am concerned about low blood sugars with the decrease in appetite and I must work and commute to work every day and hour each way. I do not want to go the surgery route.

2

Never heard of Qysmia although the early results you have are pretty astounding. I ran into weight issues over the past 8 years and finally ran into something that worked (this is after trying all kinds of diets). Since October 2012 I've lost 80lbs. What worked was going to Valley Medical Weight Loss where they provide weekly shots of vitamins and Adenosine (a fat burner) along with Phentermine during the day. By April I had lost about 40lbs which at that point I found a different Endocrinologist that suggested I add Symlin. That did the trick because between April and November I lost another 40lbs. As of today, I exercise 45 minutes a day, drink 70oz of water and only take between 2 and 4 units of Humalog for meals (very low carb and low calorie). I'm back to my size 4 which is a huge relief.

The insulin requirements WILL change and you will have to be cautious. Remember, additional insulin is a good cause for weight gain so reducing it is a great start. I did not have to do surgery although I did decide to do laser liposuction. The downtime was only a week and the results are fantastic. Not really for weight loss, more for the extra padding that exercise couldn't resolve. Good luck!

3

That is awesome!!! I am impressed. Yeah, this first seven days is a little much and I am thinking not typical. I think I should be ready to possibly gain some of that back because that is just not normal for the body to lose like that. It is very motivational however. This drug is new and it has worked very well for a lot of people including a lot of diabetics. You are right about the insulin requirement cut back. I am checking my blood sugars constantly and they are fluctuating a lot. I think my body is confused right now. From where I started, I need to lose approximately 98 pounds so I'd imagine I am going to have quite a bit if sagging skin so I imagine liposuction may be something I will have to consider, however, much more preferable to weight loss surgery.

4

Right on...that initial response is still excellent progress. It will slow down, no doubt about it so you will have to adjust as you hit the "diet wall". In order for it to be successful, you have to really want it as well. That's why "cheating" is usually a bad idea.

For myself, cheating consisted of husband getting pizza to which I would add chicken wings to the order. Not the breaded kind but the buffalo wings. My "cheat" then would be 5 or 6 chicken wings and maybe scraping the toppings off of a slice of pizza. My cheat then becomes protein, protein and protein with a tiny bit of sugars thrown in. No bread at all.... I have taken ONE bite of something bread like but no more than that. I also learned how to make carbohydrate free and sugar free treats like chocolate pudding (my favorite). I found snack options like tomato salad with pine nuts (delicious) or homemade yogurt tzatziki (total calories = 120) or cottage cheese mixed with salsa on top of fresh tomato. Breakfast consist of 80 calorie Greek yogurt with fresh fruit that I slice up and mix in. Total calories = 100

For snacking, almonds and pistachios are great (especially almonds), or pork rinds dipped in homemade ranch (low carb/sugar/calorie). The one thing I do NOT do is buy low fat stuff like mayo or sour cream. I do eat low fat cottage cheese but that is only because I like the whole fat stuff too much (haha).

So it's been a year of practice but every weekly weigh in seeing progress was enough to keep me motivated. I HATED being that weight and was pretty miserable.

This is the place I get the shots and supplements from: VMWL

If the medication is working for you, I highly suggest continuing. Remember it is a lifestyle change and you have to be committed to seeing it through. It is very frustrating and will have rough moments for sure. Don't give up though because it only makes it worse.

You can do laser liposuction before you near your goal since the change is permanent. If you gain afterwards, it will be in different areas. For myself, the cost wasn't too bad (6k), minimal downtime and results are awesome. The healing kind of sucks though.

:)

5

I've been on topamax (topiramate), but not for weight loss. I did, though, lose 15 pounds in one month. This is exactly what my neuro predicted, with creepy accuracy. I do not know if the topamax directly caused the weight loss, or if it was because the topamax made soda taste disgusting so I went cold turkey.

Topamax made me feel very stupid and slow until we split up the dose in two dosages morning and night. It was very important for my body to take them at EXACTLY 12 hours apart. Anything else would turn me into an idiot.

Additionally, I was taking name brand topamax when the generic was released. We tried the generic for a month, but it was horrible. My migraines were worse than I had had before I had any treatment, and I was so stupid I was almost an invalid. Like, I couldn't figure out if I should eat or not, and I would just stare at the wall.

Went back to name brand, everything was fine. I have read and know of many people who can take just one dose a day, and who use generic, and everything's great. But, if it doesn't immediately work out for you, consider talking to the doctor about splitting the dose and getting on name brand (I'd do the "experiments" one after the other, in that order, because the name brand is incredibly expensive).

The side effects when I wasn't taking the topamax "right" for my body were crazy horrible -- but then again, taking too much insulin causes bad "side effects." When you get it right, though, the topamax was amazing.

I was not, come hell or high water, able to lose more than the 15 pounds lost in the initial month. I don't know if that's because it brought me to 130 pounds, and I just wasn't able to eat at a deficit enough to lose at such a low weight, or if the medicine had anything to do with it.