Before I decided to start Duromine, I trolled through the internet to gather as much information as I could before discussing it with my doctor. Now that I've been on it for exactly 2 months today, I wanted to share my experience with everyone because the more information the better!
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[b]Stats- [/b]
Age: 26
Height: 169cm
Start Weight: 107kg
Goal Weight: 70kg
Current Weight: 90kg
Dose of Duromine, 15mg & 30mg.
Diet: Vegetarian for 4 years.
Is duromine working for me? YES
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[b]PAST[/b]
Similarly to most, I have been on a diet my whole life. Some years are better than others and you find that your motivation for losing weight varies as well. I have always been 'overweight', however some points of my life I have been fitter than others. My lightest weight was 73kg when I was 21yrs old, however this came with a cost - I had given up my life (Uni, friends and family) and lived in the gym. My heaviest weight was 115kg - suffering depression after a death in the family.
In 2011 I hit 115kg and decided that it was enough. My busy lifestyle (working and family) meant that It was very hard for me to watch what I ate. And it wasn't that I ate A LOT. It was the fact that I was making very bad choices on the run. Lack of time meant I couldn't devote attention to myself and I was always the one I worried about last. After a few months of struggles, My weight came down to 110kg, but just halted. I was only doing light exercise as I was too embarrassed about my size to even join the gym again. So on November 19th 2011, I went and saw my doctor.
Talking to her about my struggles were hard enough... it's not something you discuss with other people. But I just asked her if there was anything that she could recommend which would give me a little push to get healthy again. Plus I will be getting married September 2012. She recommended Duromine 15mg. I had slightly elevated blood pressure when I visited her last (130/90) however my current blood pressure was an optimal 120/80. With a family history of High blood pressure, she wanted me to begin on the lowest dosage and then to see her in a month and reassess the situation.
[b]
DUROMINE 15mg [/b]($95 for 30 pills)- Weight loss of 6.5kg in 3 weeks, down to 100.5kg. Exercise: Mild to moderate - Wii fit - yoga and boxing, walks every day, took the extra walk to the next tram stop or took a long route instead of a short cut. I did not actively change my diet at all. However as a vegetarian, most of what I eat (besides for junk food) is relatively healthy. Did I feel different? A little. Look different? Not really - I put it down to waterloss.
I practically had no negative side effects with Duromine 15mg.
I experienced:
- Slight burst of energy in the mornings, this meant I could wake up and exercise a little.
- On and off tiredness in the afternoons around 3pm
- increased thirst (the dry mouth gets ya!)
- No hunger for the first week then Increased hunger around week 2 and 3.
- My meal portions remained the same however I ate less. I could not physically stuff anymore food down my throat.
At week 3 (just before Christmas) I went back to my doctor who was overwhelmed with my progress. She then prescribed me Duromine 30mg. I still had 10 or so 15mg pills left and she advised me I should keep them to take on and off if the 30mg was effecting me too much.
[b]DUROMINE 30mg[/b] ($125 (!) for 30 pills)- Weight loss of 10.5kg in 5 weeks, down to 90kg. Exercise: Moderate - active - Everyday I Wii fit and change my exercises around, interchangeably yoga for core and balance, strength training for muscles and then I Cardio using wii Zumba. I also now enjoy walking the distance (when I can) instead of taking transport. My diet did change - explained below. Did I feel different? YES. Did I look different? YES.
Duromine 30mg really knocked me up after taking it for a week. When I felt like the side effects were too much, I reverted and took a 15mg. It would take me 2 days to recover so I then went back to 30mg.
I experienced:
- Dizziness when standing up, a few times nearly fainting.
- High blood pressure - self monitored over the christmas break 143/95
- And overwhelming feeling of sickness - similar to car sickness however everyday around 3pm
- Bursts of energy in the morning (as per 15mg)
- Periods of insomnia or unable to maintain a lengthy period of sleep (some nights I would get 2.5 hours if I was lucky)
- Decrease in appetite next to nil appetite
- increased motivation for exercise
- general tiredness
- INCREASED censored drive
Although 10.5kg sounds like a lot in 5 weeks, the weightloss was steady. I did gain 1.5 kg over Christmas however I restricted myself for a few days and it evened up. I generally lost about 300-500grams a day. I was now exercising everyday.
The main thing about the 30mgs is the dizziness, insomnia and the lack of appetite. I experienced this when I decided to take 30mg straight.
[b][u]Insomnia [/u]- lack of sleep[/b]
No matter how hard I tired myself out I couldn't sleep. I took Duromine everyday at 7am on the dot. I usually get to bed around 1am however there were times I didn't sleep until 5am. Or sometimes I would sleep straight away and then wake up 30mins later feeling refreshed and staring at the ceiling.
One thing is for sure: I never felt tired during the day until (what I call it) dooms hour clocked over. Around 3-4pm.
I tried everything - but nothing worked. Even my increase in censored drive didn't tire me out. I'm still struggling with it now but as I don't feel tired when I wake up, It has been a second priority to my lack of appetite.
[b][u]Lack of appetite[/u][/b]
Why is this a negative side effect? Because you don't want to eat. At all. And to maintain a level of energy that can sustain you throughout the day, you must eat. For the first 2 weeks on 30mgs, I was eating normally. Christmas lunch was fine as well. My portions stayed similar to when I was on 15mgs. I was hungry, I ate and became full from about half the serving size I used to eat before Duromine. The last 3 weeks however, have been different. I was not hungry. I didn't crave any food. And whether it was mentally or physically, I could not eat food. I could actually feel my stomach shrink. This was great for the first week, and even the second. Only in the last week have I started to realise this could become a big problem. Everyday I was exercising but I could only eat a piece of fruit and some nuts and possibly a small bowl of soup- and this was because I forced myself to. I went out for dinner with friends and could not stomach more than 1 slice of gourmet (healthy) pizza. I went to a dinner party and embarrassingly ate about 4 mouthfuls and could not eat anymore. In the last week (7 days) I probably consumed the same amount of calories a normal healthy person would consume in 2 days.
[u]
[u]Dizziness[/u][/u]
The periods of dizziness have gotten worse and for a lengthier amount of time. Especially when I stand up. for about 5 - 10 seconds, my body has to adjust to it. It's a very uncomfortable feeling and a few times I have felt like I've wanted to collapse so have had to hold on to a handle or door knob. I have found going off 30mgs for a day has really helped me adjust to this. Also getting up slower helps!
[b]PRESENTLY[/b]
The symptoms on 30mg were so magnified that there was no way I was going to continue on Duromine 30's straight. I went to the doctor last week and discussed my feelings with her and I was lucky she was understanding enough that she gave me two scripts - one for 30mg, one for 15mg. I will take 30mg every second day and 15mg every other day. I don't know how many doctors will do this, however I consider myself lucky. I have 20kg to go for my goal weight which is achievable by my wedding day in September. However I intend to reduce the Duromine intake as the months go by to allow my body to adjust.
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MY DUROMINE ADVICE:[/b]
1. Duromine is EXPENSIVE - I nearly fell off my seat when I found out it was around $3 per pill (15mg). Out of curiosity I enquired how much 45mg tablets were when I found out that the 30mg were even more expensive, $4 per pill. The 45mg were $195. Do shop around as the prices vary, however please please please do not try to take the dodgy road and order them online. I have researched this and read many bad stories about the tablets being laced with other products. If you're serious about your weightloss and your health, then it is worth paying the extra for your own safety.
2. You will have increased appetite when going on Duromine. This is NORMAL. This is due to an increase in your metabolism. This is a good thing. Just remember to eat healthy.
3. As much as you will have increased appetite, you will have decreased appetite. REMEMBER TO EAT. If you don't eat, your metabolism decreases. This is not a good thing and your body will get used to it, so when you go off Duromine, you will put the weight back on. Think of it as training your body to get used to more healthy food but in smaller portions.
4. Allow yourself to be treated. If you do crave junk food, like cake, or icecream or hot chips - whatever, allow yourself to have small portions of what you crave. You will feel satisfied and if you feed your craving, you're less likely to over indulge as mentally you know the food is bad for you but you have 'satisfied' the craving.
5. Do a wide range of exercises. Besides for walking, I have not left the house for exercising and I can still do a wide range of exercises. Even at 90kg's now, I still prefer to wake up looking like a zombie and then just heading to my living room and turning on my Wii. But a wide range of exercises will help your body to adjust to the weightloss. As with cardio, Muscle tone is also very important and so is flexibility and core strength. My weight is mostly around my stomach, upper thigh, bust and arm/shoulders. If I was just to do cardio like running or Zumba - I would loose weight however my body wouldn't be able to adjust - especially my skin. If you want an overall, even distribution of weightloss, mix up your exercises.
6. Monitor your blood pressure. If you can borrow or buy a blood pressure machine, then please do. Weightloss to look great and be healthy is one thing, however Duromine has the tendency to increase blood pressure and can cause heart disease so you need to take care of yourself. Whenever you feel like something is wrong, please see your GP. It's always better to be safe than sorry.
7. Give yourself realistic goals. Not everyone loses loads of weight at the same speed. If you keep it realistic, then anything else you exceed will be a bonus. I gave myself a goal of 1kg per week. Obviously having lost 17kg in 8 weeks is much more than my goal however you don't want to set the bar too high and then fail. I see so many people worried and complaining they've only lost one or two kg's on duromine in the first few weeks. I myself have complained to my partner when I've only lost a few 100grams a day or, shock horror - when I've put on a few 100grams. But I find you have to remember, for every two kgs that equals to a bag of oranges. If you were to lug that extra bag around with you everyday, how would it feel? I use this mentality to keep myself in check and remind myself: It's OK for the results not to show right away, if you're eating right and exercising - they will!
8. Weight gain: If you gain weight, don't be despondent. There are many reasons why however keep in mind Duromine makes you thirsty,. you drink more and will have more water weight. If your exercises have more muscle work, then you will gain muscle = weight. However you will look toned (obviously). Weigh yourself at the same time - your weight changes a lot during the day. Also, Try not to weigh yourself too often. Everyone says this, and I myself weigh myself everyday (comes with the daily body test on the Wii Fit) but I hadn't used my Dad's scales at his house for over two weeks and weighed myself and was surprised with the numbers! It made me feel really good because it was a significant amount.
9. I still haven't tackled the insomnia so I cannot give you any advice on this - however I myself am loving the early mornings. I have found that if you resist the urge to nap in the afternoons, it will be much easier for you to fall asleep at night.
[b]FINALLY:[/b]
I know there's people out there who disagree with DUROMINE. I think that each and every person has the right to decide what they should do as long as it's an informed decision monitored by a GP. Also I'm sure there are people who disagree with my advice. However the soul reason I want to share this with everyone is that each situation and experience is different. Just like mine, I have not found any details of anyone taking two dosages interchangeably and I just wanted to advise that there are ways to deal with the side effects in a situation like mine.
I'm happy to answer any questions or clarify any details.
Good luck on your weightloss all
I can't wait for my wedding in September! 
