diet pills and lung/ heart pain

01-30-2003, 06:44 PM

Hi everyone! I asked this question over in the heart forum but haven't received a response yet and I'm wondering if this is where I should be. I started the diet pill Phentermine a month and a half ago. I'm not obese but am trying to lose 20 lbs and I'm almost there now because of the Phentermine (which kills hunger pain). Not long after starting the pills I developed a crushing pain in the upper middle part of my chest that goes into my throat/neck. I have the feeling that I just don't get enough air when I breathe and sometimes have to do a dry cough and a really big inhale to feel like I'm getting enough. This dry cough has become a pretty constant thing. It never produces anything but gives me the temporary feeling of breathing right. If I'm slouched I feel like I need to sit up straight in order to help the unusual breathing and heavy feeling in my chest. It feels like I'm laying down with a heavy box in the upper middle part of my chest and throat. A few heart palpitations but I've experienced that before if I have too much coffee. Two months ago I had bronchitis and was prescribed an antibiotic that seemed to knock it out. I then was back to the doctor about three weeks ago for what turned out to be an allergic throat infection and was prescribed a different antibiotic but this time I was taking the diet pills while I took the antibiotic. Could I have harmed myself somehow combining the two for seven days? When you think of diet pill problems you think of the heart valve stuff but I'm wondering if my symptoms sound more like a lung problem. Thank you all for any help or advice!

01-30-2003, 07:27 PM

Diet pills are FAMOUS for cardiac side-effects. The symptoms you're describing are symptoms of classic cardiac pain. This is the kind of pain people with angina will have.

The palpitations and racy-heart can give you a feeling of anxiety and make breathing harder -- and also give you chest pain because your heart is working FAR harder than it should be. The breathlessness is likely related to your heart.

If you experience chest pain, GO TO THE DOCTOR.

Phentermine specifically is related chemically and pharmacologically to amphetamines, and I'm sure we all know what THESE can do to your heart.

Remember, you're only supposed to take these once a day -- it's supposed to work for at least 14 hours. Taking more than the recommended dose can make the side-effects worse. This drug is supposed to be used to manage patients with exogenous obesity, on a SHORT TERM basis, (think two weeks,) not someone who's trying to lose twenty pounds.

1. Stop Taking The Diet Pills! You shouldn't be taking them for this long-term a basis anyway, and this can have bad effects on your heart.

2. Go see your doctor just in case the pills were reacting with an underlying condition. (Go TOMORROW if you have high blood pressure.) One of the reasons you should NOT NOT NOT ever take these pills is if you have high blood pressure.

3. Chances that the diet pills reacted with the antibiotics are pretty slim, but still. If you're having side-effects THIS BAD you SHOULD NOT SHOULD NOT SHOULD NOT be taking them.

01-30-2003, 10:08 PM

Thank you for your quick and helpful response! Consider the Phen stopped. I had a feeling the pills were the culprit but have foolishly continued taking them after I asked about my symptoms on several diet pill message boards and no one else experienced my symptoms. I looked up medical sites and read that there were no known causes of heart damage due to Phentermine alone, yet here I am typing this with crushing chest and throat discomfort. Thank you for being the first person to give it to me straight. Next step is to go to my doctor with my head hanging in shame, tell him I bought diet pills over the internet and am now experiencing chest pain. I'm so embarrassed I can hardly even type it. Sheesh. Take care and have a good weekend.

01-31-2003, 11:23 AM

A good place to go a-hunting for info on drugs is rxlist, though since they took down their side-effects section, it's not as great.

But they talk about that drug like it should be taken by PRESCRIPTION.

Don't beat yourself up about it, just learn from it. Next time you even consider taking a drug, learn as much as you can about it, learn how it affects your body. I'm not saying to freak out about the side-effects either, but if you'd researched this drug you would have known it's not to be taken on the long-term.

It probably hasn't caused any damage, but better safe than sorry. Honestly, the reason you were feeling chest pain is likely just because you were taking enough of it to make your heart work harder than it was comfortable with. Lots of stimulant drugs (i'm thinking specifically of bronchodilators given for asthma) when taken in higher doses can cause angina pains.

You too; have a good weekend. I think you'll find it better without cardiac pain

diet pills and lung/ heart pain

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