Phentermine Side Effects Not Mentioned in the Pamphlet

A few days into my first month of prescription Phentermine, I started experiencing some symptoms that were a bit bothersome. They started to increase in intensity, so I pulled out the page of information they came with and scanned the side effects list one more time. My problems were not listed there, but I felt pretty certain that the Phentermine was the cause. I thought what I was experiencing must be pretty uncommon, but I decided to do a little quick research to see if I could find anyone else with the same issues. I immediately hit on a forum filled with people complaining about exactly the same problems I was having.

The first problem was a flushed face. Doesn't sound like that big of a deal. But I'm talking about bright red, looks like I just got a pretty significant sunburn flushed face. It would come on early afternoon and be gone by morning at first, but after a couple weeks, I would wake up with a red nose. It was also very hot. It made me feel hot all over and was even hot to the touch like a sunburn. But I hadn't been outside when it first started, so I knew that couldn't be it. I wondered if the flushed face could be some sort of hormonal hot flash, but the consistency about the time of day it flared up made me think it might be a side effect of the Phentermine.

But nothing about flushed face or hot face showed up in the material. The online forums had dozens of users who, like me, were relieved to find that the flushed fash was indeed apparently a side effect of the Phentermine.

The other symptom was much more troubling: swollen throat. I've had my fair share of allergic reactions, and so I at first assumed the feeling of a swollen throat was just that. I was disappointed, to say the least, that I would have to discontinue the Phentermine so soon after I had started it, but a swollen throat can be a scary allergic reaction. The pamphlet suggested that an allergic reaction was such an extremely rare problem that I thought I should see what I could find out. That led me to another large group with what seemed a similar problem. Some of them could say specifically that it was the uvula, not the entire throat, that seemed to be swelling. Those who had experienced the swollen throat sensation and gotten over it claimed that drinking more water helped ease the issue for them. They didn't all say that they had contacted their doctors first, although they certainly should have. I waited longer than I should have, hoping there was some other explanation, like this water issue, for my swollen throat that would allow me to keep taking the Phentermine. Calling a doctor about troublesome side effects is important, though, and patients will not necessarily get the reaction they expect. Some of the people I found got the go-ahead from their doctors to continue the prescription to see if the problem would abate.

One of the common side effects of Phentermine is dry mouth, and an enlarged uvula can be caused by dehydration. Drinking plenty of liquids from the time you very first start Phentermine might prevent this swollen throat feeling from occurring.

Manufacturers can't list every possible side effect for a medication. They typically list those that are most common, highlighting those that are most dangerous. But with the growing numbers of Phentermine users, it would be good to know that a flushed face and a swollen throat are somewhat common side effects, and for some, they don't have to mean the end of Phentermine use.

References:

Swollen Uvula. Swollenuvula.blogspot.com.

Phentermine. Phentermine.com.