As a young and anxious 20-year-old, Maxi Dottori just wanted a quick solution to lose some unwanted kilos and feel better about herself.
Although she wasn’t obese, at 70kg and 162cm tall, she believed that shedding weight would ‘make her happier’.
‘I went to the doctor hoping for a quick fix. He never asked whether I exercised regularly or if I was focusing on my nutrition,’ says Maxi, now 31, from Melbourne.
‘Just having that conversation could have made me pause and think to myself, “Oh wait, you’re right. I am eating KFC for dinner every night, binge eating chocolate and having Subway cookies for lunch. I shouldn’t be doing that.”‘
Instead, the weight loss medication Duromine – popular in the 1990s long before GLP-1 drugs became mainstream – was prescribed with the promise of transformation.
Dr Steven Lu, Founder and Chief Medical Officer of Everlab, tells Daily Mail the drug ‘works as a stimulant that suppresses appetite through the brain’s neurotransmitters’.
‘In practice, Duromine can trigger rapid weight loss in the first two to four weeks – but those results rarely last. Without lifestyle changes, most people regain the weight once they stop taking it,’ Dr Lu adds.
Dr Lu says the main issue with Duromine is its side effects – the same ones Maxi is now warning others about.
Maxi Dottori, 31, (pictured today) took Duromine when she was 20 as a ‘quick fix’ to lose weight but couldn’t last longer than four weeks because she experienced awful side effects
Maxi, pictured at 20, experienced a quickened heart rate, insomnia, dry mouth, heightened anxiety, mood swings and intrusive thoughts while on the prescribed appetite suppressant
Maxi spent less than a month on Duromine. In addition to her suppressed appetite, she experienced a quickened heart rate, insomnia, dry mouth, heightened anxiety, mood swings and intrusive thoughts.
‘The effects it had on my mental health were crazy. It is what I imagine a fully functioning drug addict would feel like,’ she says.
‘I thought it was this magic pill that was going to change my life. Looking back, I was just lazy, looking for the easy option. I had no idea what the side effects would be.
‘The doctor never mentioned it would heighten my anxiety and depression. I wasn’t warned about the side effects.
‘I was so scattered, my heart was racing every single day, I couldn’t sleep, I had up and down moods, crazy highs and lows.’
Working long hours as a hairdresser, Maxi often forgot to eat or drink as her appetite vanished on Duromine.
‘It would get to 3pm and I’d realise I hadn’t eaten, so I’d go and buy some Subway cookies,’ Maxi says.
‘The effects it had on my mental health were crazy. It is what I imagine a fully functioning drug addict would feel like,’ Maxi says
‘The medication suppressed my appetite so much that I remember forcing myself to try to eat at least one meal per day.
‘With no saliva in my mouth and absolutely no desire to consume food, you can imagine how much stress my body was under.
‘It makes you very heightened. It felt like everything was moving at 100 kilometres an hour, while I was trying to pretend I was all good in front of hair clients.
‘I remember thinking to myself at work, “I am not okay. I feel like I’m on drugs right now.” It felt like I was on speed.’
The most concerning side effects were the ‘deep, dark intrusive thoughts’ – the worst of which came one day when she was on her way home from work.
‘I thought maybe I don’t want to be here anymore. Maybe if I just swerved off the road a little bit, maybe that would be easier,’ she admits.
‘When I got home I was like, “Oh, my God, I can’t believe I just thought that.” I told my mum, “I need to get off this drug. It’s not doing me any good and I am very self-aware about it.” She was really supportive.’
That night, she stopped taking Duromine for good – without having experienced any weight loss.
‘I promise you, there is no quick fix,’ she warns.
Mick O’War, founder of Primal Recovery, also experienced negative side effects of Duromine over the course of four weeks.
The 42-year-old, from Melbourne, began taking Duromine in late 2022, hoping that it would help him lose weight fast after he began overeating during Covid.
Wanting to get back to his pre-pandemic size, Mick went to his doctor and asked for Duromine specifically after hearing about it from friends.
Mick O’War, 42, (pictured) also experienced the negative side effects of Duromine
‘I didn’t know of the risks and side effects [before starting Duromine] but I found out very quickly,’ he said.
‘I didn’t lose any weight and just flooded my body with toxins. Any weight I lost came straight back.’
After a month, he ceased taking the medication.
‘I was like, “I can’t deal with this. This is just no good.” I only had the side effects, my sleep sucked, everything sucked. Nothing worked as it should in my body,’ Mick says.
The medication even left him with a swollen prostate, which made urination difficult.
‘The lack of ability to pee was one of the biggest things, and just being jittery in general. I felt extremely zapped from it, similarly to having had too many coffees. I was getting night sweats as well,’ adds Mick.
‘My mental state was just a bit erratic. You don’t feel yourself when you’re on something that strong.
‘I was single at the time – and in hindsight, that was lucky. When your prostate is that inflamed, it doesn’t just affect urination, it affects your entire sexual function.’
Mick explains how over the last ten years he’s learned that gaining weight is ‘often related to your mental state’ and it’s crucial to address the ‘root cause’.
‘It could be as obscure as something that happened in your childhood. When I was a child, I was given sweets as a treat or reward for doing something good; it’s a dopamine hit. I’m not addicted to food, but damn, I love it,’ he explains.
Duromine contains the active ingredient phentermine and is used to reduce body weight in obese or overweight patients (stock image posed by model)
Another woman, from Sydney, now wishes she was never prescribed Duromine after finding it to be ineffective.
‘My doctor wanted me to try Duromine before we considered any other weight loss medication options. She advised me that the maximum amount of time I could be on it was three months but I barely made it to two months,’ Maria* says.
‘I felt that I had to get through this medication and demonstrate that it wasn’t working for me before I could try something like Ozempic.’
Not only did Maria fail to lose weight on Duromine, but she also suffered a wave of negative side effects, describing the psychological impact as ‘horrendous’.
‘I could barely cope with any level of stress. If something negative happened, even something tiny, my stress levels would jump through the roof straight away and it would take me ages to reduce my stress levels back down. Combining this with the lack of sleep nearly drove me over the edge,’ she says.
By the time she stopped taking Duromine, Maria was only sleeping two hours a night.
‘I felt like I just couldn’t think and I was completely not myself any more. I begged my doctor – close to tears – to let me try something else.’
Maria was eventually prescribed Ozempic, which has allowed her to lose weight without the distressing side effects.
*Name has been changed
A DOCTOR’S PERSPECTIVE ON DUROMINE:
Dr Steven Lu, Founder and Chief Medical Officer of Everlab, tells Daily Mail the main problem with Duromine is lack of education, not regulation.
‘Nothing should ever be used as a quick fix when it comes to weight management. Duromine might suppress appetite and shift the scale quickly, but it doesn’t repair what’s actually driving weight gain,’ he says.
‘Duromine’s continued popularity really highlights a gap in our healthcare system rather than the value of the drug itself. For a long time, it’s been one of the few accessible options for weight management in Australia – it’s familiar, cheaper, and easy to prescribe. But we now have better tools available.
‘GLP-1 and dual-agonist medications have completely changed how we approach obesity. They target the underlying metabolic dysfunction, not just appetite. Continuing to rely on a 65-year-old stimulant shows how slow the system can be to adapt.’
How does Duromine compare to other weight loss medications available today, such as Ozempic?
Duromine works as a stimulant that suppresses appetite through the brain’s neurotransmitters, whereas Ozempic and Mounjaro act on the body’s natural GLP-1 hormones to regulate hunger, slow digestion and improve metabolism.
In practice, Duromine can trigger rapid weight loss in the first two to four weeks – but those results rarely last. Without lifestyle changes, most people regain the weight once they stop taking it. GLP-1 medications, on the other hand, tend to deliver steadier, more sustainable results over time.
The bigger concern with Duromine is its side effects. Because it’s a stimulant, it often disrupts sleep and increases stress or anxiety – which can actually drive up visceral fat, even as overall weight drops. It also needs to be used carefully in anyone with potential or undiagnosed heart disease. For example, we routinely screen people for coronary disease at Everlab before considering any medication, to make sure it’s both safe and appropriate for their individual profile.
That’s why I generally prefer GLP-1s like Ozempic or Mounjaro when a medication is appropriate.
Are certain people (e.g., those with anxiety, heart conditions, or eating disorders) more at risk of negative reactions?
Yes, absolutely. Duromine is contraindicated in anyone with heart disease, arrhythmias, a history of stroke, or uncontrolled high blood pressure. It can raise heart rate and blood pressure, so it’s critical to screen for underlying cardiac issues before prescribing – something we routinely do at Everlab.
It also needs caution in people with anxiety or other mental health conditions. People with a history of substance use also need to be carefully assessed, as phentermine has stimulant-like, dependence-forming potential.
What are the warning signs that someone should stop taking it immediately?
If anything feels off, especially around your heart, breathing, or mental state – it’s safest to stop the medication and get checked by a doctor straight away.
Other red flags include chest pain, shortness of breath, palpitations, fainting, or a racing heart, severe headaches, blurred vision and/or nosebleeds