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Phentermine Side Effects

The most commonly reported side effects of phentermine include general physical health deterioration, dyspnoea, and dizziness, based on 32,778 FDA adverse event reports from 2004 to 2025. 2.9% of reports found the drug to be ineffective.

Phentermine side effects

Percentages show how often each reaction appears relative to total reports for phentermine.

1
General Physical Health Deterioration6.7%2,189
2
Dyspnoea6.4%2,093
3
Dizziness5.3%1,749
4
Nausea5.3%1,731
5
Fatigue5.0%1,649
6
Fall3.7%1,218
7
Anaemia3.7%1,199
8
Headache3.6%1,175
9
Diarrhoea3.4%1,103
10
Vomiting3.1%1,006
11
Acute Kidney Injury3.0%976
12
Drug Ineffective2.9%943
13
Asthenia2.8%932
14
Oedema Peripheral2.8%907
15
Hypotension2.6%846

These are voluntary reports and do not establish that phentermine caused these reactions.

Report severity

70.7%Serious23,170 reports
46.6%Hospitalizations15,275 reports
9.0%Fatal2,948 reports

Seriousness is determined by the reporter, not by OpenClaim.

Phentermine drug interactions

Other drugs that appear in adverse event reports alongside phentermine. Drugs flagged as a suspected cause appear in the first column. Drugs taken at the same time but not suspected appear in the second.

Also suspected

1
Topiramate20.1%6,583
2
Aspirin3.7%1,201
3
Apixaban3.2%1,062
4
Ramipril3.2%1,052
5
Metoprolol3.2%1,052
6
Valsartan3.2%1,045
7
Rivaroxaban3.0%985
8
Gemfibrozil2.4%791
9
Spironolactone2.4%780
10
Bisoprolol-fumarate2.3%765
11
Sacubitril2.2%722
12
Pantoprazole-sodium2.1%676
13
Amlodipine1.8%581
14
Prednisolone1.8%576
15
Metformin1.7%573

Taken alongside

1
Pantoprazole-sodium14.8%4,843
2
Aspirin11.4%3,743
3
Metoprolol11.2%3,656
4
Simvastatin9.4%3,097
5
Levothyroxine-sodium8.9%2,929
6
Ramipril8.7%2,849
7
Bisoprolol-fumarate8.5%2,782
8
Allopurinol8.2%2,699
9
Atorvastatin-calcium7.9%2,597
10
Metformin7.4%2,431
11
Spironolactone6.6%2,175
12
Amlodipine6.4%2,108
13
Insulin6.4%2,096
14
Acetaminophen6.1%1,985
15
Ergocalciferol5.8%1,901

Co-occurrence in adverse event reports does not establish a drug interaction. Patients often take multiple medications, and these lists reflect prescribing patterns rather than causal relationships. Consult a healthcare provider about potential drug interactions.

Who reports phentermine side effects

58.8% of phentermine adverse event reports involve female patients and 32.1% involve male patients. The largest age group is elderly at 52%. These figures reflect who reports side effects, not underlying risk.

Sex

Female58.8%
Male32.1%
Unknown9.1%

Age group

< 20.4%
2–110.3%
12–170.4%
18–6447.2%
65+51.7%

What is phentermine used for

Conditions and purposes for which patients were taking phentermine when the adverse event was reported.

Abdominal DiscomfortAbdominal DistensionAbdominal PainAbdominal Pain UpperAbnormal FaecesAccidental Drug Intake By ChildAcute AbdomenAcute Coronary SyndromeAcute Kidney InjuryAcute Myocardial InfarctionAcute Promyelocytic LeukaemiaAdenocarcinomaAdenocarcinoma Of ColonAdverse EventAffective Disorder

Showing 15 of 575 indications

Phentermine brand names and reporting trend

Quarterly reports (20042025)

20052010201520202025

An upward trend reflects increased FAERS reporting overall, not necessarily increased risk.

Taking phentermine with another medication?

Ask OpenClaim about your specific drug combination. Get a sourced report using FDA data, drug labels, and medical literature.