The dark side of Duromine: Some doctors prefer it to Ozempic and Mounjaro – but these patients reveal how the drug shattered their lives with terrifying side effects

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 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 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. 

‘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. 

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