The appeal of diet pills to a person struggling with maintaining a healthy weight makes a lot of sense. People slightly overweight to obese may feel desperate to lose pounds.

Men are muscular and women are excessively thin. This only adds to an unrealistic body expectation for the average person.

These problems include low self-esteem, negative body image, and fears of being unloved or unwanted. Severe depression may result from these feelings.

These thoughts and worries about weight can be troubling, and the idea that an easy-to-take diet pill can fix the problem sounds like a simple solution. Many people think it would be easy just to take a pill or drink some special herbal tea and shed some pounds.

After all, what harm could there be in trying these self-proclaimed miracle cures.

This is not great news for people desperate for solutions, and there is more bad news. Giving new pills a try can be costly as well as dangerous to your health.

In the worst cases, they can be fatal. Hazardous diet pills must be taken seriously and should be avoided in all situations.

The word “natural” conjures up images of pastoral settings and farms harvesting fresh and organic roots, fruits, and vegetables that can be ground into healthy pills that will help the body safely lose weight. This may feel like there is a sense of safety from pills made free of chemicals and synthetic molecules.

Always be cautious of testimonials because they can be edited to be misleading or made up. Often, weight loss pills claiming to be natural still have substances in them that are not natural at all.

These potentially harmful substances are often not listed on the label of these products. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) monitors natural supplements.

Unfortunately, natural weight-loss pills do not need to meet standards as high as those for prescription medications. In fact, many natural weight-loss substances are not examined by the FDA before they are sold.

For example, St. John’s wort is an herbal supplement that you can buy over the counter everywhere, from health food stores to grocery stores to big chain shopping centers.

However, there are dangers to the herb. it can, as many other substances do, interact with other medicines, causing changes in the medicines’ efficacy and possible side effects.

Be wary of weight loss pills making extraordinary claims. Losing more than two pounds a week may not be healthy, and pills that claim you will lose 30 pounds in 30 days are not only unrealistic but also dangerous.

these claims have proven to be greatly exaggerated. Unfortunately, people hoping to drop pounds may quickly invest a lot of money in these false solutions.

Other pills have been found to cause cancer. Even if some diet pills’ adverse effects are less severe, they are by no means safe to consume.

Therefore, every diet pill you choose to use must be deemed safe and bought from a reputable source. Other troubling consequences of dangerous diet pills can include addiction and overdose.

Many intricate systems interact with tablets meant to lose weight. If taken incorrectly, there can be long-term metabolism problems.

The bar for the FDA to approve weight-loss drugs is high, and this one seemed to meet all the requirements. People did, in fact, lose weight using this drug, which targeted serotonin receptors in the brain that made a person feel full after eating.

However, this drug must be avoided. Side effects include dizziness, lack of energy, nausea, constipation, and dry mouth.

Things started looking really bad for Belviq when it was suspected of causing tumor growth in animals. Over the years, it became linked to an increased risk of cancer, especially lung, pancreatic, and colorectal.

It may be tempting to try because there are some results, but this dangerous tablet is not worth the risk. There are better options out there.

Because it suppressed appetites, users could lose weight when used with accompanying changes in diet and exercise. This may sound appealing to some, but dangers began to emerge from this drug’s use.

While this diet pill was recalled in many countries around 2010, it is still available in some places in the world. This medicine must never be used.

Qnexa is an interesting case because the pill is part antidepressant, the same antidepressant used to help people quit smoking and treat addiction to opiates and alcohol. While there was evidence that it successfully suppresses appetites, it is also dangerous, especially for pregnant women.

Because of the effects on pregnancy, women in childbearing years should never take this diet pill. However, the FDA is revisiting its effectiveness and considering Qnexa again for specific situations.

Potential side effects include:. This diet pill was marketed in colorful boxes and came in many different colors.

Nothing could be farther from the truth. This deceiving weight loss pill contained a mixture of dangerous substances and putting them together made these especially problematic.

Another drug in the mixture was benzocaine, which may cause methemoglobinemia. If that sounds scary, it should because it affects the oxygen carried by red blood cells through your body.

The FDA has recommended that you throw out this pill immediately. It is much too dangerous to take and is in no way a solution to weight loss.

When used together, the results can be toxic. People who have used these pills have experienced heightened mood swings and personality changes.

The FDA has condemned this drug in the strongest possible terms. Also known as Clen and previously marketed under the names Ventipulmin and Spiropent, Clenbuterol is illegal for human consumption in the United States.

Clenbuterol is used to treat horses in the United States with respiratory issues. Clen’s side effects include arrhythmia, chest pain, diarrhea, nausea, nervousness, hyperthyroidism, muscle tremors, dangerous blood pressure extremes in both highs and lows, and headaches.

The FDA banned the drug for human consumption in 1939. It was originally used in the manufacturing of explosive compounds and used as a chemical pesticide, but people sought the drug for its weight loss capabilities.

DNP use claimed more than 60 lives. This compound was originally used in ancient China to treat respiratory problems such as asthma and also functions as an appetite suppressant and stimulant.

The Food and Drug Administration has approved Contrave “as treatment option for chronic weight management in addition to a reduced-calorie diet and physical activity,” the agency announced on Wednesday. Sales for Contrave, made by Orexigen Therapeutics, are expected to be $200 million in 2016, Wells Fargo analyst Matthew Andrews told Reuters, but there is ample reason for caution.

Katz, M.D., the founding director of the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center told Business Insider in an email. “Of course, the obese population is large enough that even selective use may mean a fairly big market.”.

Finding a way to improve diet and increase physical activity is still considered the best approach for the vast majority of people looking to lose weight. “If [Contrave] becomes a blockbuster, it means we are approaching the problem badly — relying on a drug to do poorly what lifestyle as medicine can do so much better,” Katz said.

That’s “often cited as the main reason why sales of new antiobesity drugs are disappointing,” wrote scientists from Renasci, a pharmaceutical consulting firm, in the International Journal of Obesity.

As with other anti-obesity pharmaceuticals, the weight lost during trials was modest, not transformative. Side effects, in some cases, can be severe.

“No current pharmacotherapy possesses the efficacy needed to produce substantial weight loss in morbidly obese patients,” researchers wrote in a review of anti-obesity drugs in the Journal of Obesity. “Long term safety continues to be a major consideration.”.

Orexigen Therapeutics first sought FDA approval for Contrave in 2011 but was asked to conduct additional testing of cardiovascular risks. That testing, which is ongoing, is costing the company $100 million, according to FierceBiotech, and the FDA is now requiring post-approval follow-up research on cardiovascular risks, safety for children, and more.

Now Orexigen has won approval from the FDA, although there’s no information yet on how much the drug will cost or when exactly it will be available. Well, sort of — but that all depends on what you expect it to do.

That’s how it was evaluated, over multiple clinical trials that tested the drug in 4,500 people over the course of a year.

Results were slightly worse among participants with diabetes: 36% of those on Contrave lost at least 5% of body weight compared to 18% of those on the placebo. (In someone who is 200 pounds, losing 5% of body weight would mean losing just 10 pounds.).

“There can be meaningful health benefit from a 5% weight loss,” Katz, the Yale obesity expert, told us. “But the potential toxicity of this drug is considerable, and the weight will likely be regained if the drug is ever stopped.”.

Other possible side effects include seizures as well as elevated blood pressure and heart rate. The FDA says “blood pressure and pulse should be measured prior to starting the drug and should be monitored at regular intervals.”.

Back in 1997, the popular combo appetite suppressant known as fen-phen was withdrawn after fenfluramine, one of its main components, was linked to heart valve defects and other cardiac abnormalities. More recently, the FDA withdrew approval for the diet drug sibutramine due to an increase in “nonfatal cardiovascular events.” That may have given the agency pause when other diet pills came up for approval.

Belviq, Qsymia, and Contrave are very different, pharmacologically, but not hugely different in terms of results. Katz said Contrave is “probably more effective and more toxic than Belviq” and “less effective and less toxic than Qsymia.” (Participants in Belviq trials lost an average of 3% of their body weight compared to 9% among those in Qsymia trials and 5% among those in Contrave trials, Forbes noted.).

And an over-the-counter drug, orlistat (known under the brand name Alli in the United States), disrupts fat absorption, aiding in weight loss — and often causing numerous gastrointestinal side effects. After sibutramine (sold as Meridia) was pulled from shelves in 2010 due to “increased risk of heart attack and stroke,” Alli was briefly the only approved weight loss drug available in the U.S.

“The argument for approving weight loss drugs is not that [they are] really very good, but rather that ‘something is better than nothing,'” he said. Here’s a table from the National Institutes of Health summarizing the pre-Contrave drugs that have been approved for obesity treatment:

After investing a huge amount of money to develop the drug, Orixgen has 900 sales reps lined up to pitch it to doctors — but it may not be as popular as the company hopes. “As the majority of patients are unlikely to achieve the high degree of weight loss that they are seeking, it is questionable how willing they will be to pay for Contrave,” the Renasi scientists note in the International Journal of Obesity.

Contrave could, however, be what Katz called “a useful springboard to action in select cases.”. Still, when people are trying to lose weight, “there needs to be a long-term plan for lifestyle change,” Katz advised.

And that’s not really a solution at all.

Fen-Phen was withdrawn in 1997 after the Mayo Clinic reported that 24 patients developed heart valve disease. In one reported study of five Fen-Phen users who underwent valve replacement surgery, the diseased valves were found to have distinctive features similar to those seen in carcinoid syndrome.

Did you or someone you know take Fen-Phen and suffer adverse side effects. You may be entitled to compensation.

Choose the Law Offices of Michael J. Gopin, PLLC.

Call or email our El Paso drug injury law firm today for a free and confidential consultation. A delay may affect your rights.

The FDA in 1997 asked American Home Products (AHP), the makers of Pondimin (Fenfluramine) and Redux (Dexfenfluramine), to withdraw its popular anti-obesity combination Fen-Phen drug from the market. AHP manufactured fenfluramine under the brand name Pondimin and AHP’s subsidiary, Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories, manufactured dexfenfluramine under the name Redux.

A Fen-Phen injury can bring chaos into your life in an instant. Fortunately, the law protects you and your loved ones.

At the Law Offices of Michael J. Gopin, PLLC, we can help with insurance claims and other paperwork associated with your drug injury.

Put the power of an aggressive attorney behind you. Contact the Law Offices of Michael J.

We mean business.

Fen-Phen and Primary Pulmonary Hypertension (PPH) 1973: Pondimin, a fenfluramine drug, was introduced. 1997: A 30-year-old woman died from heart problems after taking Fen-Phen for only a month.

Fen-Phen releases additional serotonin, a neurotransmitter that controls how appetite is perceived in the brain. Wyeth Pharmaceuticals manufactured Pondimin and Redux, two drugs using Fen-Phen.

The primary claim raised by plaintiffs is that this dangerous drug causes primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH), also known as idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH). 30 Year Old Woman 1983: Pharmacologist Michael Weintraub combined fenfluramine and phentermine.

Common Side Effects: Fatigue Dizziness Shortness of breath or hyperventilation PPH Serious Side Effects: Primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH) Idiopathic pulmonary arterial hyptension (IPAH) The FDA received 144 adverse event reports on Fen-Phen drugs and found that 30% of people using the drug reported unusual echocardiogram results.

Heart valve disease Heart failure 1992: Doctors began prescribing Fen-Phen for weight loss even though it had not been approved by the FDA. O%30 Normal Heart Heart with PPH 1996: In April, the FDA approved Redux, a fenfluramine drug.

As a result of the marketing, Fen-Phen prescriptions exceed 18 million earning the company $300 million in annual sales. 2003: In September, Forbes Magazine published the article, “Bad Medicine,” stating that 153,000 lawsuits had been filed against Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and $13 billion had been paid by the company.

The drug combination fenfluramine/phentermine, usually called fen-phen, was an anti-obesity treatment in the early 1990s that utilized two anorectics. Fenfluramine was marketed by American Home Products (later known as Wyeth) as Pondimin, but was shown to cause potentially fatal pulmonary hypertension and heart valve problems, which eventually led to its withdrawal in 1997 and legal damages of over $13 billion.

Fenfluramine acts as a serotonin releasing agent, phentermine as primarily a norepinephrine releasing agent. Phentermine also induces the release of serotonin and dopamine, although to a far lesser extent than it induces the release of norepinephrine.

Fenfluramine as a single drug was first introduced in the 1970s, but was not popular because it only temporarily reduced weight. A 1984 study found a weight loss of 7.5 kg on average in 24 weeks, as compared to 4.4 kg under placebo.

The State Psychiatric Institute, associated with Columbia University, the Research Foundation of the City University of New York, and Mount Sinai Medical Center tested fenfluramine intravenously on more than 100 Black and Hispanic boys between the ages of 6 and 10, with delinquent older brothers, to test the theory that delinquent behavior could be predicted by serotonin levels.

In 1998, CNN reported that these organizations were under “evaluation” by the Office for Protection from Research Risks, an arm of the National Institutes of Health.

This article reports the number of children involved in the study as 150, and states that none were harmed.

could increase the risk of a rare but often fatal lung disease, pulmonary hypertension.” In 1994, Wyeth official Fred Wilson expressed concerns about fenfluramine’s labeling containing only four cases of pulmonary hypertension when a total of 41 had been observed, but no action was taken until 1996. In 1995, Wyeth introduced dexfenfluramine (the dextro isomer, marketed as Redux), which it hoped would cause fewer adverse effects.

After Lutwak refused to approve the drug, the FDA management had James Milton Bilstad, FDA Senior Drug Evaluator, sign it and approved the drug with no black box warning for marketing in 1996. European regulators required a major warning of pulmonary hypertension risks.

In 1996, a 30-year-old woman developed heart problems after a month of using fenfluramine/phentermine. when she died in February 1997, the Boston Herald devoted a front-page article to her.

The authors noted that their findings suggested a possible correlation between mitral valve dysfunction and the use of these anorectic agents. The FDA alerted medical practitioners that it had received nine additional reports of the same type, and requested all health care professionals to report any such cases to the agency’s MedWatch program, or to their respective pharmaceutical manufacturers.

The FDA requested that the manufacturers of fenfluramine and dexfenfluramine stress the potential risk to the heart in the drugs’ labeling and in package inserts. The FDA continued to receive reports in 1997 of valvular heart disease in people who had taken these drugs.

After reports of valvular heart disease and pulmonary hypertension, primarily in women who had been undergoing treatment with fen-phen or (dex)fenfluramine, the FDA requested its withdrawal from the market in September 1997. The action was based on findings from doctors who had evaluated people taking these two drugs with echocardiograms, a procedure that can test the functioning of heart valves.

This percentage of abnormal test results was much higher than would be expected from a sample of the population who had not been exposed to either fenfluramine or dexfenfluramine. Follow-up studies showed that for people who took the combination for 3 months or less, the rate of heart valve complications was less than 3%.

Upon the release of the information regarding fen-phen’s cardiac risks, the Association of Trial Lawyers of America formed a large trial lawyer group to seek damages from American Home Products, the distributor of fenfluramine and dexfenfluramine.

In April 2005, American Lawyer magazine ran a cover story on the wave of fen-phen litigation, reporting that more than 50,000 product liability lawsuits had been filed by alleged fen-phen victims. Total liability was estimated to be as high as $14 billion.

One plaintiff’s attorney said that “the payments [were] not going to be large enough to cover medical expenses.” Thousands of injured persons rejected these offers. At the time, Wyeth announced it had set aside $21.1 billion (U.S.) to cover the cost of the lawsuits.

In 1984, researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center reported that they had performed a double-blind, controlled clinical trial comparing phentermine alone, fenfluramine alone, a combination of phentermine and fenfluramine, and placebo, for weight loss in humans.

Adverse effects were less frequent with the combination regimen than with the other active (non-placebo) treatments. The authors felt that combining fenfluramine and phentermine capitalized on their pharmacodynamic differences, resulting in equivalent weight loss, fewer adverse effects, and better appetite control.

The term fen-phen was defined/termed/labeled in 1994 when Pietr Hitzig and Richard B. Rothman reported that this combination could presumptively remit alcohol and cocaine craving.

Subsequent experiments in rats supported these preliminary reports. In 2006 it was confirmed that the combination of phentermine and the serotonin precursor 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP), in place of fenfluramine, significantly decreased alcohol withdrawal seizures in rats.

Intramural National Institutes of Health (NIH) double-blind protocols to demonstrate the efficacy of fen-phen in alcohol and cocaine addiction were designed, but never performed.

It had already been known for decades that two of the major side-effects of the carcinoid syndrome, in which excessive serotonin is produced endogenously, are valvular disease and pulmonary hypertension. Several centers were able to note a relationship to an excessive activation of the serotonin receptor subtype 5-HT2B.

Last I checked, these people are in the business of making money and many just want to KEEP YOU SICK. So when I hear of miracle drugs, I can only start wondering of the secondary effects and its harsh consequences on the people taking them….

I couldn’t find it online. I know that Dr.

IRE and the public expect that journalists, even at an university, ask a doctor about his/her financial conflicts of interest and report on them, that is, whether there are or are not any. We have the right to know up front.

Furthermore, I’ve read, recently, that the real proof of safety of new pharmaceuticals comes from the post-marketing reports of the patients using the drug, not from the FDA and the short-term clinical trials. I seem to recall that waiting 7 years is considered a good idea.

This doesn’t calm the fears of Dr. Michael Lauer, a cardiologist at the National Institutes of Health who was on the panel of experts that advised the FDA about the drug.

“I believe that if the public were to ‘buy’ (Qsymia) after FDA approval, it would run the risk of severe, even fatal, consequences from another diet lemon,” Lauer writes in Tuesday’s issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine. “If we think about the history of obesity medications, we’ve seen plenty of lemons.

Rimonabant was approved for sale in Europe, but was never approved in the United States because of severe psychiatric side effects,” he added. Lauer is not the only opponent.

Jane’s question deserves a response from Dr. Caroline Apovian.

It was very interesting. While at that site, I found a February 19, 1998 letter (NDA# 20-700) from the FDA’s Division of Drug Marketing, Advertising, and Communications in which Vivus, Inc.

This raises the question of where the BU Today interview fits in the slippery slope of advertising. The letter is at Qsymia is made by a pharm company called VIVUS.

Also, I wonder what the pricing will be for this drug. How expensive will it be.

Does Vivus have a marketing plan for introducing Qsymia to medical professionals. How many Vivus reps will be targeting how many doctors.

This is from Wikipedia: [Topiramate is the anticonvulsant in Qsymia]. A GlaxoSmithKline-sponsored Phase IV study suggested that cognitive side effects may be more common with topiramate than with lamotrigine.

Side-effects reported by > 10% of subjects in at least one clinical study (listed by prevalence): paresthesia (numbness & tingling) (23.7%) upper respiratory tract infection (17.5%) diarrhea (16.8%) nausea (15.4%) anorexia (loss of appetite) (13.3%) memory problems (11.2%) Side-effects most frequently leading to discontinuation of therapy with topiramate:

Rarely, the inhibition of carbonic anhydrase may be strong enough to cause metabolic acidosis of clinical importance.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has notified prescribers that topiramate can cause acute myopia and secondary angle closure glaucoma in a small subset of people who take topiramate regularly.[citation needed] The symptoms, which typically begin in the first month of use, include blurred vision and eye pain.

Preliminary data suggests that, as with several other anti-epileptic drugs, topiramate carries an increased risk of congenital malformations. This might be particularly important for women who take topiramate to prevent migraine attacks.

Topiramate has been associated with a statistically significant increase in suicidality, and “suicidal thoughts or actions” is now listed as one of the possible side effects of the drug “in a very small number of people, about 1 in 500.”. As I’ve been rethinking this article, it would be a lot more interesting if the BU journalists did a little investigative reporting.

or were they longer) or someone who could address the FDA’s expert panels (who sits on them and what conflicts of interest do they have, if any). As it stands, the article is pure advertising.

Lauer In the News June 27, 2012 : Journal of the American College of Cardiology From hot hands to declining effects Michael S. Lauer, M.D., Division of Cardiovascular Sciences This editorial discusses the risks of basing treatment decisions on clinical trials with small numbers of events.

My heart is fine & any small side effects immediately ended. I believe it’s safer than bypass sugery.

Maybe the obesity epidemic can be addressed in this way, without $50,000 risky surgery.

Will it be covered by a patient’s medical insurance policy. (Maybe not until obesity is considered a disease and not the result of a lifestyle that’s difficult to change.) How long will the patient require the drug.

Will the drug continue to be effective after years of use. I don’t think any of those questions have been answered.

The first 2 week dose was free (which was good since I was not sure I could tolerate it). the cost there after is $75 per 30 day supply.

I would recommend anyone who was thinking of trying it, to go this route. At least if they could not tolerate the medication, it would not cost them anything.

There is certain criteria you have to meet in order to be on Qsymia. You are also required to meet with physician and meet new criteria to continue drug therapy over a course of time.

My appetite is suppressed, but I make sure that I do eat meals and snacks, and eat better foods. I haven’t really exercised much as I work long hours and haven’t had much time when I’ve gotten home.

So far I like it.

Most physicians have minimal nutritional knowledge. Maybe referring patients to someone trained to help people change their behavior to lose weight would be more effective than having a physician advise them to eat more healthfully and exercise without providing them with any strategies to actually make these changes.

The need for obesity treatments is urgent — more than two-thirds of U.S. adults are overweight, and more than 40 percent are obese, according to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Roughly half of U.S. adults try to lose weight, most often by exercising more, eating less, and adding more fruits and vegetables to their diets, according to the CDC.

“This is a lifelong disease that requires lifelong intervention, and even when people make lifestyle changes, they still have to fight against weight gain,” says Timothy Garvey, MD, a professor in the department of nutrition sciences and director of the Diabetes Research Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

The weight loss medications on the market today are generally approved for adults with obesity who have a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher, or adults with a BMI of 27 or greater who have at least one weight-related health problem such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, or high cholesterol, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

One study published in 2019 in Obesity collected prescription data from more than 2.2 million adults eligible for treatment with weight loss medications from 2009 to 2015. The findings indicated that just 1.3 percent of them filled the prescriptions.

Several of those treatments were so dangerous that they were pulled from the market, according to an editorial published in conjunction with the new study in The New England Journal of Medicine. Those included several amphetamines that caused addiction.

and lorcaserin, which increased the risk of cancer. Untested, unsafe diet pills have a long history, too.

The brightly colored capsules often contained amphetamines, diuretics, laxatives, and thyroid hormones to maximize weight loss. They were typically mixed with drugs like benzodiazepines, barbiturates, and antidepressants.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) removed them from the market. “None of these medications were tested in long-term trials prior to repurposing them for the treatment of obesity.

In the 1990s, another untested weight loss cocktail known as “fen-phen” started taking off, research notes. This cocktail mixed the psychiatric drug fenfluramine, which boosts levels of the brain chemical serotonin and induces feelings of satiety, with the appetite suppressant phentermine.

An appetite suppressant called sibutramine, marketed as Meridia, was recalled by the FDA in 2010 after more than a decade on the market, because of an increased risk of cardiovascular events and strokes. Next up, the prescription weight loss drug lorcaserin (Belviq) was recalled by the FDA over cancer concerns in 2020, after more than a decade on the market.

This guidance didn’t apply to Redux or Meridia because their testing programs were already underway. But it did strengthen testing for the drugs that came next, including Belviq.

Greenway says. All of the medications approved in the last decade have a good track record of safety so far, says Adam Gilden, MD, an associate professor and obesity researcher at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Aurora.

“So, we can feel good that these medicines are safe,” Dr. Gilden says.

While the newer weight loss drugs don’t appear to have the same safety issues as rainbow pills or fen-phen, their effectiveness isn’t necessarily as dramatic as those options, doctors say. In a review of anti-obesity treatments published in 2021 in Current Obesity Reports, scientists examined clinical trial results for several newer weight loss drugs using a formula designed to create a head-to-head comparisons.

To isolate the effect of weight loss drugs alone, scientists subtracted the average weight loss in the placebo group from the average weight loss in the medication group. They found that participants lost an average of 6.8 percent of their body weight with phentermine-topiramate (Qsymia), followed by 5.4 percent with liraglutide (Saxenda), 4 percent with naltrexone-bupropion (Contrave), and 2.9 percent with orlistat (Xenical).

Another drug for type 2 diabetes that’s currently being reviewed by the FDA as an obesity treatment, tirzepatide (marketed as Mounjaro for diabetes), helped people with obesity lose almost 21 percent of their weight at the highest dose studied, according to results published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

For many patients today, a decision about which weight loss medication to try may come down to several factors, including what other medications they take, which drugs are covered by insurance or are most affordable, and whether people prefer pills or injected medicines, Dr. Jay says.

“It’s not uncommon to switch medications or have to add a second or third medication.”. Here’s what you need to know about the prescription weight loss drugs that are currently approved:

But it is important to know the potential risks and side effects of any medication you take, and to discuss the options carefully with your healthcare provider.

People have always wanted someone to tell them there’s another way to lose weight that doesn’t involve diet and exercise. So, in the 90s when Fen-Phen the miracle weight loss drug reached the market, people were eager to give it a try.

Pharmaceutical companies made similar versions of Fen-Phen, like Redux. As more people tried these drugs, it became apparent that they might not be the miracle drug everyone had hoped for.

It’s not fair for a person to have these experiences when they’ve been told the drugs were safe. In situations like this, you have the right to seek legal action.

Fen-Phen is short for combining two drugs, fenfluramine and phentermine. They helped suppress appetites and were meant for singular, short-term use in obese patients.

People thought this was finally the answer to weight loss problems. Dexfenfluramine, another version of fenfluramine, was used in a new weight loss drug called Redux.

Redux was the answer to this problem. A combination of dexfenfluramine and phentermine, Redux was marketed as the drug that could treat obesity without giving patients any side effects.

With these two unsafe drug giants on the market, people were taking then in hopes of losing weight, but didn’t know the consequences of taking those drugs. People who took Fen-Phen and Redux had side effects dealing with their hearts.

The New England Journal of Medicine published a study of 24 women who had taken Fen-Phen. All these women had no history of heart disease, yet they all had cardiovascular issues or a heart murmur.

The FDA eventually withdrew approval for fenfluramine and dexfenfluramine. While phentermine is still available, it has a black box warning the user about cardiac valvular disease.

When your doctor prescribes you a drug, you shouldn’t have to worry if that drug is going to cause more harm than good. If you or a loved one has experienced a drug’s harmful side effects, you don’t have to face it alone.

When drugs affect your health, you might have medical bills piling up. A capable lawyer might be able to get you compensation for your medical costs, in addition to other personal injuries you’ve suffered from the drugs.

You don’t have to balance health complications and medical bills on your own. Call us today at (877) 955-7001 and we’ll answer your questions and discuss what options are in your best interest.

Welcome to Beauty School, the corner of Dazed Beauty dedicated to learning. From guides to histories, this is where we shed light on past subcultural movements and educate our readers on current trends and various goings-on.

ŌĆ£When I look around this room, I canŌĆÖt help but wonder ŌĆśIs Ozempic right for me. ŌĆÖŌĆØ.

on the cover of magazines and splashed across New YorkŌĆÖs subway, itŌĆÖs the subject of countless memes and jokes, and, the stories are true, coursing through the veins of everyone in Hollywood and Manhattan who can get their hands on it. If weight loss were a religion, Ozempic would be its god, the haunting ŌĆśOh, oh, oh, OzempicŌĆÖ heard in its TV ad ŌĆō a sinister reimagining of PilotŌĆÖs 1974 anthem Magic ŌĆō its hymn.

Ozempic is the branded name for semaglutide, which is also sold under the labels of Wegovy and Mounjaro among others. A drug used to treat type 2 diabetes, it helps regulate blood sugar levels by mimicking the action of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1).

Semaglutide has garnered a lot of traction over a very short period of time, so much so that diabetics are now struggling to get their hands on it thanks to consumer demand. Kim Kardashian ŌĆō ever a barometer for Western beauty standards ŌĆō is rumoured to have used Ozempic to fit into Marilyn MonroeŌĆÖs dress at the Met Gala.

But really, when has slim ever not been in. Diet pills and weight loss medication are nothing new ŌĆō they have been around for over a century because women have always been pressured to conform to restrictive beauty ideals.

Until it was found that the drug could cause untreatable and often fatal heart conditions. To look back over the history of diet pills and weight loss drugs, is to understand the deadly pressures to be thin that have long existed in our image-obsessed culture.

One of the first weight-loss drugs, dinitrophenol was first used in munitions factories as an explosive but after workers who came into contact with it were seen to lose weight, in the 1930s it was sold as ŌĆ£antiobesity therapyŌĆØ. Not long after, however, dinitrophenol was shown to be incredibly unsafe at high doses, causing blindness and neuropathy.

By 1938, the FDA stated that it was ŌĆ£extremely dangerous and not fit for human consumptionŌĆØ and it was removed from the market. Its presence in diet pills in the UK is currently illegal, and is to be reclassified in 2023 as poison, such is its high toxicity.

Originally sold as a decongestant, Benzedrine salts were then discovered to be powerful stimulants and when World War II came, the military in the US, Germany, UK and Japan placed large orders of the pills to keep soldiers going on the battlefield. As the war came to an end, pharmaceutical company Smith, Kline, and French shifted focus to a different demographic: housewives to whom they marketed amphetamines for weight loss.

Next, in the 50s came human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) ŌĆō a hormone produced in the placenta of pregnant women ŌĆō after boys with pituitary tumours werenŌĆÖt going through puberty. In order to stimulate the process of going on the golden elevator to adolescence, they were given HCG, and were found to lose fat and gain muscle.

Simeons┬Āwhich found that, if combined with a strict, low-calorie diet, people could lose 20lbs in six weeks. ŌĆ£But due to scepticism that the HCG was effective, there were several clinical trials that compared a diet with saline shots with a diet with HCG shots,ŌĆØ Dr Greenway explains.

In 1960, Obetrol ŌĆō a formulation of amphetamine mixed salts, including methamphetamine and dextroamphetamine ŌĆō was approved by the FDA to treat obesity. Evidence that demonstrated the adverse side effects of amphetamines had been steadily accumulating thanks to the Benzedrine salts, and it didnŌĆÖt take scientists long to figure out meth was incredibly harmful.

But, having been approved as a weight-loss drug, vast quantities of amphetamines like Obetrol started to be dispensed by diet doctors. Civilian use went through the roof and by 1970, 5 per cent of Americans (or roughly 9.7 million) were using some kind of prescription amphetamine, the so-called ŌĆ£rainbow diet pillsŌĆØ.

pic.twitter.com/dPUU7P6AU2. As well as weight loss, many people were using pills like Obetrol as recreational drugs.

By now, widespread consumption helped to illuminate not just how truly addictive amphetamines were, but also their negative health effects, like psychosis, hallucinations and death. Not that it mattered.

one dispensing diet doctor paid $71 for 100,000 amphetamine-containing tablets and sold them for $12,000. Although not banned by the FDA, Obetrol underwent reformulations, eventually rebranding and sold as Adderall, of which has never received FDA approval for weight loss.

It was also the year that fen-phen came onto the market. The latter (phentermine) and the former (fenfluramine) were shown to help people lose weight ŌĆō and a lot of it.

the women who did, developed cases of heart valve abnormalities. Due to the way in which serotonin was affecting the body, it was suspected that fenfluramine was to blame, and unsurprisingly, this led to it being taken off the market.

ItŌĆÖs estimated that Wyeth has since spent $10 billion in total damages. 1999 brought the next iteration of a weight-loss drug: orlistat, often sold under the brand Xenical.

ŌĆ£People can develop anal leakage, pass oil when they think it is air, and sometimes lose control of their bowels,ŌĆØ explains Dr Greenway. ŌĆ£This is not dangerous, but it can be very socially embarrassing.

In the 00s came lorcaserin, which was marketed under the brand name Belviq. It was approved by the FDA in 2012, but within a mere eight years, the FDA requested that its manufacturer voluntarily withdraw the drug from the US market because ŌĆ£a safety clinical trial showed an increased occurrence of cancerŌĆØ.

The long-term effects of semaglutide are as yet unknown, particularly when it comes to weight-loss purposes, although the history of weight-loss drugs counsels extreme caution. But its rapid rise in popularity says a lot about where we as a culture are right now when it comes to attitudes around weight.

Despite the body positivity movement from the last few years, there is still a long way to go before we move past the fatphobia that is so pervasive in our obesogenic lives. In New York MagazineŌĆÖs cover story about Ozempic, Aubrey Gordon is quoted as saying that the hype around the drug boils down to: ŌĆ£Can we finally be rid of fat people.

Between weight loss supplements, teas, cleanses, and equipment, it can be overwhelming to decide what to add to your weight loss plan without falling into the trap of diet culture marketing. A good way to avoid the scams is to work with your doctor to explore what diet, supplements, and prescriptions may be effective or harmful to achieving your weight loss goals.

Is this prescription safe. Is Phentermine effective.

We’ve researched everything you need to know about Phentermine to help you decide if a prescription could help you on your weight loss journey, or if you should avoid Phentermine and explore other weight loss alternatives. Similar to amphetamine, Phentermine is a prescription medication used for appetite suppression when paired with a weight loss plan.

You may have also heard of Phentermine being paired with topiramate for weight loss, also called Qsymia. Can’t seem to control your appetite.

Patients with Binge Eating Disorder and Bulimia Nervosa have seen positive results with reducing the instances of binge eating episodes by taking Phentermine.1 Phentermine can also be helpful for people are simply looking to manage their appetite and slim down stubborn weight they just can’t seem to lose with diet and exercise alone.

Phentermine often gets mixed up with fenfluramine, and the dangerous but popular mixture of “Fen-Phen” in the 90’s. Patients taking both fenfluramine and Phentermine began to experience heart valve disease and pulmonary hypertension, in which the FDA immediately recommended patients discontinue taking fenfluramine.

Like all prescriptions, you should always discuss the risks of prescriptions with your physician. For many people Phentermine works effectively as a weight loss solution.

Does long does it take to see results from Phentermine. Phentermine can take between 12-16 weeks to see significant weight loss results.

FREE SAXENDA COUPONS. There are a number of risks and side effects to taking Phentermine or other weight loss prescriptions.

For those who have previously or are currently struggling with drug abuse, Phentermine may not be the right weight loss solution. Along with addiction, and usually mild and uncommon, Phentermine side effects can include:3.

Phentermine is not safe to take under the following conditions: If you find yourself worried about the potential side effects or are in a position where Phentermine should be avoided, your doctor may be able to provide you with recommendations for weight loss alternatives such as supplements and personalized diet changes.

Phentermine is not available as an over-the-counter drug and is a prescription drug that must be used only when prescribed and by and under the supervision of your doctor. A patient should never use Phentermine purchased online or that has not been prescribed directly to them by their primary care physician.

At America’s Pharmacy, you can find a Phentermine coupon that can be used at your preferred pharmacy. You can download your Rx discount card online and use your Rx coupons at your pharmacy checkout.

Common phentermine side effects | Serious side effects | Elevated blood pressure | Rapid or irregular heartbeat | Risk of abuse | Side effects timeline | Contraindications | Warnings | Interactions | How to avoid side effects | How to treat side effects. Being overweight or obese is a common and major public health problem in the United States.

When a modified calorie diet and exercise alone fail in weight-loss attempts, healthcare providers may suggest adding a weight-loss prescription medicine.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for short-term use for weight loss. It works by stimulating specific chemicals in the brain that tell the body it is full.

The most common brand names for phentermine are Adipex-P and Lomaira. As with any medication, it is important to be aware of adverse effects and drug interactions before beginning therapy.

Related: Phentermine alternatives: What can I take instead of phentermine.

The following list includes rare but serious, side effects of phentermine: RELATED: Is phentermine for weight loss safe.

Weight-control drugs, including phentermine, have been linked to a rare but serious, adverse effect known as primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH). PPH is high blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs.

There have been rare reports of valvular heart disease in people who have taken phentermine, particularly when paired with fenfluramine, a formerly popular combination drug called “phen-fen” that was discontinued in 1997. Valvular heart disease involves damage to one or more of the heart valves.

Phentermine is a Schedule IV controlled substance, meaning it carries a risk of abuse and dependence. It is chemically and pharmacologically similar to amphetamines and other stimulant drugs that are subject to abuse.

Phentermine is considered safe when taken as prescribed by a healthcare professional. Many of the most commonly experienced side effects of phentermine occur when initiating therapy but should begin to lessen once the body adjusts to the drug.

The recommended duration of the therapy with phentermine is three to six weeks, with a maximum of three months, and the more commonly experienced side effects should end when the medication is stopped, if not sooner as the body adjusts to the medicine.

You should not use phentermine if you have any of the following conditions: The safety and effectiveness of phentermine in pediatric patients have not been established.

Dose selection of phentermine in older adults should start at the low end of the dosing range due to the greater likelihood of decreased liver, kidney, or cardiac function and of concomitant disease or other drug therapy. Phentermine is mainly excreted by the kidney, and the risk of side effects may be particularly greater in older patients who have decreased kidney function.

It is not known if phentermine is present in human milk. therefore, it is not recommended to breastfeed while taking the medication.

RELATED: What medications are safe to take during pregnancy.

If an overdose is suspected, a healthcare professional should be contacted immediately. Commonly reported adverse reactions associated with phentermine overdose include:.

Abrupt discontinuation after prolonged use may result in withdrawal symptoms including:. Taking phentermine may impair the ability to engage in potentially hazardous activities by slowing motor skills and affecting vision.

The following have the potential to cause drug interactions when taken at the same time as phentermine: Use of phentermine is contraindicated within 14 days of taking a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) such as isocarboxazid, linezolid, methylene blue injection, phenelzine, rasagiline, selegiline, or tranylcypromine.

For example, phentermine side effects can include heart-related symptoms like increased heart rate and high blood pressure. These side effects can worsen when mixing alcohol and phentermine.

Phentermine may affect blood sugar levels in people with diabetes mellitus. A reduction in insulin or oral diabetes medications may be required.

Phentermine may decrease the blood pressure-lowering effect of these drugs. Phentermine should only be used by those with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater, or a BMI of over 27 for those with other medical conditions such as controlled hypertension, high cholesterol, or diabetes.

Before starting phentermine, tell your healthcare professional if you have, or have had, any of the following conditions: Tell your healthcare professional about all of the medications you are currently taking, including prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.

Take phentermine exactly as directed by your healthcare professional. Do not take more than the prescribed dosage amount, as this may increase the risk of side effects.

Losing a significant amount of weight takes time, commitment, and discipline. In this day and age of instant gratification, many Americans do not want to watch what they eat and exercise for an extended period of time.

For this reason, many people turn to over-the-counter weight loss pills and supplements to try to shed weight. Many people who take diet pills may quickly learn the promises on the packaging were too good to be true.

The following are some example of weight loss pills and their potential side effects: When it comes to weight loss, if you are looking for safe supplements to boost your progress through diet and exercise, you should first consult with a trusted pharmacist who can recommend safe products.

At Kress Specialty Apothecary, we want our patients to be healthy and happy and we seek to find the best solutions for weight loss or any other desired results. Please stop in today or call us to discuss your needs with our pharmacists.

Pop culture continues to shine a light on Ozempic, a diabetes drug, and its weight-loss counterpart, Wegovy. Because of society’s jagged relationship with diet pills, some people are asking questions about the medications — whether they’re safe enough, if they’re even ethical to take and who should be using them in the first place.

Injections of semaglutide (the ingredient in both drugs) are currently on the US Food and Drug Administration’s list of shortages. Compared to earlier drugs marketed for weight loss, Ozempic and Wegovy appear to be safer, despite common side effects like nausea and vomiting, said Dr.

“It seems like there isn’t really anything comparable out at the present time,” Buettner said, with the exception of Mounjaro, which is currently approved for diabetes but expected to be approved for weight loss soon.

Like drugs for other health conditions, Ozempic and Wegovy are intended to be chronic medications — ones that only work while you’re taking them. With this comes both benefits and risks.

“There’s no free lunch, so to speak,” Buettner said.

Ozempic was approved first for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, but in some cases it’s also being used off-label as a weight loss drug. Both are injected drugs for weekly use that you administer similar to how you’d use an EpiPen, and both are manufactured by the same drug company, Novo Nordisk.

Semaglutide works by interfering with insulin production and stabilizing blood sugar levels. This also causes food to move slower as it leaves your stomach and decreases your appetite, changing the body’s response to hunger and fullness.

The bodies of people with type 2 diabetes can’t process insulin correctly, and the main goal of Ozempic is to control blood sugar levels, while also reducing the risk of heart disease, stroke and other health events people with diabetes are more likely to experience. In terms of managing blood sugar – the goal of type 2 diabetes treatment – semaglutide has proven very effective in trials.

Compared to individuals who received a placebo, the FDA said in its approval notice, those taking Wegovy without diabetes lost an average of 12.4% of their body weight. But the growing popularity of Ozempic and Wegovy has ignited decades-old concerns around weight loss drugs and weight stigma, and has also had other unintended consequences, including a drug shortage.

It makes sense that many people are able to get these prescriptions: According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 73% of US adults had BMIs in the overweight or obese range as of 2017-18. BMI is an imperfect, and often inaccurate, indicator of health, but it is used to define obesity, which the CDC considers a chronic disease.

Mounjaro, another popular drug with the active ingredient tirzepatide, is also approved to treat type 2 diabetes, but it too is being used off-label in some cases for weight loss.

Though comparing insulin to semaglutide is a bit of a “loaded question,” he added, because while semaglutide may carry a lower risk of hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, some patients really do need insulin. This may make it hard to compare.

There’s another drug for diabetes treatment with the same active ingredient, called Rybelsus, but it’s taken orally. Other drugs include Vicoza, Trulicity and Bydureon, and these may be options if people with diabetes are having a hard time filing their medication prescriptions, as Everyday Health reports.

The popularity of semaglutide is all too familiar to Tigress Osborn, chair of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance. Osborn, like many fat rights and body neutrality activists and some health providers, rejects the idea of obesity as a disease.

“We’ve heard this from you before,” Osborn said of the widespread support for the current wave of weight loss drugs. “‘This is safe, it’s OK, it’s gonna make you healthier,'” she said.

In addition to causing heart problems, some earlier pills caused psychiatric side effects, such as depression, according to Buettner. Rimonabant, which was approved in Europe and also taken off market, was found to induce harmful mental health side effects.

“When you give drugs that work in the brain, effects on depression or suicidal ideation are common,” Buettner said. Ozempic and Wegovy also work in the brain, hence their appetite suppression properties, but “they signal very differently” as GLP-1 receptor agonists in specific areas of the brain, he said.

Common side effects of Ozempic and Wegovy include stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and other gastric symptoms. While rare, serious side effects including pancreatitis have also been reported.

Weight stigma and its continuous health effects are also real factors. Research on weight calls into question whether prescribing weight loss for health based on BMI alone is valid to begin with.

“Anti-fatness breaks our heart – your drugs actually alter our hearts,” she said. “How will we make a choice between those things.

Those who do choose to use these drugs face another issue: continued access. Beyond the current shortage, part of the future of these medications depends on what insurance companies are willing to cover.

That could change in the future as the catalog of weight loss drugs grows, putting more pressure on Medicare and insurance companies to change their policies.

Wegovy costs about $1,400 a month out of pocket, according to NPR. A patient who can’t refill their semaglutide prescriptions could face health challenges, either from a lack of treatment for diabetes or from gaining weight back quickly.

Most patients will regain the weight they lost taking semaglutide when they stop it, meaning that it has to be taken continuously to remain effective. Weight cycling, when people repeatedly lose and regain weight due to dieting or other methods, is linked to various health risks, including increased mortality.

1 Diet Drugs and SupplementsBREANNE BONILLA CARLIN COOMBS KIMBERLY WILLOW JANE JENSEN. 2 History.

Gimmicky weight-loss products advertised.

1938: Dinitrophenol was voluntarily withdrawn by manufacturers. Enactment of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act.

5 Mid 1900’s Late 1930s s: Doctors began prescribing amphetamines for its side effect of appetite suppression 1950’s: Tapeworm diet pills hit the news after opera singer Maria Callas was rumored to have ingested one for weight loss. Unverified if there were really tapeworms in the advertised pills.

6 Mid 1900’s 1960’s: “Rainbow pill” regimes were being used. They were a combination of multiple pills to help weight loss, such as amphetamines, diuretics, and laxatives.

Withdrawn from the market two years later due to pulmonary hypertension side effects. 1970’s: Adderall was used as a diet drug, marketed under the name Obetrol.

7 Late 1900’s 1973: the Food and Drug Administration approved the drug fenfluramine FDA began the recall of diet drugs containing amphetamines. 1979: Fenfluramine and phetermine have been combined into Fen-Phen and gained popularity.

8 1990’s 1992: Fen-phen gained more popularity when a report stated that it caused a 10% weight loss. 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act is passed, which adds the “dietary supplement” category.

1995 Dexfenfluramine (Redux) was developed as an alternative to fenfluramine with less side-effects.

Redux removed from the market due to similar problems relating to cardiovascular health. 1998 Meridia is put on the market.

10 2000’s 2004: Ephedra removed from the US market from concerns with raising blood pressure which could lead to strokes and death. 2009 Hydroxycut diet supplements pulled off the market after reports of liver damage.

11 2000’s 2010 Orlistat (prescription as Xenical, over-the-counter as Alli) is available. Orlistat is taken to reduce the amount of dietary fat that is absorbed by the digestive tract.

12 Drug Pharmacodynamics. 13 Prescription Drug PharmacodynamicsOrlistat (Xenical) Basic Function: Prevents the absorption of fats, reducing caloric intake Saturated version of Lipstatin Inhibits pancreatic lipases which break down fat molecules OTC version: Alli Half the dose of prescription Xenical Side Effects: Oily discharge/fatty stools Lower absorption of fat soluble vitamins.

15 Prescription Drug PharmacodynamicsMetformin (Glucophage) Diabetes drug For people overweight and suffering from diabetes to aid in weight loss Basic function: Lowers glucose levels Increase insulin sensitivity Appetite suppressant.

reward. ) Many people abuse (OD, use of non-diet prescription drugs).

19 OTC Supplement Pharmacodynamics Ephedra ReplacementsBitter orange Essential oil from an type of orange Similar health concerns as ephedrine Lack of evidence about effectiveness Hoodia gordonii South African spiny succulent plant Increases hypothalamic ATP No published scientific evidence demonstrating use as appetite suppressant.

21 Celebrity Sponsors Marketed products claim weight loss through celebrity endorsements Much of the popularity of diet drugs is due to clever marketing and ad campaigns… such as TrimSpa. 22 Anna Nicole Smith “LIKE MY BODY” Lost 69 lbs.In 2005, TrimSpa was sued for Anna’s erratic behavior at a concert- associated with slurred speech and behavior.

Potential TrimSpa Side Effects and ConcernsOriginal TrimSpa formula contained the stimulant herb ephedra Expensive (>$48/month) No longer individually lists the ingredients Side effects may include anxiety and insomnia (rec. amount of 4 pills/day = two 8-ounce coffee) May trigger migraines (tyramine) Shouldn’t be taken with Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitor(MAOI) antidepressant drugs What’s good about TrimSpa.

24 Keeping Up With the Kardashians“How HOT Can You Be. ” Kim claims to have lost 15 lbs, Khloe 25 lbs(some of which she gained back) Advertises “to help burn calories, support energy levels, and supercharge workouts” (getquicktrim.com) Pressures women receive: Temptation of getting that bikini body Kim and Khloe Kardashian use sex to sell their QuickTrim diet pills.

Most experts recommend effective weight loss to be gradual and just 2 lbs/week for safe and long-term weight loss, even with the help of diet drugs.

Can reduce kidney function & may suffer from severe dehydration.

Fast Cleanse- “48-hour Super Diet Detox” to drop a dress size Fiber-rich drink 4x/day b/w meals Primarily a digestion-resistant polysaccharides Extreme Burn- supposed to be used long term after finishing 14-day plan Contains a lot of caffeine and herbs to boost potency Powerful stimulants, laxatives, and diuretics.

28 Problems with Diet Drugs. 29 Diet Pill Makers Misleading ConsumersFederal Trade Commission says some diet companies make false advertising claims ranging from rapid weight loss to reducing risk of cancer, Alzheimer’s, osteoporosis FTC challenges marketing of claims -> required to back up cl.

Is it Fen-Phen.

Fen-Phen was a combination drug containing both fenfluramine (no longer on the market) and phentermine (still on the market). This combination worked well to help with weight loss but had potential cardiovascular side effects, including heart valve damage.

Phentermine’s safety has not been questioned nor did it play a role in any of the adverse effects of Fen-Phen. What are the side effects.

The most common side effect is dry mouth, however, this can be a good thing because it encourages you to drink more water. Some patient’s experience insomnia or trouble sleeping, especially if they take the medication later in the day.

This is a direct result of the activation of the sympathetic nervous system which is the same system that causes the “fight or flight” reflex. If you have an arrhythmia (which will be detected by Dr.

However, our office is very diligent in patient safety and no patient will be given a prescription if there is potential for complications because of pre-existing medical problems. How long can I take it.

While the FDA originally approved phentermine for short term weight loss of 12 weeks or less, it has been safely used much longer by experienced physicians for much longer. Our goal is to help you lose weight and then maintain your weight loss.

In the newer medication, Qsymia which contains phentermine, length of treatment can be as long as two years. Dr.

Is it expensive.

Some insurances do cover phentermine and because it is generic, may have no or minimal copay. We do not dispense pills from the office, rather, you are given a prescription to take to the pharmacy of your choice.

The best way to see if you are a candidate for medication to lose weight is to see Dr. Pinto or one of the other medical providers at Vive Medical Weight Loss & Aesthetics for a consultation.

If you qualify and the medication seems to be a viable choice, then you will be given a short term trial prescription. If you are able to take the medication without any issues, then we will prescribe the medication on a month to month basis for as long as we deem necessary for your weight loss and weight loss maintenance.