|
|
|
|
|
Meridia, like all diet drugs, requires that you diet and exercise to lose weight.
If you have to diet and exercise anyway, skip the drug and the side effects unless your doctor recommends it and explains all of the risks involved clearly.
A meeting with a nutritionist can help you develop an eating plan to lose weight at a healthy rate.
Joining a gym or beginning a walking program will help you tone and trim.
As you lose the fat and toned, lean muscle is revealed, you'll have all the incentive you need to maintain a healthy diet for the rest of your life.
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Purpose: This medication is used to control appetite and reduce weight in obese people.
Also known as: sibutramine
Side Effects: This medication is known to cause the following side effects (also see warning at the bottom of this page):
- dry mouth
- drowsiness
- constipation
- sleeping problems
- high blood pressure (should be monitored frequently)
- dizziness
- tremor
- mild headache
- difficulty concentrating
- restlessness
- more serious side effects to report to your doctor include:
- allergic reaction
- irregular heartbeat
- high blood pressure
- pulmonary hypertension
- severe headache
- blurred vision
- seizures
Drug interactions: Meridia is known to interact negatively with many over-the-counter and prescribed medications. If you are taking any of the following medications, be sure to tell your doctor:
- weight reduction medication
- appetite suppressants
- decongestants
- cough suppressants
- antidepressants
- lithium
- MAO Inhibitors
- migraine medication
- tryptophan
- narcotic pain relieves
- high blood pressure medication
- antihistamines
- sedatives
- anti-seizure medication
Dependency: Over long periods, Meridia is known to be habit-forming. If you have taken this medication for any length of time, talk with your doctor before stopping this medication. Stopping this medication suddenly can cause serious physical and psychological problems.
Warning: It is not known whether Meridia passes to infants through breast milk. Do not breastfeed while on this medication.
Our research indicates that 29 deaths (updated to 49 according to recent articles) are directly associated with the use of this medication. Ralph Nader's Public Citizen group has determined that this medication can cause serious side effects and death and is seeking a ban and recall through the FDA. The main cause of death related to this medication is PPH (primary pulmonary hypertension), the same condition that caused the recall and ban on FenPhen and Redux. It should also be noted that the approval of this medication by the FDA was marginal (5-4) and that several groups believe adequate testing of this product was not conducted prior to its approval. For additional information about these concerns, we suggest visiting one of the attorney websites for cases against Abbott Laboratories.
|
Update: According to recent information, the FDA has reports of 54 women suffering miscarriage, stillbirths, and babies born with birth defects directly related to use of Meridia during pregnancy. Some of the infants were born with malformed hearts. These types of defects were seen in laboratory animals during testing of Meridia.
|
If you have used Meridia, send us your story. Be sure to include your initials, city, and state so we can include that information with your story.
|
|
|
|
Sign up for our periodic newsletter to get the latest tips, tricks, hints, help, recipes, site updates, and much more.
|
|
|
|
