Meridia ??

Does anybody know anything about this drug...Meridia? My Dr. offered it as a option to control my appetite. I have about 40 pounds. to lose. My sister is a pharmacist and she said it will make you feel less hungry but what about when you go off it. She said a friend of hers gained weight after stopping the drug. It's also expensive! About $140-175 for a 30 day supply!! Most insurances don't cover it.  Honestly, I would love any help I could get but I sorta want to know that I've lost the weight because of my hard work and proper choices. I think I'd be afraid to ever go off it and then gain everything back. 

Has anybody tried it? Did you have sucess? Would you recommend it? Thank You!!!

meh, dead thread, so what? 

i took meridia for a VERY short period of time.. it had a horrible side effect, it made me feel like my heart was going to pop out of my throat. 

by the way, most doctors have (and i do say MOST but not ALL) have a moral and ethical mental code that they follow, that doesn't involve pharmecutical companies putting money in their pockets

I tried the popular hoodia godooni diet pill and it didn't work for me. I'm not sure about meridia but you should watch out cos' some diet pills are scams to get your money.

definitely, especially otc ones, but  most perscription diet pills DO work for some people and don't really just want to gobble all the cash you have.

honestly, the whole reasoning behind merida is to help you establish reasonable eating behaviors that you are unable to do on your own.  that goes for those of us that never feel full when we eat or arent able to sense when we are full until way past that point.  it is of the same sort of medications as many antidepressants (wellbutrin is similar, correct me if i am wrong on that one).

merida is one drug that i dont have any problem with, its not touted as a cure all, it doesnt have massive side effects (al la xenical), and even its physican and patient leaflets include the fact that it is only effective with modification of diet.  i mean think about it, how long did it take most of us, and is still taking most of us, to retrain how we think about food, how we think about eating, how we think about being full and satisfied.

added benefit, serotin.... the thing that makes you crave carbs when TTOM approaches.... well lack of it ;).... and the reason that many antidepressants (at least the newer ones) have an anorectic effect.  merida is not your hoodia or leptepro.  or even your phen-fen.  its not a stimulant or a cure all or anything of that sort.  and if people need the help, let them have it.  it isnt going to work for everyone, and you have to remember that its about learning when you get full, and when you go off the meds (which are only meant for a short term anyway) to continue those eating habits.

i havent taken meridia, but i have and am on perscription medications  (not for weightloss) and sometimes it seriously bothers me the way the boards are very antimedication.  if someone said, i am on insulin, will it make me gain weight, should i go off it, no one would say, oh those meds are bad, dont take them.  and we are always quick to say, maybe your thyroid is acting up (or down lol).  sometimes appetite is the same way, very tied to the chemicals in our brains and if trying it the good old fashioned way isnt working, what is wrong with trying medically approved techiniques to help us out? 

while obesity might be psychological or laziness or whatever else you want to term it, for a great many of us, it is a disease.  and sometimes one that we cant control with diet and exercise.  why make people feel worse about themselves than they already do?

united: you know the image in my head from your response.... the old nbc "ding ding ding the more you know"  (yes im a child of the 80s...)

ok, it was a sound, but yeah.  i just want to say that i agree, and am so glad for having c-c.  and the people i have here.  i know that at my worst point i can jump online and somone, whether i post to my journal or to the boards, will come in and give support.  that is an amazing thing.  and as much as the boards have grown in the last 6 months, still an amazing thing.

"in my opinion, weight loss should NOT be put into a category all its own and have rules applied to it that are not applied to other diseases/conditions of the body. "  - manewell

   Y'all, I am glad to hear that I'm not the only one out there that sees this as a complex problem. As a health care provider, I see this as a complex disease, not just a laziness or lack of willpower. Again...everyone is different, lest those people who really do just lack willpower feel the need to chime in. But let's all acknowledge that losing weight requires more than just saying, "Buck up, little camper, and stop eating."

   However, I'm going to play a little devil's advocate on myself here. I never tell my patients things like, "well, you have an underactive thyroid, so that's why you're gaining weight and it'll be hard to lose." I don't tell them that because 1) it's not entirely true, and 2) it's completely disempowering. To tell someone their physiology is to blame for their obesity completely takes their power away to do something about it. And it's a false statement. It is always an interplay of behavior and physiology. Sometimes one takes a heavier-handed role than the other, but it's really important for people to realize that while the deck may be stacked against them, they can still affect their situation with their behavior.

   but trust me...if everyone could do it with diet and exercise, I'd be a happy camper (and I'd still have a job...for that naysayer out there that emailed me, thank you very much). However you do it, just make sure you're informed. The internet has a lot of information out there, but a lot of it is bunk. Definitely ask your health-care provider about his/her experience with a drug/supplement/surgery. Fauxtograph is right: the majority of us have some ethics, and are not going to give you a drug because some hot drug rep gave us a nice-looking pen. We'll recommend things based on the possibility of it doing you some real good.

peace out