Meridia

Meridia (sibutramine) is a prescription medication intended for the treatment of people diagnosed with obesity and unable to lose weight without additional help. If you take Meridia right and follow all the recommendations of your doctor – you will be losing weight stably throughout the entire period of the treatment. You must lose at least 4 pounds during the first 4 weeks of the treatment. Make sure you call your health care provider and tell him if you did not achieve such weight loss. Your doctor must be notified if you have or ever had congestive heart failure, gallstones, heart attack, osteoporosis, liver disease, high blood pressure, seizures, cancer, irregular heart beat, any eating disorder, migraine headaches, chest pain, kidney disease, pulmonary hypertension, Parkinson's disease, glaucoma, stroke or mini-stroke, thyroid disease, bleeding problems, or depression, as any other medications conditions mentioned can affect the quality of your treatment and interfere with the effects of Meridia. You may require a dose adjustment or your doctor will watch you for side effects. As for the side effects patients taking this medicine may develop, the following ones are possible: insomnia, runny nose, back pain, painful menstrual periods, headache, flu-like symptoms, nervousness, constipation, heartburn, change in appetite, dry mouth, flushing, and weakness. They do not need to be reported, as in most cases theses side effects go away on their own. More serious side effects are also possible and can include any of the following: sweating, overactive reflexes, high fever, weakness, joint pain, agitation, stiff muscles, anxiety, seizure, shortness of breath, vomiting, dangerously high blood pressure, confusion, blood in your urine, easy bruising or bleeding, flu symptoms, and sweating. These may indicate your treatment is not going quite as planned and the problems mentioned must be reported directly to your health care provider. Some drugs you are taking can add to the sleepiness Meridia has been reported to cause, including sedatives, medicines for seizures, sleeping pills, depression or anxiety medications, muscle relaxers, cold or allergy medicines, and narcotic pain medicine. Other drugs that should be avoided while taking Meridia, as interactions have been reported, can include any of the following ones: troleandomycin, tranquilizers, nausea medications, tryptophan, depression and anxiety meds, heparin, quinidine, antifungals, cough and cold drugs, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, salicylate pain relievers, clopidogrel, sedatives, amiodarone, sleeping pills, HIV protease inhibitors, high blood pressure meds, drugs for migraine headaches, cancer chemotherapy medications, seizure medications, caffeine-containing products, quinine, anticoagulants, delavirdine, muscle relaxants, lithium, danazol, verapamil, metronidazole, medications for allergies, cyclosporine, erythromycin, isoniazid, sulfa antibiotics, clarithromycin, and zafirlukast. It’s a good idea to make a list of medications you are currently using and show your doctor to make sure you avoid interactions and your treatment is going just as planned.