Side effects of Sibutramine
Side Effects of Sibutramine
What is sibutramine?
Sibutramine is an appetite suppressant and is the active ingredient in a variety of popular weight-loss drugs including Reductil, Meridia and Sibutrex.
Sibutramine is administered orally and is generally only available by prescription only. Typical dosage for sibutramine is 10mg daily.
This can be increased to 15mg daily after a patient adjusts to the drug if desired results are not being achieved. Sibutramine has been shown to be an effective appetite suppressant but carries with it several worrisome side effects and contraindications.
How does it work?
When you eat, your brain sends signals to your body to tell you that it is full. It does this by releasing certain chemicals (serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine) that create the desired effect (feelings of satisfaction and fullness). Over time, these chemicals fade and you begin to feel hungry again.
What sibutramine does is lengthen the time it takes for that process to happen. This allows you to remain satisfied longer after meals, thus reducing your effective appetite. This has a large impact on the overall amount you eat throughout the day and has been shown to be effective in assisting with weight-loss programs.
What are the side effects of Sibutramine?
Unfortunately, sibutramine is a very potent drug. As mentioned earlier, it is available by prescription only. This is due to the large amount of potential serious side effects and because of a long list of contraindications. Recently, sibutramine has come under investigation for its safety.
Several new studies have come to the conclusion to that risks involved with the use of sibutramine are too much for it to safely used. The European Medicines Agency has recently recommended that sibutramine be taken off the market in Europe. The Food and Drug Administration in North America is also looking at sibutramine and is conducting several studies regarding the safety of the drug. The process is ongoing and they have not reached any conclusive answers yet.
Some common side effects with sibutramine are: dry mouth, nausea, strange taste in the mouth, upset stomach, constipation, trouble sleeping, dizziness, drowsiness, menstrual cramps/pain, headache, flushing, or joint/muscle pain. Use of sibutramine can also lead to significantly elevated blood pressure in some patients.
Rarer, but more serious side effects include: cardiac arrhythmia, paresthesia, mental/mood changes (depression), seizures, problems urinating, abnormal bruising or bleeding, jaundice, chest pain and abnormal vision. Anybody experiencing these side effects should seek medical assistance quickly.
People that have one (or more) of the following conditions are not advised to take sibutramine:
Existing damage on heart valves, coronary heart disease, or congestive heart failure
Psychiatric conditions such as bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa or serious depression
Seizure disorders
Hyperthyroidism
Hypertension
Patients with a history or susceptibility to drug or alcohol abuse
Pregnancy
A natural sibutramine alternative?
While sibutramine is effective, its safety is questionable and it carries with it a lot of side effects. UniqueHoodia is a natural, safe and effective alternative to sibutramine.
Working in the same way that sibutramine does (as an appetite suppressant), UniqueHoodia uses extract from the Hoodia Gordonii South African cactus plant to assist you with your weight-loss naturally.
Read more about UniqueHoodia
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