Meridia

Meridia (sibutramine) is a prescription drug recommended to people that are obese and require an addition to their diet plan and regular exercising. This medicine does not help you lose weight per se – instead, it reduces your food cravings and makes it easier for you to eat less. You may be started on the lowest dose of Meridia in case your doctor has any safety concerns. Your dose may later need to be increased, and this usually happens after about 4 weeks of taking this medication. Do not alter the dose yourself as this can lead to a number of unwanted health effects. After the first 6 months of the treatment you may stop losing weight. Nevertheless, you need to continue taking this medication anyway to make sure the progress you already achieved is maintained.

Your doctor needs to know if you are taking the following drugs to be able to prevent drug interactions from occurring: danazol, anticoagulants, depression medicines, erythromycin, antifungals, delavirdine, sleeping pills, isoniazid, sedatives, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, caffeine-containing products, drugs for the treatment of anxiety, mental illness, seizures, and pain, muscle relaxants, salicylate pain relievers, heparin, medications for allergies, coughs and, migraine headaches, cancer chemotherapy medications, cyclosporine, tranquilizers, HIV protease inhibitors, and high blood pressure medications. Caffeine-containing products and beverages can make you experience worse side effects of Meridia. It's therefore very important that you report the fact of using such products to your health care provider. Some of the side effects you may get when taking Meridia include, but are not limited to: heartburn, flushing, back, weakness, runny nose, headache, constipation, and pain.