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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by SalArmy4me on June 8, 2001, at 1:16:09
Why didn't Meridia get marketed as an antidepressant? It says on the prescribing info that Meridia "is a potent inhibitor of serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) and norepinephrine reuptake." Does anyone get an antidepressant effect from it?
Posted by N.P. on June 8, 2001, at 2:12:06
In reply to Meridia, posted by SalArmy4me on June 8, 2001, at 1:16:09
I don't have any official info about that, but I suspected it was an antidepresant too. You can't loose weight on just appetite suppressant. Need and AD too. That's why Phen-fen was so effective. It gives you dry mouth. Is this a common side effect for antidepressants?
> Why didn't Meridia get marketed as an antidepressant? It says on the prescribing info that Meridia "is a potent inhibitor of serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) and norepinephrine reuptake." Does anyone get an antidepressant effect from it?
Posted by Elizabeth on June 8, 2001, at 19:50:05
In reply to Meridia, posted by SalArmy4me on June 8, 2001, at 1:16:09
> Why didn't Meridia get marketed as an antidepressant? It says on the prescribing info that Meridia "is a potent inhibitor of serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) and norepinephrine reuptake." Does anyone get an antidepressant effect from it?
It didn't get marketed as an AD (although lab studies on rats frequently refer to it as an antidepressant) because, after Redux and fenfluramine got pulled from the market, there was an opening in the market for diet pills. The antidepressant market, meanwhile, is saturated with various monoaminergic drugs and me-toos.
It's even wackier than that. Solely because it's marketed as a diet pill -- not because of anything about its pharmacology -- Meridia is a controlled substance (C-IV). It's no more addictive than Effexor, and in fact is chemically similar to Effexor. I personally suspect that it's a crappy diet pill, no better than...well, Effexor, and a fine antidepressant, no worse than...well, Effexor.
-elizabeth
Posted by v on June 11, 2001, at 7:26:21
In reply to Re: Meridia » SalArmy4me, posted by Elizabeth on June 8, 2001, at 19:50:05
except that there is a significant amount of data concerning weight gain from effexor... that has been my biggest fear of it... are people gaining weight on meridia instead of losing it?
i have considered trying it but it is difficult to find a pdoc to prescribe it... i know my current pdoc wants to up my effexor dosage but i am just terrified of gaining more weight
thanks
v> > Why didn't Meridia get marketed as an antidepressant? It says on the prescribing info that Meridia "is a potent inhibitor of serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) and norepinephrine reuptake." Does anyone get an antidepressant effect from it?
>
> It didn't get marketed as an AD (although lab studies on rats frequently refer to it as an antidepressant) because, after Redux and fenfluramine got pulled from the market, there was an opening in the market for diet pills. The antidepressant market, meanwhile, is saturated with various monoaminergic drugs and me-toos.
>
> It's even wackier than that. Solely because it's marketed as a diet pill -- not because of anything about its pharmacology -- Meridia is a controlled substance (C-IV). It's no more addictive than Effexor, and in fact is chemically similar to Effexor. I personally suspect that it's a crappy diet pill, no better than...well, Effexor, and a fine antidepressant, no worse than...well, Effexor.
>
> -elizabeth
Posted by Elizabeth on June 12, 2001, at 12:29:06
In reply to Re: Meridia - effexor weight gain, posted by v on June 11, 2001, at 7:26:21
> except that there is a significant amount of data concerning weight gain from effexor... that has been my biggest fear of it... are people gaining weight on meridia instead of losing it?
I would expect that. But who knows? With any drug, the actions that we know about are just the beginning. Maybe there's an unknown difference between Meridia and Effexor.
> i have considered trying it but it is difficult to find a pdoc to prescribe it... i know my current pdoc wants to up my effexor dosage but i am just terrified of gaining more weight
Make him/her look at Meridia in the PDR. Emphasise its structural, as well as pharmacological, similarity to Effexor. (Point to the pictures of the molecules and the "clinical pharmacology - pharmacodynamics" section of the monograph.)
Meridia was referred to as an "antidepressant" in early reports on preclinical trials; there is evidence for its efficacy in animal models of depression; and there are quite probably unpublished clinical studies showing it to be an effective antidepressant in humans.
I hope this helps. Good luck.
-elizabeth
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