What You Need To Know About Sibutramine

The underlying motivation for weight loss is rarely just vanity anymore. Even though everybody wants to have a nice figure and pleasant appearance, the obesity epidemic that has long ago reached scary proportions is demanding urgent measures to prevent an even greater number of related illnesses, incidents and mortality.

The Dangers of Obesity

Diabetes, cancer, stroke and similar diseases, which are known to frequent the elderly population, are now claiming the lives of young people in their thirties and forties. Change in the associated outcomes can only come through a healthier diet and weight reduction. That’s where a drug such as sibutramine comes in to play an enormous role in the process of weight loss and maintenance.

The drug is a progressive kind of medication, which works against obesity on a revolutionary level. It introduces a completely new class of weight-management methodology and acts in a couple of directions, thus ensuring a long-term effect and maintenance of the achieved result. Let’s have a look at how that happens.

What Is Sibutramine?

Sibutramine hydrocloride (that is the full name of the chemical compound, about which you can read more in this article) has the main function of suppressing appetite, and achieves that by acting on chemicals in the brain responsible for the feelings of hunger and satiety. Decreased appetite naturally leads to less calorie intake, and that’s how weight loss is achieved relatively effortlessly.

Put in more scientific terms for the curious ones, the drug affects the chemicals of serotonin, the “feel good” brain neurotransmitter, and the stimulant norepinephrine. Blocking their uptake results in a prolonged feeling of fullness and ingesting considerably less food than the habitual amount.

Increased Energy Expediture

We all know the body’s resistance to losing weight, once it has registered a change in that direction. When we begin to shed those extra pounds, there comes a point where we plateau. This is represented by the body’s natural strive for survival and seeking to preserve the existing balance. It starts sabotaging our efforts by decreasing energy expenditure through a corresponding drop in the body’s basal metabolic rate.

Apart from acting as an appetite suppressant, sibutramine also encourages energy expenditure and manages to get it to rise by an average of 100 kcal per day. You can read more about its influence on the body’s metabolic processes at https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/503121. This double effect is a winning formula, which exceeds any results achievable by simple calorie restriction, as the latter is bound to lead to a slowing-down of metabolism or its total disruption in cases where considerable calorie deprivation has taken place. This inevitably means the body will go into “survival mode” and start hanging onto every gram of fat as a survival mechanism. That’s what causes the infamous yo-yo effect as we know it.   

Sibutramine Safety Measures

As with any drug, there are some cases where the use of sibutramine is not advisable. Obesity in teenagers and elderly people over the age of 65 is one. Another precaution is for patients with a history of hypertension, especially if the health issue is serious. You can find sibutramine reviews and stories online. They will give you a better idea as to which conditions benefit from using the drug. In general, however, any serious disorder poses a risk and calls for refraining from weight management medications of any kind.

With some of these special-case patients, where the weight problem also poses a serious danger to the person’s life and wellbeing, sibutramine therapy might be applicable, when paired with dose modifications and accompanied by strict medical supervision and lab tests throughout the treatment. This will ensure risk is minimized and the benefits of using the drug remain available to the person.  

Taking Sibutramine

There is no one-dose-fits-all rule. Due to its specifics and every patient’s personal health record, the drug should only be taken as prescribed by a healthcare provider. Do not modify the recommended amount or prolong treatment beyond the advisable period. Read the label and make sure you follow your prescription to the letter. If your dose needs to be changed for better results over time, let your doctor do that for you.

The good news is that sibutramine can be taken either before or after meals. In the general case, treatment should not exceed a period of two years, and it is a good idea to keep track of blood pressure and pulse throughout. The only rule is to avoid self-medication when you are not a medical professional yourself, as incorrect use can lead to poor results or render an otherwise great drug potentially dangerous.

Missing a Dose or Overdosing

It’s OK to take the missed dose as soon as you remember, unless it is already time for the next. In this case you’d better skip. Taking extra medicine to make up for the one you missed is not a good idea. Dosage guidelines should be followed strictly, you can find them here. If you accidentally overdose, you might experience feelings of dizziness, a headache, or increased heart rate, in which case you should seek immediate medical attention.

Sibutramine might affect focus and reactions while driving, so take care with any action that requires alertness and prompt reaction. Do not consume alcohol, cold/flu or allergy medications while on the treatment. If you plan on taking any over-the-counter or prescription weight loss drugs simultaneously with sibutramine, always consult your doctor first. The drug should be completely sufficient in inducing the desired results when taken on its own. Combining it with other products is unnecessary and might also be unhealthy, should a poor chemical interaction occur between the different substances.

A Word on Side Effects

As with any medication, a list of associated side effects which might or might not occur, should be noted. You can find a full list of possible reactions at https://www.health24.com/Medical/Meds-and-you/Medication/Sibutramine-20130930. Changes in appetite are most likely to be reported, as sibutramine works by manipulating the feeling of satiety and using up stored fat for energy expenditure. Beyond that there might be an occasional feeling of dry mouth or a case of constipation, stuffy nose and flu-like symptoms.

In the very rare cases of an allergic reaction to the drug, increased pulse, extreme blood pressure or shortness of breath, intake should be discontinued and emergency attention sought out immediately. Overall, however, sibutramine is known to be taken very well and its efficiency in preventing obesity-related conditions has been confirmed repeatedly.