Hi everyone. Thought I'd start #3 since the flames were shooting out of #2. Glad to see all of the posts. You are all doing so well.
Robin-----that is a super weight loss. I usually weigh in every two weeks. Weigh ins are not madatory in our group. I began my journey to eat healthier the last week in January and as of last Tuesday have lost 36 lbs. It is slow but I knew it would be. Keep up the good work
Don't Worry----here is your original article in its third edition. I remember being thrilled when I first saw it. The hour walk is the best thing you can do. I used to walk three miles on the track every morning until I was in the car accident. I also heard you needed to exercise at least 45 minutes. I do Richard's 55 minute Broadway Sweat tape every day so hopefully I am raising my metabolism
CeeCee----you have helped me SO much. People ask how Merida works--some people assume that it just stops me from being hungry (if that were the case, Merida would be the wonder drug). It is always hard for me to tell them but you put it into the right words. I am no longer controlled by thoughts of food. When I tried to diet before, I woke up every morning and the first thing I thought was "I am on a diet"....then throughout the day I would be thinking of the foods I could not have. I don't do that anymore and I think that is the key. Now I know what to say to people. Thanks.
Commit2it-----I will try that site but if it is the Point of Change program it is too late for me. I joined that after I purchased my Merida. Since my insurance does not pay for it (no ones does, it seems) I would love to save some $$$. Thanks and I'll let you know.
Mrs.Jim----I remember your previous post. My take was that you were concerned about us taking Merida. I remember replying to you in detail about how carefully I was being monitored. I am still watchful and pay attention to my body. So far no other side effects but dry mouth. Thank you also for the info on the web site. A woman in my office just purchased Merida from the internet (after noticing my weight loss). This did not require a prescription but she had to answer four/five questions and evidently there are docs that prescribe it. $180 for 30 days---10 mg. I told her she was foolish and should go to doctor. Taking any drug without seeing a doctor is looking for trouble. I checked out your home page. You were a beautiful bride and I think Jim is very handsome. You haven't been married very long, hopefully it will just keep getting better and better. I have been married 21 years this month and my husband is my best friend.
My son, the prince, made his confirmation last week. We had a party with great food. I had a little of almost everything except desert. Enjoyed what I had and did not feel guilty. The psychologist who heads our weight loss group says that you only taste the first three bites of any food so I keep that in mind.
Well, I have run on and on.....apologies. Just glad that we are all here for one another. Enjoy your weekend. It is 2:10 a.m on Saturday morning here in beautiful Massachusetts. Take care everyone.
My feeling is, if you're taking a prescription not covered by medical insurance, hey - you may as well research for the best deal, right?
My concern about Meridia is the relatively short time that it was tested before FDA approval, however I think this time (unlike Redux & Fen-Phen) for the most part it is being marketed much more conservatively and doctors are being far more careful in prescribing it and overseeing the results in their patients.
I'm sure many of you recall how absolutely nuts the whole Fen-Phen (Phen-Fen??) craze was - the drug was even being sold at flea markets. Laura Fraser's book "Losing It" describes it as follows:
"From 1993 to 1997, diet doctors had a heyday selling fen-phen, with some physicians opening 'pill mills', writing prescriptions to just about anyone who came in and didn't look blatantly anorexic. One doctor set up a tent at a flea market in Southern California, offering a week's worth of pills for $49.95. Other physicians marketed the pills on the Internet...a Newport Beach, CA anesthesiologist, owned 24 medical diet centers; he and his partner saw 1,400 patients in a month, spending about 15 minutes with each patient at the first visit - and less at each subsequent visit."
From what I've seen - mostly on TV commercials by the manufacturer - Meridia is being much more tastefully and, more importantly, realistically advertised (I also received the rebate packet in the mail - don't know where they got my name - probably from a magazine subscription address list?). I especially like the ads with the women walking on the beach, not skinny but large size - and the Point of Change plan makes a lot of sense IMHO. I think that the manufacturers of Meridia learned something from the whole Fen-Phen mess - much to the benefit of prospective users of Meridia.
Now, if only they could get that darn price down - to me $30-$50 a month would be much more realistic...of course the drug is still relatively new on the market and the company needs to make back some of their research and marketing $$.
I think we'll see prices start to come down in the next couple of years - especially when generic sibutramine begins to appear on the market (I'm not certain how many years the original drug company gets to market the product exclusively before that happens - seven years perhaps??)
Sorry to get so long winded - again!!! Take care.
PS - thanks for your sweet comments - esp about Jim!!! This is my second *and last* marriage - so great to have a life partner who is so supportive of my goals!
Nikolas, just glad to know my experience is shared.
Mrs. Jim. I'm grateful for your concern and skepticism. My "pet peeve" is tenacious loyalty to any weight loss "gimmick" that someone has lost a few pounds on.
We all know that every diet on the market works -- for a few pounds, anyway. And we all know people who have lost weight using very unsafe methods, but HEAVEN FORBID, you raise so much as any eyebrow at their method without facing intense fury (especially if they've lost fewer than 10 lbs). The whole "magic culture" drives me crazy. First of all, the weight loss itself is going to make your life miraculously better. And don't forget the "magic" rules, the breaking of the least of which, will "break the spell."
The 9 Magic Rules of Weight Loss (To be really magic, I probably should have come up with 10, but I bet most of these are familiar, which is the scariest part)
1.
You will lose weight if you:
drink Slimfast.
You will never lose weight if you:
drink Carnation Instant Breakfast or Ensure (ironically marketed to keep elderly patients from losing weight)
check the labels, compare the ingredients and nutritional info).
2.
You will lose weight if you:
eat specially designed "meal bars".
You will never lose weight if you:
ever eat a brownie
3.
You will lose weight if you:
eat a "Breakfast Cookie"
You will never lose weight if you:
ever eat a regular "cookie"
4.
You will lose weight if you:
drink 8-10 glasses (or some other magic number) glasses of water
You will never lose weight if you:
drink 7-9 glasses of water
if your water contains anything but H20
soup doesn't count
juice doesn't count
decaffeinated beverages don't count
(caffeinated beverages have such destructive power, TWO glasses of water must be consumed to counteract it's evil influence).
5.
You will lose weight if you:
Exercise aerobically three times a week for at least 30 minutes. Strength train 2-3 times per week.
You will never lose weight if you:
do not exercise aerobically
do not lift weights
exercise less than 3 times per week
exercise fore fewer than 30 minutes.
6.
You will lose weight if you:
follow the Hollywood diet
You will never lose weight if you:
drink only fruit juice (actually the Hollywood "juice" doesn't sound like it's even really juice).
7.
You will lose weight if you:
diet with the assistance of a "professional" (whose only qualification may be calling themselves a professional)
You will never lose weight if you:
make any of your own choices (dieting without a net, is of course VERY DANGEROUS)
8.
You will lose weight if you diet is customized according to:
your body "type"
your personality type (you determine the personality
an "expert" determines the diet)
your current weight
your desired weight
your gender
your blood type
the season
geographical location
ethnicity
genetic heritage
your hair color (ok, I'm kidding here)
You will never lose weight if you diet against your:
your body "type"
your personality type (you determine the personality
an "expert" determines the diet)
your current weight
your desired weight
your gender
your blood type
the season (never eat fruits out of season)
geographical location (never eat foods not naturally
available in your current local
environment)
ethnicity
genetic heritage (never eat foods not naturally to
your ancestors)
your hair color (still kidding)
9. (Maybe these depends on your "religion" because I've never figured these out)
You will lose weight if you:
weigh yourself every day
weigh yourself every week
never weigh yourself
fast occasionally
snack all day
eat 3 meals
eat 6 meals
eat high protein, low fat
eat high carbohydrate, low fat
eat high protein, high fat
count calories
eat some mysteriously determined combination of foods
use some special combination of herbal supplements
(any minute change in formula will alter results)
give up certain foods
use ____ diet medication (and only ___ medication)
You will not lose weight if you:
weigh yourself every day
weigh yourself every week
never weigh yourself
fast occasionally
snack all day
eat 3 meals
eat 6 meals
eat high protein, low fat
eat high carbohydrate, low fat
eat high protein, high fat
count calories
eat some mysteriously determined combination of foods
use some special combination of herbal supplements
(any minute change in formula will alter results)
give up certain foods
use ____ diet medication (and only ___ medication)
I went to the Drs today and got a prescription for Meridia. He also gave me Xenical. Tomarrow I am going to start taking both.
Thanks to CeeCees advise in the last thread, I went to Walmart to get my prescription filled. Since I had my discount card I got on the Meridia website, I got 25% off their price which was already 25% lower than any other drug store. I paid $68. for 30 pills (10mg). Pretty good!
So, I'm on my way on a long, hard journey....but hopefully these things will help...
Just went to the Meridia website, and joined the Point of Change program, but didn't see anything about a discount. Then as I was about to leave, I saw an itty bitty $ sign at the bottom of the screen (near a house and envelope icon). Well, the $ when highlighted said rebate, so I entered and found the $ to get the discount card to present to the pharmacist to get 35% off first three months and 50% on next three months (1-888-KNOLL02). Haven't called it yet (because I'm still online), but I will as soon as I get a chance.
Ooh, boy if it is as advertised (and my already being on Meridia doesn't disqualify me), that would be $225 savings over 6 months. I can handle that.
I am just curious, do any of you know if the rebate thing is valid in canada? also curious if it works in combination with dh's drug plan? Thought some of you who already have the card would know, :0)
CeeCee I got a good chuckle over the 9 Magic Rules.....I was going to go to the Point of Change web site (joined the day I started Merida) but have been too lazy. Going to go there RIGHT NOW.
Hope everyone is doing well---will check in later.
hello everyone. I'm new to this site and I registered because I love the way everyone treats each other. Well, I go to the Dr. in two weeks for a re-occuring UTI and i'm going to ask him to rx me Meridia. He (Dr) has shown concern for my weight, so it shouldn't be a prob. I am 24 yrs old, 5'5", at 181lbs. Before I became preg w/ my son (he is 2 1/2) I weighed in at 145lbs. I have tried diets but I have this strange control freak mechanism in my brain....I think to myself 'i can't eat that' then iIargue with myself 'yes I can, why is it fair that I have to watch what I eat but my good friend that is like a trig can eat half her weight'. I don't eat constantly, but I eat too much when I do or I eat the wrong things. I have tried metabolife or as I like to call metabocrack...I can not take this stuff, it makes me feel awful, not myself. Is Meridia like that at all? Anyway, I hope all you guys are doing well...you will hear from me again.
I have now been on Merida for only four days but I can feel it helping me. I went on my diet 2 weeks before I got the Meridia, so I was in the right mindset. It really helps me not have that constant thought about food. I have been able to say no tempting treats and stop eating even if there is food left on my plate. I haven't even thought about eating between meals. This is very unusual for me.
I weighed in at the doctors at 260. I new I needed help because I haven't been able to stick to a diet in 10 years! Sad, I know! I am so happy I tried Meridia. I had been afraid to try it, but all of your posts gave me the courage to try it.
I haven't had any side affects at all. Its all been positive. I know its only been four days so I hope it continues. I go to the doctors once a month to follow up.
Sunday night here and am just checking in. Went to the Merida site and had to reregister but could not find the little $ sign, so I am going to call the company tomorrow. I am on my fourth prescription so don't know whether I'll be eligible for discounts but will give it a shot--maybe will have to change pharmacies.
Family went out to Mom's Day brunch. I had a HUGH omelet that must have contained 200 fat grams and 7000 calories. The great thing was that I could stop there and didn't eat the rest of the day. That's such an improvement.
Welcome aihsela. This bulletin board acts as a great support group. I post on several different sites. Good luck at the doctors. I too have re-occuming UTI's. What a pain, literally Let us know how you make out if he does prescribe Merida for you.
Elle, glad you are feeling the positive effects of Merida. Again, I am on my fourth prescription and the only side effect for me has been dry mouth. I just can't believe how much it helps.
Where are you all? Just checked in and noticed that there are no posts. Hope Merida is not making everyone sick. I talked to the Point of Change program and they are sending me my card. Just picked up another prescription for $105 so looking forward to getting the discount.
Hope everyone is doing well. As of this week, I have lost 41 lbs which is an average of 2.59 lbs a week. Slow but that is ok.
Doing well, but getting impatient with slow and steady (I know, I know). It's hard to look at two years of "watching paint dry" weight loss, when you see the same face in the mirror everymorning. (I can't help but want to wake up thin tomorrow morning).
I know what you mean CeeCee. I have only been on Merida for one week and it seems so much longer. I wonder, why have I been on the scale every other day... when I have got only one week down and 51 more to go......
What we do today will bring what we want tomarrow. Hang in there.....Its a slow, steady journey, but we'll get there!!!!!!
I got busy again and didn't come back here for awhile. I'm 3 1/2 months into my Meridia regimin. My weight has come off S - L - O- W - L - Y but surely. I'm 46 and as you age it's hard to get it off but with the Meridia at least I'm not hungry all the time like I was with all my other diets. I love it when people notice too. Yesterday a friend who I hadn't seen in two months said to me "I see you lost weight!" That feels great - I told this to my 17 year old daughter and she said "I noticed that today too mom". I'm not saying that Meridia is a magic pill but it works for me!
