[Raelynn]

I am really stuck, and after weeks of the scale not really moving, I have decided to try Meridia. I had a complete physical and everything is good, my cholesterol is good, my bp is low too. I know it's not "the answer" to weight loss, but my doctor thinks it will give it a push to get it going again. Has anyone else tried it?

[Sandi]

I tried that before. For some reason I thought it was off the market. Wouldn't be the 1st time I was wrong.

WHat I loved about it: My cravings just went away. It was awesome.

Why I quit taking it: Around 5:00 every day, my mood would crash and I would become a crabby you know what!!! After it happed every day for a week I quit the stuff.

But as a rule, I don't do well with diet drugs. They have always done weird things to me.

Good luck with it!!

[Goddess Jessica]

I took Meridia. It's still on the market and still as expensive as ever. I paid about $130 a month with it.

What I loved:
OMG that absolutely full feeling was such a new experience for me. I once gagged on some carrot sticks because I was full to the gills but bad habits die hard. I think the drug made me more aware of my body hunger than my habit hunger.

Why I stopped:
Although some people have high blood pressure as a result of Meridia, I did not have that side effect. However, I had incredible dizzy spells when I would first wake up in the morning or when I would get up in the middle of the night. I think it was "spikes" in my blood pressure caused by the drug. I lost about 15-20lbs on it combined with Jazzercise (LOL). Besides that, it was just out of my budget.

I think it gave me a push to get started.

[Raelynn]

Thanks for replying! I just started it yesterday, and I noticed I was not hungry all day, but I am assuming alot of that was just my stress from work.

[Sandi]

I bet not. It really does curb those cravings!!

[Jennelle]

Found this while searching for info...the website is http://www.meridialegalresources.com/

Since Meridia's introduction to the U.S. market in March 1998 through September 2001, Meridia has been associated with 29 deaths in the U.S. A total of 397 serious adverse reactions were reported to the FDA, resulting in 152 patients being hospitalized. Of the 29 U.S. patients that died, 19 of the deaths were from cardiovascular causes such as heart attacks. 10 of the cardiac deaths occurred with people who were 50 or younger, including 3 women under the age of 30. There were also 143 patients in whom an arrhythmia was reported.
Prior to its approval in 1997, an FDA advisory committee voted five to four that the benefits of Meridia did not outweigh the risks. The FDA medical officer who reviewed the drug wrote that Meridia "has an unsatisfactory risk-benefit ratio and therefore this Reviewer recommends non-approval of the original submission." The concern of both the advisory committee and the FDA medical officer was based on evidence that Meridia significantly increases blood pressure and heart rate in patients.