Michelle:

I've read some of your posts in the past and thought they were older as your weight tracker seemed the same.....
thanks for your information. My doctor prescribed it (10 mg QD) because my weight loss is so s-l-o-w.....I've completely changed my diet and do a combo. of wts. and HARD-cardio between 4-6.5 hours per week. In 1999 I had lost 60 lbs. over a 20 month period and I'm horrified that 32 lbs. re-appeared on my body! I'm s/p accident (2 fractures) 6 mos. ago that left me pretty inactive until last December, and under drs. care for depression but I was weaned off Zoloft (and it gave me a voracious appetite!!!! so DUH, yes gaining weight ADDS to my depression and the stuff made me think I hit early menopause!).

you are ohsoright about emotional eating.

I just need to see the scale move a little faster than 2/10 lb. per week when I'm working so hard at it.....my body seems to like to hang on to every ounce and not give it up without a fight. I did not have a weight problem at all until I hit my mid-30s, then it seems my body & metabolism betrayed me, but I'm determined to get back to a healthy weight and reclaim my waist!

I feel fine and have no signs of HTN so far. I work at a large med. facility and have my BP monitored 2-3X per week. The only thing I've noticed is that I am drinking more through out the day (which is good)...I don't "like" water, but I do lemon herbal tea or red zinger, both have no caffiene. it may be a placebo effect, but I'm not real interested in sweets the last 2 days????

Dixie, Hi! I never took Effexxor, but was on both Zoloft and Welbutrin, both did NOT agree with me.... please keep me posted on how you are doing maybe we can compare notes. thanks!

Just an FYI - when you change your avatar and/or signature in your profile, it changes in all of your posts - not only your new ones, but your old ones as well.

However each post is marked with a date and time in the upper left corner...

Dixie,
I lost 17 lbs the first month I was on it and then upon examining my food journal my doctor told me that I must hit at least 1200 calories a day even if it slowed my weight loss down. So after that I lost between 2-8 lbs a month. I am hypothyroid and had a very hard time losing any sort of weight whatsoever even when eating very low calories and exercising every day of the week for at least an hour! I also hit a plateau but I think that was due to my changing my eating plan rather than anything else. I switched from South Beach Diet to Weight Watchers. Weight Watchers proved to be not a good plan for me as it applied the slippery slope theory lol Once I had a treat I had to have more and it was a downward spiral. I still exercise every day and I eat sensibly and I'm happy to have a 2 lb loss every month. I didn't gain the weight overnight and I certainly don't expect it to come off overnight. As a matter of fact I gained 50 lbs in a one years span and I've slowly taken it of in the same time span. So slowly but surely wins the race

Marble, yes my posts may appear old because anytime I change my weight tracker it changes it for all of my posts just as Mrs.Jim explained I've also discussed the long term side effects of meridia with my doctor and she says that she doesn't believe that I should have any problem with withdrawl. I actually determined that I wanted to come off the Meridia when I hit about 170 because then I'm out of the morbidly obese category and want to accomplish the rest of my loss on my own. I'm assuming that your doctor has taken the necessary steps to find the cause of your body's resistance to weight loss.

Another hint to help you both is to write down every single thing that goes in your mouth crumbs and all. This really helps me to disect what I'm eating and to eliminate what I shouldn't be eating.

I wish you both luck in your weight loss journeys! Please remember to eat enough whole foods and eliminate synthetic foods, if you can't produce the name of an ingredient you probably shouldn't eat it lol. Also don't forget your exercise, the most important factor in your successful weight loss!

Good Luck!

Michelle:
thanks for the info. This is my 3rd day and I feel really good. My BP was 110/70 today and I sleep OK...I feel "perkier" during the day, but that's a good thing. I get in between-4-6.5 hours of exercise per week wts./cardio if I'm not ill (or too depressed which has sabatoged me in the past)

I still get hungry and eat a regular meal, but feel satisfied with less food. (no longer a member of the clean-plate club). my thyroid is completely normal, so that is not an issue either.
TTYS, thanks!
I am aiming for 5-6 lbs. a month

Hi. Where in NC? I am in Wilm.

As for Meridia, my only experience comes w/my friend who took it for a year, about 4 years ago. In her, it caused heart damage. She now has an irregular heartbeat that the doctor, has since, proclaimed originated b/c of her taking Meridia.

I am sure that there were other factors involved but she has had lawyers approach her saying that they have many other patients also suffering from cardiovascular issues that were not present before taking Meridia.

On the bright side, for her, it worked. She lost 95 lbs with it. After she won't off it, she gained 150lbs and ended up choosing wls as her next option.

So, it's all "second hand" so take it for what you will...but I would just stay really on top of how you feel, as with any new meds.

Good luck!

I fortunately am not one who has had any ill side effects of meridia. I have had 2 EKG's over the last year and both were completely normal aside from my heart murmur which I've had since I was born Meridia hasn't affected my heart. That is why I think a person needs to be monitored very closely by their doctor when taking these meds.

hi toni, im from gastonia, nc. close to charlotte. sounds like the meridia was doing good for your friend. I have a mytro-valve prolapse (kinda like a heart murmur), but my doc seems to think that ill be ok on it. I am still not having an weird side effects yet. i just dont want to have weird feelings when go off it!!!

Hi, I am a new member as of today. Is there any updated news on the pill Meridia. I read some of the posts of a couple of years ago, now wondering if anyone knows any updates. My doctor gave me a RX for it yesterday, but haven't filled it. Worry about side effects. I can't seem to lose any weight but continue to gain although I go to Curves 3 or 4 times a week, I know this isn't enough but the speed with which I am gaining weight has me concerned, I know I gained 6 lbs since Dec., but didn't even ask what I weighed. I just don't want to go anywhere anymore. It is an effort to get up and get dressed, I have lost all my self esteem.
Thanks for information

I was on Meridia for a short period of time and didn't lose any weight. The doctor took me off Meridia because my normally low blood pressure (100/60) shot way up (130/90) or something like that. It does have side effects which can be very dangerous and one indicator is increased blood pressure. I'd make sure you monitor yourself while also going to the doctor at regular intervals.

A friend of mine is interested in Meridia, which is an appetite suppresent. She got a prescription from her doctor for it and she was wanting to know if anybody has had success on this and how rapid did you lose the weight?

I lost a little at first, maybe 15 lbs, in the first month, and then nothing. I was on it for maybe 6 months before giving up. My husband says he hopes I never try it again, as I had severe moodswings on it.

I only tried it for a short while but I didn't lose anything. The doctor pulled me off of it because I have low blood pressure and it made me have high blood pressure. If your friend does go on it, she has to make sure she gets checked regularly because it does have some very bad side effects if you aren't careful

I was on it 6years ago and developed high bp. Be sure your friend keeps an eye on this - high BP can be very dangerous if not supervised!

Pam

It sounded pretty much like "stone soup" to me, from what i read in the New England Journal of Medicine Article Of course you are going to lose weight if you exercise and consume 1,200 Cal/day! I want a drug that makes the pounds melt off without consciously following a diet regimen.

Thanks everyone for your help. I will let her know what was said about the high blood pressure.