appetite supressing by tablet?

[NadiaWadia]

I have quite a bit of weight to lose. I have tried various things, like the vegetable soup diet, DietChef and do lose some, but then just get bored and gradually it creeps up again.

I usually find I feel hungry quite frequently and I love chocolate. I tried Weightwatchers once, but find the adding up points etc quite boring.

My GP thinks I'm depressed and has put me on Lustral. A side effect of this is that I feel a bit nauseous most of the time, and while this might be a nuisance for most people, for me it is brillant! I have to remind myself to eat and am not getting any cravings, feel full after half a plate of dinner, etc.

I don't know if its done anything for my mental state yet, but its certainly useful for my body.

So I was wondering, as many people cannot control their appetite and end up having to have gastric bands, etc (which seems very drastic and there is always risk with surgery of course) why can't the drug companies develop appetite suppressant tablets, which could then be prescribed by your GP?

It would seem a much simpler option. Or am I missing something obvious?

I think it is because they have not developed one which is both safe to use and works. However develops that tablet will have discovered the holy grail. Some of the appetite suppressants currently on the market have terrible side effects such as insomnia, palpitations, dilated pupils etc... There are also the ones that swell up in the stomach. When it first came on the market a few years ago is was called "the gastric band in a tablet"... well I tried it but I didn't think it really worked. If I remember rightly it was called Appesat, said to contain only natural products such as seaweed.

So you didn't find it stopped you feeling hungry, Merlin?

I didn't realise there were pills on the market that were supposed to supress appetite. (I'd just heard of those ones that are supposed to stop fat being absorbed, etc.)

Can you tell me what some of the other brands are called?

There have recently been prescription only slimming drugs that have had their Marketing Authorisations withdrawn as they have been found to be unsafe (psychiatric and/or cardiac dangers).

These things are quick fixes at best; downright dangerous at worst.

Oh dear.

It does seem odd though, considering nausea is a common side effect of many different drugs, you would think it would be possible for them to come up with something that worked and wasn't dangerous.

The nausea and suppressed appetite should subside as your body gets used to lustral - usually between 1 and 3 weeks. If only it was as simple as taking a pill.

Love the name, NadiaWadia, and I hope that the ADs help.

Yes they are dangerous because they alter how the brain thinks...so your body may well be hungry but your brain has been tricked into thinking it isn't.