New weight-loss drug fails to gain among Des Moines dieters
You've read the statistics about obesity in America - about 33 percent of adults are obese; approximately 17 percent of adolescents are overweight.
Some, frustrated with their efforts to slim down, will turn to a pill to lose the extra pounds. It may be a drug designed to promote weight loss or one where weight loss is a side effect.
One of the new pharmaceutical weapons for the millions battling their weight, a drug called Alli, hit the market late last month.
Alli, a nonprescription version of Xenical, was the first of its kind to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
The drug works by preventing fat from being absorbed in the system - a process called malabsorption.
The major drawback with Alli, health care professionals in Des Moines said, is an unpleasant side effect, diarrhea.
Because fat cannot be absorbed, eating something like a cheeseburger will trigger the reaction.
Because of that, health care professionals were skeptical that patients could religiously use the drug.
It is that nasty side effect, coupled with an average cost of $60 a month, that seems to be behind Alli's lackluster sales, said John Forbes, owner of a Medicap Pharmacy in Urbandale.
Forbes initially predicted a rush on the drug. "It was a lot less than we anticipated. I was a little surprised," he said.
For those seeking to lose weight, another pharmaceutical option, while less widespread, has been to prescribe medications that have a side effect of weight loss.
This includes certain antidepressants, professionals in Iowa said.
While drugs can produce short-term results, they added, lifestyle modifications including exercise and a healthy diet are needed for long-term weight loss and maintenance.
Sometimes, doctors will prescribe drugs - the most common ones being antidepressants like Prozac and Wellbutrin - to help patients lose weight, Forbes said.
Most times, general practitioners are writing the prescriptions.
"We don't see a great deal of it, though," he said. "It's not the norm."
Physicians can legally prescribe a drug for an "off-label" use, which means the medication is being used in a way for which it was not originally intended.
Patients may be prescribed, for example, higher than typical doses of Prozac, Forbes said. But with that comes more side effects, which include sleeplessness, nervousness and some tremor.
"In our experience, I haven't seen people on that type of medication stay on it long term because of the side effect profile," he said.
"I'm not a big proponent of diet pills myself, because I think it's more of a lifestyle change. You can deal with the medication in the short-term ... and exercise and diet is what really makes the change."
Forbes said other drugs that can cause weight loss include Topamax, used to treat migraines and seizures; Strattera, a treatment for ADHD; and Metformin, a diabetes drug.
Dr. Steve Richards, a family physician in Algona, said in the nearly 30 years he's been a physician that he's only once prescribed an off-label use for a drug for weight loss.
Richards said it's not a typical practice for doctors to write such prescriptions. "I don't think it's going on much at all."
Richards prescribed Wellbutrin to an overweight teenager, who lost about 25 pounds.
"I don't think there's anything wrong with doctors using an off-label use of a drug like Wellbutrin, as long as the person has no contraindications to it," said Richards, immediate past president of the Iowa Medical Society. He added that it should be used in conjunction with diet and exercise.
Dr. Michael Sutcliffe said he's treated several patients suffering from migraines with Topamax who have lost a significant amount of weight on the drug.
"It's just a nice side effect for the patients," said Sutcliffe, medical director of the Mercy Center for Weight Reduction's Optifast and Optitrim Program.
Sutcliffe prefers to prescribe the longtime weight loss drug phentermine, an appetite suppressant. "Phentermine is safe and it works," he said.
But he said the best treatment for weight loss is frequent meals - about six or seven meals of 150 to 200 calories each daily - and increased physical activity.
Src: http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070708/LIFE02/707080304/1031/BUSINESS02
Some, frustrated with their efforts to slim down, will turn to a pill to lose the extra pounds. It may be a drug designed to promote weight loss or one where weight loss is a side effect.
One of the new pharmaceutical weapons for the millions battling their weight, a drug called Alli, hit the market late last month.
Alli, a nonprescription version of Xenical, was the first of its kind to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
The drug works by preventing fat from being absorbed in the system - a process called malabsorption.
The major drawback with Alli, health care professionals in Des Moines said, is an unpleasant side effect, diarrhea.
Because fat cannot be absorbed, eating something like a cheeseburger will trigger the reaction.
Because of that, health care professionals were skeptical that patients could religiously use the drug.
It is that nasty side effect, coupled with an average cost of $60 a month, that seems to be behind Alli's lackluster sales, said John Forbes, owner of a Medicap Pharmacy in Urbandale.
Forbes initially predicted a rush on the drug. "It was a lot less than we anticipated. I was a little surprised," he said.
For those seeking to lose weight, another pharmaceutical option, while less widespread, has been to prescribe medications that have a side effect of weight loss.
This includes certain antidepressants, professionals in Iowa said.
While drugs can produce short-term results, they added, lifestyle modifications including exercise and a healthy diet are needed for long-term weight loss and maintenance.
Sometimes, doctors will prescribe drugs - the most common ones being antidepressants like Prozac and Wellbutrin - to help patients lose weight, Forbes said.
Most times, general practitioners are writing the prescriptions.
"We don't see a great deal of it, though," he said. "It's not the norm."
Physicians can legally prescribe a drug for an "off-label" use, which means the medication is being used in a way for which it was not originally intended.
Patients may be prescribed, for example, higher than typical doses of Prozac, Forbes said. But with that comes more side effects, which include sleeplessness, nervousness and some tremor.
"In our experience, I haven't seen people on that type of medication stay on it long term because of the side effect profile," he said.
"I'm not a big proponent of diet pills myself, because I think it's more of a lifestyle change. You can deal with the medication in the short-term ... and exercise and diet is what really makes the change."
Forbes said other drugs that can cause weight loss include Topamax, used to treat migraines and seizures; Strattera, a treatment for ADHD; and Metformin, a diabetes drug.
Dr. Steve Richards, a family physician in Algona, said in the nearly 30 years he's been a physician that he's only once prescribed an off-label use for a drug for weight loss.
Richards said it's not a typical practice for doctors to write such prescriptions. "I don't think it's going on much at all."
Richards prescribed Wellbutrin to an overweight teenager, who lost about 25 pounds.
"I don't think there's anything wrong with doctors using an off-label use of a drug like Wellbutrin, as long as the person has no contraindications to it," said Richards, immediate past president of the Iowa Medical Society. He added that it should be used in conjunction with diet and exercise.
Dr. Michael Sutcliffe said he's treated several patients suffering from migraines with Topamax who have lost a significant amount of weight on the drug.
"It's just a nice side effect for the patients," said Sutcliffe, medical director of the Mercy Center for Weight Reduction's Optifast and Optitrim Program.
Sutcliffe prefers to prescribe the longtime weight loss drug phentermine, an appetite suppressant. "Phentermine is safe and it works," he said.
But he said the best treatment for weight loss is frequent meals - about six or seven meals of 150 to 200 calories each daily - and increased physical activity.
Src: http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070708/LIFE02/707080304/1031/BUSINESS02
