Fattie Friday

[LoveTrains]

So I just saw that Belviq will now be released:
www.turnto10.com/story/22531049/weight-loss-drug-belviq-gets-overdue-us-launch

I was in a 2 year clinical study for this drug out of the Weight Center at Mass General in Boston. It did not work for me. Or I guess I could have been on the placebo.

Story below:
Weight loss drug Belviq gets overdue US launch

Posted: Jun 07, 2013 10:39 AM EDT
Updated: Jun 07, 2013 11:19 AM EDT
By MATTHEW PERRONE
AP Health Writer
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Arena Pharmaceuticals says its weight loss drug Belviq will be available to U.S. patients beginning next week, nearly a year after the drug was officially approved by federal regulators.

The Food and Drug Administration approved Belviq last June for adults who are obese or who are overweight and have at least one serious medical condition, such as diabetes or high cholesterol. At the time, Belviq was the first new drug approved by the FDA for long-term weight loss in more than a decade.

Despite only achieving modest weight loss in clinical studies, the drug was safe enough to win the FDA's endorsement, amid calls from doctors for new weight-loss treatments

The drug's launch was delayed for months by logistical hurdles, including classification by the Drug Enforcement Administration. According to the drug's label, Belviq will be classified as a Schedule IV controlled substance, which means it has a low potential for abuse. A small segment of patients in company studies reported experiencing euphoria and hallucinations.

Arena Pharmaceuticals and partner Eisai Co. said Friday the drug will be available beginning Tuesday. Under an agreement between the companies, Arena will manufacture and supply the drug from its facility in Switzerland and Eisai will market the drug in the U.S.

Because of the delays to its launch, Belviq actually arrives on the market 10 months after competitor Vivus' Qsymia, which launched in September. Studies have shown that Qsymia produces more weight loss than Belviq.

Patients taking Qsymia for a year lost 6.7 percent of their body weight in one study and 8.9 percent in another study.

Arena's studies showed that patients taking Belviq, known generically as lorcaserin, lost just 3 percent to 3.7 percent of their weight over a year. About 47 percent of patients without diabetes lost at least 5 percent of their weight or more, which was enough to meet FDA standards for effectiveness.

The FDA said patients should stop taking Belviq after three months if they fail to lose 5 percent of their body weight. Patients are unlikely to see any significant weight loss by staying on the drug, the agency said.

Side effects with the drug include depression, migraine and memory lapses.

Belviq is designed to stimulate serotonin receptors in the brain linked with feelings of satiety, leading patients to feel full.

The drug will face an uphill battle in the U.S. market for weight loss treatments. Analysts have generally been disappointed with Qsymia sales, despite that drug's superior results.

Qsymia sales have fallen short in part because of limited insurance coverage and high out-of-pocket expenses for patients with coverage.

Qsymia also has only been available through mail order, but Vivus said last month the FDA will allow some retail pharmacy distribution. The company expects to announce more on that in the third quarter.

Vivus said batches from the initial production of Qsymia had a shelf life of 24 months, and the company is applying to the Food and Drug Administration to extend that to 36 months for current and future production.

Shares of Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc., based in San Diego, fell 15 cents or 1.7 percent, to $8.51

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[ttt]

Five percent seems like a really low percentage to be taking drugs for. I mean, I'd love to lose five percent of my body weight, but that's only like 8-10 pounds and I'm not sure that's enough to warrant going on a drug with possible side effects.

ETA: even if you weigh 300 pounds, a five percent reduction is only 15 pounds. Going on drugs to go from 300 to 285 doesn't really seem worth it.

[eliseb0323]

Jun 7, 2013 10:59:05 GMT -5 ttt said:

Five percent seems like a really low percentage to be taking drugs for. I mean, I'd love to lose five percent of my body weight, but that's only like 8-10 pounds and I'm not sure that's enough to warrant going on a drug with possible side effects.

ETA: even if you weigh 300 pounds, a five percent reduction is only 15 pounds. Going on drugs to go from 300 to 285 doesn't really seem worth it.

I think you also have to consider that these people didn't GAIN more weight while on the drug.

[eliseb0323]

LoveTrains -- Interested in your experience on the trial. Did you have any side effects?

[AJL]

Jun 7, 2013 11:12:02 GMT -5 eliseb0323 said:

Jun 7, 2013 10:59:05 GMT -5 ttt said:

Five percent seems like a really low percentage to be taking drugs for. I mean, I'd love to lose five percent of my body weight, but that's only like 8-10 pounds and I'm not sure that's enough to warrant going on a drug with possible side effects.

ETA: even if you weigh 300 pounds, a five percent reduction is only 15 pounds. Going on drugs to go from 300 to 285 doesn't really seem worth it.

I think you also have to consider that these people didn't GAIN more weight while on the drug.

But do people who are obese just continue to gain weight?  I weigh about 220 lbs and I've been the exact same weight since I met DH eight years ago. My weight only went up during pregnancy but within a month of delivery, I was back to where I started.  My endo and endo PA-C are convinced that I'm going to just balloon to 350+ lbs if I don't get to my BMI suggested weight. They put me on medications that have a primary side effect of substantial weight loss (not shown by studies but through patient experience.)  The result for me? near constant nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Oh and I lost TWO POUNDS. Why the FUCK do I want to damage my gastrointestinal system for, at best, a 5% weight loss?

Medications for weight loss are pretty much ineffective of the substantial weight loss people hope for and the side effects are horrendous. Not worth it, IMO.

[eliseb0323]

Jun 7, 2013 15:25:43 GMT -5 AJL said:

Jun 7, 2013 11:12:02 GMT -5 eliseb0323 said:

I think you also have to consider that these people didn't GAIN more weight while on the drug.

But do people who are obese just continue to gain weight?  I weigh about 220 lbs and I've been the exact same weight since I met DH eight years ago. My weight only went up during pregnancy but within a month of delivery, I was back to where I started.  My endo and endo PA-C are convinced that I'm going to just balloon to 350+ lbs if I don't get to my BMI suggested weight. They put me on medications that have a primary side effect of substantial weight loss (not shown by studies but through patient experience.)  The result for me? near constant nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Oh and I lost TWO POUNDS. Why the FUCK do I want to damage my gastrointestinal system for, at best, a 5% weight loss?

Medications for weight loss are pretty much ineffective of the substantial weight loss people hope for and the side effects are horrendous. Not worth it, IMO.

It depends on the person. I pretty much consistently continued to gain weight. There was a time in my life where I would have been thrilled to take a drug that just allowed me to maintain whatever my present state of obesity was.

Did you take Metformin? (asking because of the side effect you described.)  That stuff is horrible.

[AJL]

I take Metformin, but that didn't cause the problems. It was first Byetta and then Victoza. The Victoza made me so sick that it also raised my A1C. I went from an A1C of 7.6% and three months later, while taking Victoza for those three months, I had a 10.2%. I changed nothing about my eating. In fact I was eating much less because I was constantly nauseated or had the runs. That shit is awful. My endo PA-C thinks it's because of something I did and didn't believe me when I said I changed none of my lifestyle habits and believed it was the drug.