Rimonabant In Thailand?

[Thaiquila]

Rimonabant (brand name ‘Acomplia') is available in Europe, but not yet (or maybe ever?) in the US. It seems like this is the biggest thing yet in pharmaceutical obesity treatment. No blood pressure side effects.

So, anyone know if this is available in Thailand? How much for a 20 mg. pill?

[Sheryl]

Rimonabant (brand name ‘Acomplia') is available in Europe, but not yet (or maybe ever?) in the US. It seems like this is the biggest thing yet in pharmaceutical obesity treatment. No blood pressure side effects.

So, anyone know if this is available in Thailand? How much for a 20 mg. pill?

I wish!!

Actually it is only just being released in Europe so I would not expect it just yet in Thailand but hopefully soon. When I'm next in Cambodia I'll check there, there is a well stocked pharmacy in Phnom Penh that imports a lot of European drugs dircet from manufacturers. Imports are in any case cheaper in Cambodia due to lack of duty. As a new drug under patent, it is not going to be cheap. And if it does what it advertises to do, it doesn't need to be cheap...it'll sell like hotcakes.

It is expected to be released in the US, just takes some time. As it is it has gone very fast through the FDA approval process relevative to the norm (big $$$$ riding on it, obviously)

[marshbags]

Try Googling for additional information on the issues relating to the drug.

There are only two sure ways to cut obesity and they do not require drugs. ( without surgery )

Sensible dieting and exercise and if i may add determination to cut down on your food and what you eat.

The benefits are almost immediate and beneficial.

Please make sure you get expert advice from your home country on what effects it may have on your health.

A good health check up is also advisable if you take the diet / exercise route.

Once you go down the route of taking tablets ect. it could be never ending and a waste of time.

marshbags

[binnsy]

You dont need wonder drugs just a good woman and some red bull soon get the ponds off

[teletiger]

You dont need wonder drugs just a good woman and some red bull soon get the ponds off

I'll admit to being a pond or 2 overweight. Maybe duiretics will work?

Regards

[Sheryl]

Obviously diet and exercise work, if you can stick to them properly. That's a big IF and people whio think it just needs a little will power may not have the same hormonal and neurochemical make up as those for whom it is not that simple.

The only medications at this point shown to be effective and safe for weight loss are xenical, which reduces the amount of fat which is absorbed within the intestine by about a third, and rimonabant which works on the central nervious system to reduce cravings which for some people are a big part of the problem and not amenable to will power alone. Oh, and for people in whom depression is a factor in overeating, anti-depressents may help.

I should add that although rimonabant has so far seemed well tolerated in clinical trials, it is a very new drug and with these there are always adverse reactions that do not become known until it is in wide use. Clinical trials involve at best a few thousand people, so naturally they will miss problems that affect only a very small percentage of people. Also, clinical trials are done only on very healthy people, whereas in the real world drugs are taken by people with various medical conditions and who are also taking other drugs, which may cause interactions. So some caution is in order...unlike xenical, which acts only within the intestine, rimonabant is systemically absorbed.

All that said, I'm set to try it as soon as it is available, but then I suffer from food cravings in a big way, especially at certain points in the hormonal cycle. For those of us who do, life is a choice between endless tension and battle against the cravings (dieting -- and no, it doesn't get easier with time, at least not for me!)) or weight gain. In that context rimonabant looks like a pretty good bet...

Edited September 30, 2006 by Sheryl

[Thaiquila]

To those who spout the tired old line that diet and exercise are the only treatment for obesity, consider it is a lousy suggestion. Statistics show that something like 99 percent of obese people who do lose weight actually keep the weight off for any significant length of time. So it is indeed a ripe area for medical research. Not saying this new med is the magic bullet, because so far there isn't one, but I am sure over time science will come up with a better odds than ONE percent.

[marshbags]

To those who spout the tired old line that diet and exercise are the only treatment for obesity, consider it is a lousy suggestion. Statistics show that something like 99 percent of obese people who do lose weight actually keep the weight off for any significant length of time. So it is indeed a ripe area for medical research. Not saying this new med is the magic bullet, because so far there isn't one, but I am sure over time science will come up with a better odds than ONE percent.

Medicinal properties are not and never will be a substitute for moderation and excercise in the majority of overweight people.

In some it compliments excersise but it is not a solution in itself.

People who have restrictios because of health problems, sure it an alternative because they do not have any option.

Don,t take my opinion for it, talk to the real experts who will re itterate this oservation

( Professionals who have no vested / commercial interests )

Most people are basically looking for a wonder pill / drug to shed the pounds and are in most cases throwing their money into the wind.

Smokers are a good example for this.

Common sense should come before believing most of the claims about wonder drugs.

These i,m afraid are just commercial orientated and would not be marketed purely for medical advantages.

If you wish to take drugs medicines then that is your choice of course.

Let me know when you are successful and i will pass it on to many of my friends in the same senario relating to this.

marshbags

P.S.

I,m not sure if you got it the wrong way round regarding keeping weight off but IF you adjust and change your life style accordingly, what you loose will stay off.

The "tired old line " happens to be a factual one T.Q. in realistic terms

Surplus FAT that is as muscle will make your weight seem like it is either increasing or not reducing.

Just observe your posture and image in a mirror to see the change in your shape.

Edited October 1, 2006 by marshbags

[Thaiquila]

Marshbags,

I think there is alot of moral judgement and plain old Calvinism in people's attitudes towards overweight people. The perception is they are lazy and eat too much and it is all their fault. If you look at the science of lifetime fat people who have lost and gained weight several times, the odds get more and more remote of a sustained successful loss. Something to do with a massive amount of fat cells waiting to be fed. The statistic I cited, 99 percent is perhaps a bit high, but it is certainly very rare for a fat person to permanantly change into a thin person. Heredity is a huge factor! So are modern fast food diets of course. Haven't you observed this in your life? Children of fat parents have a very high probability of being fat adults. There are also real medical reasons for overweight such as thryroid deficiencies (much more common than people think and underdiagnosed, I have this personally).

I agree up till now there are no satisfactory medical solutions. That does NOT mean there won't be one or many in future and Rimonabant because it works on the brain part of it is a very interesting, and perhaps promising new approach. Obesity kills. More people than Aids in Western countries, and it is convenient to spout the line that diet and exercise provide a solution, but sorry it is just not that simple. The success rate from that is dismal. So don't be so quick in dismissing the masses of large mass people looking with hope for some real help from modern science.

Now, I would agree that to the pharma companies, this class of drugs is just another huge profit center. But someday they might come up with a really good med that really works for most people without serious side effects. They have in the past for several human problems, why not obesity? Now, I am not sure if Rimonabant is this super drug. We will likely know in a few years.

I will get off my soapbox now.

Edited October 1, 2006 by Thaiquila

[marshbags]

Caution, an extra long post.

Thanks for your post T.Q. on which i take a positive view and i enjoyed reading it.

You make several relevant points that are indeed repeated all to often without addressing the geniune cases such as yourself and your needs.

It,s for people like you that medicinal /drugs need to be found to help cure your unfortunate problem / illness. ????

I hate the word fat to describe people who are overweight as for me this is offensive to anyone who is obese / overweight and insensitive.

Unfortunately it,s the common way to express it, but i find it harsh on such as yourself with thyroid deficiencies, along with other medical reasons.

Where i come from the majority of overweight families are such because of the huge amounts of wrong food / junk that they consume and very few are inherited genes.

Let me use myself as an example if i may.

I am 174 cm in height ( 5ft. 8 inches )and usually 73 to 75 kilos and am able to stay in this range because of my lifestyle and control. ( the last 25 years or so )

Except of course on special occasions, e.g. going home to the U.K. , Christmas and similar periods.

It has been consistent due to my weighing myself once a week, along with my family as a routine and if it,s up, cut down, if it,s down we admit to eating extra treats if we fancy them.

I never even think about it , it,s just my routine.

Today funnily enough i am 78 kilos due to eating some rather nice Thai Kanum i was given by a neighbour over a week ago and have just about finished it.

( My family do not care for it much so i can have some each day. )

For the next week i will keep off the things that i know make me put weight on along with cutting down on other food while increasing my intake with more friut should i feel like it.

When i go out walking i will increase the pace i walk and increase my activities.

I enjoy exercise so it,s not a problem so maybe i,m lucky and yes i honestly do feel sorry for those not able to do this because of health problems.

I have however been active for many years and i,ve been lucky enough to keep my weight stable through my own body awareness.

I know this doesn,t help you and i hope it doesn,t make you feel negative towards me as this is not my intention.

Regarding new drugs ect.

The point i want to try and put across is the hopes lots of people get, only to find out they do not loose the weight and generally feel unloved and unwanted.

So many of my friends buy everything that becomes available and believe " this is the one " only to be upset big time because it wasn,t.

Maybe Rimonabant is the magic solution but please do not believe it until it actually happens.

I also know many big people who are very attractive and have some of the most wonderful personalities you could ever wish for.

I have lost several close friends due to health problems associated with weight and i find it very distressing to loose them, with one in particular who really was one of the kindest, gentlest people you could wish to meet.

Before i came out on my latest visit i was increasingly shocked at all the young

( 20 years upwards, ) grossly obese men and women there now are.

I,m not sexist but the majority are women and the main role models for their young.

O.K. some are like it due to health problems but the truth is the majority are not, and as you say are lazy and just plain greedy.

When i go for a meal i now get enough to feed 2 people as a standard portion which should act as an indicator of their present lifestyles and what is considered normal nowregarding eating portions.

Lot,s of them have young children who gain these habits through the example of their parents ect.

They will sit and finish it all and then go get some sweet or whatever to finish off while encouraging the children to " come on eat it up and you can have something else "

Now these people really are going to have serious health problems as they get older and a great burden on the health service and it,s facilities caused by the problems associated with overweight.

Many i,m sorry to say will die prematurely and i find this very tragic indeed as in most cases it could be prevented.

There is also the down side of depression in a lot of cases and lack of self esteem.

Just take care and have an open mind when trying the new products and get good professional advice if you don,t mind me saying.

Good luck and i hope it works for you and others with similar problems.

marshbags

I only hope i don,t come across as condescending, because i care and empathise with this situation in a very personal way.

Thank you for your understanding

Edited October 1, 2006 by marshbags

[steveromagnino]

To those who spout the tired old line that diet and exercise are the only treatment for obesity, consider it is a lousy suggestion. Statistics show that something like 99 percent of obese people who do lose weight actually keep the weight off for any significant length of time. So it is indeed a ripe area for medical research. Not saying this new med is the magic bullet, because so far there isn't one, but I am sure over time science will come up with a better odds than ONE percent.

I don't think diet and exercise are the only treatment for obesity, but they are basic building blocks of a healthy lifestyle.

Problem is that for most obese people, smokers and so on, it is usually a lot harder and slower to undo the damage done and very very easy to give up.

My mother at age 62 was given an ultimatum; lose weight and lower your cholesterol or you will have a stroke/heart attack. She attacked that with a vengeance, losing around 1/3 of her body weight in 18 months (from 65kg to about 45kg). But it was easy since she doesn't work and is rich enough to afford decent food.

Growing up in a climate where coke is cheaper than bottled water, where fast food is cheaper than healthy food and where there are ads by the world's worst food (Coke, McDs) in major sporting events like the olympics; where dress sizes are increased rather than allow people to front up to the fact they are bigger and more overweight than their parents before them; and, where kids are inundated with drivel from fast food and cereal companies, it is little wonder that perhaps the worst export from USA has been making people round the world fat.

But other than the few people who genuinely have hormone problems, the majority (including me at the moment) have to face up to the fact that living healthily is not easy, and the two biggest steps you can take are:

- reduce calory intake, and eliminate 'dead' calories e.g. coke

- exercise

I love beer, wine and so on; but right now I am overweight - let's hope I can stick to my guns. I can't help but know for myself that I am in the shape I am in through laziness. Well more than half of the obese people out there aren't any different to me (although magnitude may vary). When some of them can face up to it (like in AA, NA etc) then they might start doing something about it, and it certainly isn't easy, but it is worth doing.

Perhaps more of a user pays regime in airtravel, healthcare and so on with the costs of obesity passed back through taxes to the people who cause the problems (mCDs, coke etc) would help send a signal, as has been done in the ciggie business already.

[rrose070]

In addition to the weight loss benefits we all look forward to, I read that Acomplia (Rimonobant) also had an extremely high success rate when used to quit smoking, too, I believe the number of successful quitters was double that for those who used Wellbutrin - and also that Acomplia users had better blood pressure levels. I wish I had saved that article! I am most anxious indeed for this drug to be made available. In fact, I volunteered for its clinical trials in the U.S.!

[Sheryl]

Yes, it works specifically on the craving centers in the brain, so helpful for both smokers and people whose weight problems are linked to strong food cravings (binge eaters, people with night eating syndrome),

[yeti]

Four your information, in France it is now forbidden to "import, prepare, prescribe, or deliver any preparation containing Rimonabant" (you can still get Acomplia, it's just forbidden to mix it with anything) because of psychological (anxiety, depression), neurological (vertigo feeling) and digestive (nausea, diarrhea) side effects.

And Acomplia is considered not very efficient, "the main benefit of Rimonabant is a weight loss of 4 to 5 kg a year, with a progressive return to the previous weight after stopping the treatment".

In the US, the FDA has put off the authorisation to July 2007 due to safety concern.

(this information come from here, nut I'm sure you can find the same in English somewhere).

Seems it's not exactly the miraculous weight losing medicine some were expecting, and that it may even be quite dangerous...

[popshirt]

Yes, it works specifically on the craving centers in the brain, so helpful for both smokers and people whose weight problems are linked to strong food cravings (binge eaters, people with night eating syndrome),

OMG Sheryl have you been spying on me?

[rrose070]

I just remembered, it's not blood pressure that's the 3rd benefit; it was lowered cholesterol.

[rrose070]

Me too! My doctor called it "nocturnal feeding". It for me was an effect of extreme stress.

[Sheryl]

Yes, it works specifically on the craving centers in the brain, so helpful for both smokers and people whose weight problems are linked to strong food cravings (binge eaters, people with night eating syndrome),

OMG Sheryl have you been spying on me?

Nah, I'm too busy raiding my own refrigerator....

"The night-eating syndrome consists of morning anorexia, evening hyperphagia, and insomnia. At least 25 to 50% of daily intake occurs after the evening meal. About 10% of people seeking treatment for severe obesity may have this disorder. However, nocturnal eating contributes to excess weight gain in many other people.""

""Binge eating disorder is consumption of large amounts of food quickly with a subjective sense of loss of control during the binge and distress after it. This disorder does not include compensatory behaviors, such as vomiting. Prevalence is 1 to 3% among both sexes and 10 to 20% among people entering weight reduction programs. Obesity is usually severe, large amounts of weight are frequently gained or lost""