Meridia - Instructions For Use

2023 Author: Philip Bishop | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-08-25 07:54

Meridia - instructions for use

Meridia tablets are a centrally acting drug for the treatment of obesity. Meridia is based on the chemical compound Sibutramine, which is used in many drugs with a similar effect. As a result of complex biochemical reactions, Sibutramine is converted into metabolites, the action of which leads to an increase in the concentration of serotonin and norepinephrine in the CNS receptors. This effect of the main active ingredient leads to accelerated saturation, a decrease in the amount of food absorbed, and an increase in thermal production.

An additional effect of Meridia is the normalization of fat metabolism (decrease in the level of assimilation of triglycerides and lipoproteins), as well as the normalization of glucose and hemoglobin levels. Preaparat Meridia is available in the form of white hard gelatin capsules with a blue cap, with a white powder inside.

Content:

• Indications for use
• Pharmacokinetics
• Contraindications
• Dosage of Meridia
• Side effects

Indications for use

• Supportive therapy for alimentary obesity (with a BMI above 30 kg / m ²);

• Supportive therapy for alimentary obesity, combined with non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus and lipid metabolism disorders (with a BMI over 27 kg / m ²).

Composition:

• The main active ingredient is sibutramine hydrochloride monohydrate;
• Excipients - lactose, microcrystalline cellulose. Colloidal titanium dioxide, magnesium stearate, magnesium lauryl sulfate, dyes.

Pharmacokinetics

• Absorption - the main absorption of the drug occurs in the digestive tract, the first passage with the formation of active substances is performed in the liver. In the blood plasma, the content of the main active substance is detected 75 minutes after taking the drug.
• Distribution and metabolism - the maximum concentration of Sibutramine metabolites is found in tissues 3 hours after taking Meridia. The metabolism of the drug in obese patients is identical to that in normal weight patients.

• Excretion - the primary stage of excretion of the main active substance occurs in the liver, inactive metabolites are excreted along with urine and during bowel movements.

Contraindications

It is not recommended to use the drug in patients suffering from serious eating disorders due to pathologies of the nervous system: bulimia and anorexia.

Contraindications:

• Obesity caused by dysfunction of the body (organic obesity);
• Generalized tic (Tourette's syndrome);
• Taking MAO inhibitors, sleeping pills, antipsychotics, antidepressants, drugs for correcting mental disorders and for reducing body weight;
• Diseases of the cardiovascular system (ischemia, angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, arrhythmia);
• Increased thyroid function;
• Arterial hypertension;
• Benign prostatic hyperplasia;
• Addiction to alcohol, drugs, drugs;
• Children and adolescents (up to 18 years old);
• Elderly age (over 65);
• Lactose intolerance, glucose-galactose malabsorption syndrome;
• Renal and hepatic impairment;
• Lactation and pregnancy;
• Hypersensitivity to drug components.

With caution, Meridia tablets are prescribed for the following diseases and conditions:

• Vascular disorders;
• Epilepsy and convulsions of any etiology;
• Bleeding tendency;
• History of tics;
• Cholelithiasis.

Dosage of Meridia

The amount of the drug is calculated individually in each case. Capsules are taken once in the morning, they are not chewed, washed down with water (at least 200 ml). Connection with food intake - with food or on an empty stomach.

Dose:

• 10 mg is the initial dosage;
• 15 mg is an increased dosage with good tolerance and a weak response to the initial dose (decrease in body weight by less than 2 kg in the first month).

With the apparent ineffectiveness of using Meridia (a decrease in body weight by less than 5% in the first 3 months at a dose of 15 mg), the drug is stopped. A similar tactic is followed if weight loss is replaced by an increase of more than 3 kg. The total duration of Meridia treatment with a favorable reaction of the body lasts no more than 1 year.

Exceeding the optimal dose of Meridia capsules is accompanied by headache, increased blood pressure, tachycardia. To relieve symptoms of an overdose, gastric lavage is used, sorbents are used.

Side effects

Symptoms associated with taking the drug may accompany the patient in the first month of using the drug. They appear in a mild form, are reversible when the Meridia capsules are canceled.

Side effects:

• Nervous system: drowsiness, depression, convulsions, nervousness, headache, emotional instability;
• Digestive system: changes in taste, pain in the stomach and intestines, nausea, dryness of the oral mucosa, exacerbation of hemorrhoids, occasionally thirst and increased appetite;
• Cardiovascular system: tachycardia, edema, arterial hypertension, thrombocytopenia;
• Allergic reactions: itching, rhinitis, alopecia, edema, anaphylactic shock;
• Dysmenorrhea;
• Visual acuity disorders
• Erection and ejaculation disorders;
• Occasionally, uterine bleeding.

The use of Meridia capsules is not recommended without a doctor's prescription and control over the heart rate. This drug is used in cases of ineffectiveness of weight loss measures - using diet and increasing physical activity. If, with non-drug measures, body weight has not decreased by 5 kg in 3 months, the drug Meridia can be used.

The author of the article: Kuzmina Vera Valerievna | Endocrinologist, nutritionist