Acomplia??

[Rosebud228]

Has anyone heard of or tried Acomplia?

[jennajam]

yes i have heard of it and i am on it i lost about 15 lbs in 3 months

[bigred55]

Hi Jennajam,
I just got mine and I posted a new thread because I'm not sure I got the right thing. If you know anything about the different names it's marketed under or would tell me where you got yours from I'd really appreciate it.

[allycouture]

I know I'm new here but I was reading up on Acomplia & found this very interesting article. I am actually considering not taking Acomplia bc of this article. There is the link & article. I am not trying to discourage anyone but............

http://www.diet-blog.com/archives/20..._must_read.php


Acomplia Side Effects: The Story You Must Read

UPDATE: May 2007. The drug has been re-named Zimulti in the US.

UPDATE Jun 13 2007: An FDA advisory panel of outside experts unanimously recommended that the regulatory agency not approve the novel weight-loss drug for sale in the United States. It is unlikely that this drug will be approved before 2010 (if at all).

UPDATE July 1 2007: Sanofi has now withdrawn it's application for approval in the USA.

Background
Rimonabant (brand name Acomplia) has been pitched as the blockbuster weight loss drug of the decade. The company manufacturing the drug, Sanofi-Aventis believes that sales will reach $5.2 billion per year by 2010. That is a staggering amount of money.

Investors are getting swept up in the buzz, and desperate consumers are falling over themselves to get an opportunity to try the drug. However it is currently before the FDA awaiting approval - which some believe may come during early/mid 2006. Acomplia blocks cannabinoid (CB) receptors in the brain. The CB receptors are believed to play a role in controlling food consumption and dependence / habituation. People often refer to the cannabis-induced "munchies" or hunger pangs. Acomplia attempts to do the opposite.
What is an Acceptable Risk?
In the scramble for profits and quick-fix obesity solutions - no one has bothered to raise questions about the long term side effects. It is up to the health authorities to determine what is an "acceptable risk" based on the data from the clinical trials conducted recently.

Carol (not her real name) knows about the risk - and it is anything but acceptable. I recently corresponded with Carol, who participated in a Rimonabant drug trial.

With a long history of dieting, Carol began the trial at a weight of 13 stone 1 pound (183 pounds). With a daily dosage of 20mg, Carol noticed two immediate reactions; She was less hungry, and she became very tearful and depressed. She began to lose a pound or two per week (without being on a diet or exercise program).
Psychosis?
However things went from bad to worse. "I also felt nauseous quite often and in a period of 3 months vomited 6 times. As the trial progressed I became more and more depressed. I felt suicidal most of the time." In her desperation to lose weight, Carol stayed on the drug, but slowly descended into psychosis "I couldn’t sleep and when I did I had terrible nightmares". Carol experienced more graphic symptoms of psychosis (such as self-inflicted violence). She has since been on anti-psychotic medication for over a year, and has gradually improved.

"I lost my health and happiness because of these pills and experienced the most wretched time of my life". Carol also added "My relationship with my partner never recovered from him having to care for me and we split up at the end of last year."

To add insult to injury, the 20 pounds that Carol lost in the trial came back on within 3 months. Carol reports that her appetite "came back with a vengeance".

Not Alone
According to the results of the 1st year of clinical trials, patients taking the 20mg dosage of Rimonabant reported 50% more adverse events leading to discontinuation, than those in the placebo group. Of course Carol's experiences must be kept in perspective - most people had no adverse side affects.


» Note the increase in psychiatric disorders as dosage increases

What is an Acceptable Risk?
Is even one persons terrible experiences an "acceptable risk"? Maybe Acomplia will end up being prescribed to only the most "at-risk" obese patients - but who decides where that line lies?
Cover Up?
You will not read about Carol's experiences in any published paper. The data from the 2004 trial that Carol participated in has not (yet?) been made public. Sanofi funded the trial and holds the results.
There Will Never Be a Perfect Weight Loss Drug
In amongst the flurry of hype and expectation over this new "wonder drug", someone needs to take a long hard look at the whole concept of miracle weight loss cures. For the sake of 20 pounds of weight, Carol damaged her mental health, and her relationships.

Carol strongly cautions anyone with any history of depression to be "very careful" about taking Acomplia/Rimonabant - "Being thinner is not worth screwing up your mental health."

$5.2 billion dollars estimated per year. With that sort of money being generated, who will care if a few people lose their minds?

Sanofi-Aventis "Because Health Matters"
2005 Worldwide Pharma Sales: 27,311 Million Euros (33 Billion USD).
100,000 employees worldwide (including a sales force of 33,000).
Present in more than 100 countries.
It is possible that Acomplia may be marketed as a Cardiovascular medication. US health insurers generally cover cardiovascular medication.

ARTICLE #2.

http://www.acompliareport.com/SideEffects.htm

Acomplia / Zimulti (Rimonabant) Side Effects


While Acomplia has been approved for sale in Europe, uncertainties remain about rimonabant's side effects.

Researcher Luc Van Gaal of the University Hospital in Antwerp, Belgium, said 14.5 percent of patients participating in one of the large clinical trials who were on the 20 mg dose stopped taking Acomplia due to adverse side effects. The main side effect, he said, was nausea, which affected one in eight patients.

An earlier clinical trial also had a drop-out rate due to side effects of about 15 percent.

Probably the most objective and comprehensive evaluation of side effects available at the moment is the one published as part of the approval process by European Medicines Agency (EMEA).

This was its report.

ACOMPLIA 20 mg has been evaluated for safety in approximately 2,500 patients enrolled in studies that examined the metabolic and weight loss effects in overweight and obese patients and in approximately 3,800 patients in other indications.

In placebo-controlled studies, the discontinuation rate due to adverse reactions was 15.7 % for patients receiving rimonabant. The most common adverse reactions resulting in discontinuation were: nausea, mood alteration with depressive symptoms, depressive disorders, anxiety and dizziness.

Depressive disorders were reported in 3.2% of obese patients, or overweight patients with associated risk factor(s) treated with rimonabant 20 mg. These were usually mild or moderate in severity and resulted in recovery in all cases either after corrective treatment or discontinuation of rimonabant and did not exhibit any differentiating characteristics compared to cases reported in the control groups.

The following table shows all treatment-emergent adverse reactions from four placebo-controlled studies in patients treated for weight loss and related metabolic disorders when these incidences were statistically significantly greater than the corresponding placebo rate (for events greater than or equal to 1 %) or considered clinically relevant (for events fewer than 1 %).

Classification of expected frequencies of undesirable effects:

Very common (More than 10 out of 100); Common (More than 1 in 100 but fewer than 10 in 100); Uncommon (More than 1 in 1,000 but fewer than 1 in 100); Rare (More than 1 in 10,000 but fewer than 1 in 1,000); Very rare (Fewer than 1 in 10,000), Not known (cannot be established from the available data).

[MARILYNV33186]

NEVER HEARD OF IT

[laurahill]

Good article..My brother also had good experience after taking acomplia..He lose almost 3kg weight within 2 months.I think regular consumption of acomplia is really good way to lose weight.

[smithalan00]

Generic Acomplia is very efficient medication to loose the weight.


Smith Alan