Would you take a drug for weight loss if it made you as dumb as a rock?
Have researchers found a magic pill to cure obesity? Maybe, if you’re a binge-eater. Researchers have found that a recently-developed drug for epilepsy helps obese rats lose weight.
The drug, Vigabatrin (GVG), also shows promise in treating drug addiction. Tests currently being conducted on cocaine and methamphetamine addicts are determining whether GVG successfully prevents the elevation of dopamine and other neurological receptors that respond when the drugs are taken in. This, in a nutshell, prevents drug users from feeling high.
Tests on subjects with binge-eating disorder and alcoholism are planned. Researchers are hoping that GVG will cut off the brain’s reaction to external cues that turn on the brain’s “reward system,” one of the things that keeps addiction going.
It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if GVG, upon successful testing, comes out on the market as the latest weight loss “wonderdrug.” The thing is, with all drugs come side effects, and side effects have not been thoroughly evaluated with GVG.
Another drug for treatment of epilepsy, Topamax, has a well-known weight loss side effect. Many users of this drug sing their praises for it because of the weight they lose. In fact, many people with bipolar disorder turn to Topamax in hopes that it will help them lose weight gained from bipolar meds. (Note: The FDA has not approved Topamax as a mood stabilizer, but it is an increasingly common off-label use of the drug.) As with all medications, not all side effects occur in the person taking it and the severity of side effects varies by individual, and that does include weight loss. That said, Topamax has some potentially ugly side effects. Some of the most common side effects include a “pins and needles” feeling in hands and feet; drowsiness; problems with motor control and balance; and impaired cognitive functioning. Many takers of this drug complain of being unable to concentrate, having difficulty finding proper words to describe things, and will lose their train of thought in the middle of a conversation. Some people refer to the medication as “Dopamax” because of this effect.
So, would you take a medication with these kinds of side effects if it helped you lose weight? Discuss!
August 25th, 2008 at 12:01 am
Hard to say whether this will be hailed as the new weight loss drug. More studies definitely need to be done.
At one time, I probably would have considered this idea, especially in wanting to just lose weight at any cost. These days, I would not at all. There’s more to life than that, and I really want to keep my mind intact, thank you.
August 25th, 2008 at 12:11 pm
I kind of do already . . . I take Topamax and I definitely have cognitive side effects. The other day I was struggling to retrieve the words “word retrieval.”
I wasn’t prescribed the Topamax for weight loss but I already knew about it from diet boards and when my doc suggested it I jumped at the chance to get on it. I think that’s kind of sad but that’s where I am.
August 25th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
I appreciate your honesty, Sarah. If I may ask, have you had any other side effects? Has the weight loss been worth it to you?
August 25th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
Honestly, my first thought was “Yes!”
My second thought was “No”, but only because I thought that’s what a logical person should say.
It’s the exact same as the finding that more children would rather lose an arm or leg than be fat. I’m sure many adults would rather lose cognitive function than remain fat. Just like people who reject medications if the side effect is weight gain, placing favor on those that often don’t work as well, but may result in weight loss. There’s still a lot of people who’d happily stare death in the face if Fen-phen were still available, and people who hide medical conditions if it means they get a drug with a higher incidence of weight loss, or those like myself who created their own homemade versions of the ECA stack when the original stackers were pulled off the market.
It’s quite sad, but I’m sure that there’s a lot of people out there whose first response was, “Oh hells yes!”.
August 26th, 2008 at 7:52 am
No, just the word retrieval and trouble concentrating. It can be pretty frustrating and we actually just cut my dose. But I would have to say that the weight loss was worth it. Ugh.
August 26th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
Tanya, you make a great point about rejecting medications because of possible weight gain as a side effect. I hadn’t considered that, but I’ve done it myself. When I gained weight quickly on Paxil, I told my psychiatrist I wanted off the medication ASAP – nevermind the fact that it did help my mood somewhat, but its effect was diminished by my reaction to the weight I had suddenly put on. Now I am on a low dose of Depakote and I am scared to death that I will suddenly and rapidly put weight on again. If I do, I will ask my psych to let me try another medication, even though Depakote is doing a great job of keeping me stable. After the crazy ride I’ve been on with trying out medications this year, I absolutely won’t try another medication with major weight gain as a potential side effect. I just won’t go through it again. It’s way too taxing to my sanity.
August 26th, 2008 at 10:37 pm
My little sister got scary skinny on Topamax. (Although she is short, so ten pounds is huge.)
I stole a few one time, and tried to waitress. I felt like I’d forgotten how to chop vegetables.
So, I guess my answer to your question is no, because I didn’t take any more.
On the other hand, I refused to take the birth control pill for years because I was afraid of weight gain. I finally gave in a few months ago, and I’ve gained 2 pounds. Don’t know if it’s related…. but if it’s much more, I will consider quitting it. And it’s Yaz, so it’s even helped my mood (I may have had PPD.) So the question you posed with this pose raises a good point. How can we allow weight to be more important than areas of our lives like mental health and functioning??? Not to mention potential pregnancy…(!)
I appreciate everyone’s insights. It’s good to know you’re not alone!
August 28th, 2008 at 8:37 am
I won’t take birth control or any antidepressant but Welbutrin because of reported weight gain as side effects. I took Topamax once (it was prescribed as a mood stabilizer) and I lost weight, but I was also eating disordered during this time. The side effects from Dopamax were definitely not worth it. I almost got into a car accident once, I was so disoriented and out of it.
August 28th, 2008 at 10:16 am
One thing I really hate about mood stabilizers is they all have their own series of horrible side effects, even moreso than SSRIs and potentially more serious, too. Each medicine affects everybody differently, so you basically have no choice but to try them all and see which one works best unless you stumble upon the “perfect” medication first time around.