Belviq – a new medication for weight loss that works by making you feel full faster!
We all know too well the negative effects of obesity – diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and cancer to name a few. Unfortunately, effective medical weight loss solutions have eluded doctors – until now! This is part 2 of a 6 part series on obesity.
The Eisai Corporation recently released Belviq, a weight loss medication for adults with body mass indices of 30 or more to be used in conjunction with reduced-calorie diets and increased physical activity for chronic weight management.
Belviq works by acting on appetite centers in the brain to help you feel full faster. FDA approved for long-term use to achieve weight loss, on average treatment with Belviq led to a nearly 8% body weight loss in clinical studies.
Not bad! In fact, to put this into perspective, many diabetic patients realized a 1% reduction in hemoglobin A1c levels in clinical trials after one year as well as reductions in blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
All these benefits don’t come without possible side effects, however, which include: headache, fatigue, constipation, dry mouth and hypoglycemia when used with diabetic agents.
Finally, Belviq is contraindicated in pregnancy, and should be used with caution in patients taking anti-depressants, as well as though with heart failure and certain psychiatric disorders.
Therapeutic doses of Belviq cost patients about $200 monthly.
Ask your doctor if Belviq is right for you and stay tuned for Obesity Part 3 when I discuss Saxenda, another new medical treatment for obesity.
For questions or comments, email Dr. Jim at drjim@behealthybehappy.com and in the meantime Power your path to happiness!
Reference: Eisai, Inc. https://www.belviq.com/