[personal profile] bertine
Qnexa, a weight loss drug, is in the approval phase of the FDA right now. This medication is a combination of two already used drugs, phentermine, an appetite suppressant, and topiramate, an anticonvulsant.

I don't know anything about phentermine. However, I do know a lot about topiramate (aka Topamax) because I had been on it for two years. Before I went on this medication I weighed ~185 pounds. After I got to the full dosage of this medication I was easily able to keep my weight at ~170 pounds. Once I stopped taking the medication I went right back up to 185 pounds. That is a weight loss of about 8%, pretty impressive when I didn't do anything other than take a pill every day.

Topiramate is a widely prescribed drug for both migraines and epilepsy. I think it is used for other conditions also but I don't know about those. It does has side effects but I didn't really get them. I was on a much higher dosage (300mg daily) than is in the top dosage of Qnexa (92mg daily) and I haven't heard of most of the annoying side effects happening at that low of a dosage.

Anyways, the worst side effect of topiramate is a high incident of birth effects (cleft lip and cleft palate). I was warned about them and I went off of it before I got my IUD out. However, the FDA is going one step further with Qnexa that seems like overkill to me since so many woman of childbearing age are already on topiramate:

"To prevent birth defects, patients who take the drug will have to undergo monthly pregnancy testing and healthcare providers will get special training on the medication's risks and benefits."

I never had a pregnancy test the entire time I was on this medication. It wasn't even brought up. I was already on this medication when I got my IUD so it wasn't just having that as a birth control medication.

I don't know what the point of writing this is other than I find it strange that they are treating this drug so differently when it is used for one condition than when it is used for another. Who knows, maybe they will start requiring monthly pregnancy tests for people who are using it for migraines and epilepsy. I would find this annoying.

*In the migraine world Topamax is called Dopamax because it makes people feel like their brain is moving slower. I never noticed this and since migraines make you not able to think anyways it might be worth it for some.

**I am no longer on this medication because I am trying to have a baby. I miss it. I have so many more migraines now.

Date: 2012-02-27 08:17 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] avecvu.livejournal.com
Topamax fucked my brain way the hell up. Dopamax/Stupamax does not even BEGIN to cover it. Obviously taking a pill is going to rate higher than diet/exercise, but why the FDA would ever approve Topamax for people without neurological problems is just way beyond me.

They make women take monthly pregnancy tests for Accutane too. I'm sure other things. This isn't without precedent.

Date: 2012-02-27 10:17 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] i12bmore.livejournal.com
I was given Topamax for depression. Everyone has different reactions to medicine, I understand, but I had horrible reactions: joint pain, insomnia, night terrors, the driest mouth I can imagine. I felt like I was turning into a 90yo man, and I was taken off it after just a week.

Date: 2012-02-27 11:13 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] beg-jon13.livejournal.com
I have nothing at all to contribute in terms of input on these medications. I do find myself wondering if there is any fertility promoting yoga that you could begin (or already are) doing? This may sound like horse $@#% but hear me out here: so I started getting migraines pretty chronically for a while during my period of near LJ silence and I started trying a lot of things to make it better. The only thing that actually seems to work at all was when I started doing some light yoga semi-regularly. (Relevant side note: The chiropractic probably helped me get to where I could do the yoga effectively but it was the yoga that kept me good.) Now admittedly I was never put on long term medication for the problem, so I don't know if that would have worked as well, or better, or even been necessary in my situation. Your migraines could be a hell of a lot worse than mine were. Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that doing what I did set some nasty stuff going on in my body right and after I had gotten in the habit of doing this I realized that I wasn't getting migraines hardly at all anymore and when they do set in I can usually knock them out relatively quickly with this. So, y'know, maybe this is helpful to you or maybe it's bull and doesn't appeal to you or apply to your situation but I figure I ought to at least put it out there just in case. Always wishing you health and wellness.

Date: 2012-02-28 05:36 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] eyelid.livejournal.com
that is... seriously disturbing.

Date: 2012-02-29 06:09 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sharya.livejournal.com
I think think the difference in treatment in indications is the population for whom it will likely be prescribed.

Just a guess there.

On one hand, it frustrates me that there are drugs they make you jump so many hoops to get, when I feel like I'm a highly responsible adult. On the other hand, it would be devastating to me if, for whatever reason, I managed to accidentally get pregnant, and then not notice (because I wasn't trying), and completely ruined the life of my child with a debilitating birth defect. If that were a possibility, I would prefer to be forced to get monthly pregnancy tests - less of an inconvenience and less emotionally scarring (for parent and child) than having a deformed baby, especially when it was preventable.

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