Diet Pills

[allie]

safe ba and effective ang mga diet pills???

like xenicals or bangkok pills??

[Ira]

Bangkok pill isn't safe--in fact, it's considered an illegal substance. Xenical is safer, but it's not supposed to be abused as a diet pill for people who are not morbidly obese or those who don't have high serum cholesterol.

[allie]

sabi kc nila bangkok pills daw nakaka baog??? ano ma sakit ba makukuha sa bangkok pills?

[Ira]

Bangkok pills contain ephedrine, which is a banned substance. It's the same compound that is found in "E". Ephedrine is an amphetamine-like stimulant that can have potentially dangerous effects on the nervous system and the heart. The mechanisms behind ephedrine's effect on weight-loss is increasing energy expenditure through increased lipolysis, increasing metabolism, and decreasing food intake by suppressing appetite. However, the side effects are very common and range from heart attacks, strokes, seizures, psychosis and death, to clinically less significant effects that may indicate the potential for more serious effects like dizziness, headache, gastrointestinal distress, irregular heartbeat, heart palpitations and arrhythmia. However, it won't cause you to be sterile.

[allie]

thanks!!

[laarni]

What about chromium picolinate and chromium polynicotinate? Do they have any side effects?

[Ira]

Chromium does not make you thinner, more muscular, stronger, or give you more energy. Chromium is an active component of the glucose tolerance factor, which facilitates the action of insulin. It then supposedly increases muscle mass, decreases body fat, and promotes weight loss. Animal studies hold this claim to be somewhat true in very high doses. HOWEVER, human studies showed that chromium only works in people with insulin resistance (diabetics), and no effect is seen in people with normal glucose uptake. Its safety is being questioned, too. In a recent study, chromosomal damage was induced in lab animals even in recommended doses of chromium picolinate. This raises the possibility of it being carcinogenic. With women, anemia is also a complication with months of chromium intake.

The only reason why this is selling so well is because of an excellent campaign by its manufacturer. Laws do not require that claims for health products be valid, since it's not medicine. Independent research by the USDA do not support the marketing claims, and the company has already been ordered by government to stop making unsubstantiated weight loss and health claims for chromium.

[allie]

may friend ako nag bebenta ng bangkok pills.. and shes taking it also.. for 6 months na ata or more.. ala naman daw side effect for her... and pumayat siya talaga... i asked her kung may shabu content ba yun bangkok pills niya... sabi niya b4 siya nag purchase yun bangkok pills.. (distributor na ata siya ngayon) may certificate na pinakita sa kanya na 0% shabu content daw yun... totoo ba yun??

[pixydust]

i tried bankok pills...but i stopped it bec. there's a rebound effect i heard..like you really get fat after you stop (double pa daw!)...but you also get dizzy (depends on the strength of the medication)i fainted a couple of times...so, watch out

[Ira]

allie: If she herself was selling Bangkok pills, would she really tell you if it had side effects? Some people have a higher threshhold than others. She may not have experienced any symptoms, but that doesn't mean you won't. It's really up to you if you want to take it knowing what it contains--it's your body after all. "Certifications" don't count either since it's illegal. Anyone can manufacture certificates. Who would you report any false claims to in the first place? The government?

[allie]

bat pag zenical ba alang side effect?

[Ira]

Xenical causes diarrhea. Pretty inconvenient if you're out of your house. And as I've already said, Xenical is not a diet pill for people who aren't morbidly obese.

[aoi]

do you know any guy who uses or have used any diet pills?

[Ira]

Only Xenical.

[dreyes]

suggest ko lang Dream AM-PM ng Lifestyles. Di lang pang-diet,
antioxidant din. please visit www.lifestyles.net

[eagle_eye]

dunno if it has already reached the Phil's but Ephedra containing products are biggies on here. You could visit GNC or any other vitamin shops and could choose from a variety.

a lot of people from the gym i go to, uses an ECA stack (ephedrine/Caffeine/Aspirin combo), they say it does give you a KICK, specially during lifts.

the thing is, you'd have to really be working out (at least 3x a week) to see results.

try browsing thru Fitness Mags, and you could easily bump into these.

[Ira]

Forget about using ephedra and ephedrine if you want to stay alive and healthy. The effects are not only temporary, the possibility of health problems are also very real. Just because it's big in other countries doesn't mean it's good.

[anghel]

This is kinda lengthy, but hope this one would help.....

There are thousands of reasons why overweight people would want to lose weight. Whatever the reason maybe, successful weight loss and healthy weight management depend on sensible goals and expectations.
According to endocrinologist Rosa Allyn Sy, MD, the success story in weight loss is maintaining, at least 85 percent, of your weight after shedding off the excess pounds. If you set sensible goals for yourself, chances are you'll be more likely to meet them and have better chances of keeping the weight off. And the good news is, losing even five to 10 percent of your weight is the kind of goal that can help improve your health.
Some people however, resort in taking diet drugs to short-cut the process of their weight reduction. This is not a good move according to pharmacology and toxicology expert Kenneth Hartigan-Go, MD, MD (UK) FPCP, FPSECP.
"Taking diet drugs is reserved as last resort where all other conventional weight management have failed. This include control of diet, eating the right quality of foods, drinking enough water, avoidance of taking high caloric juice and softdrinks. Alcohol intake should be decreased and smoking should be avoided, too. One must need to exercise regularly. These are the safe ways of managing weight reduction. But there are also alternatives like taking medicines but these are not shot cuts to health and it should not be used for "cosmetic" weight loss," explains Dr. Go.
Most overweight people should lose weight gradually. For safe and healthy weight loss, try not to exceed a rate of two pounds per week. Sometimes, people with serious health problems associated with obesity may have legitimate reasons for losing weight rapidly. If so, a physician's supervision is required.
Prevention unmasked the 9 popular weight loss drugs in the market and reveals these medicines’ efficacy as well as drawbacks:

1. Trade Name: Xenical Generic Name: Orlistat
Marketed as: Prescription Drug
Dosage: Three times a day or one capsule an hour before a heavy meal
Price: P40.70 per cap
Efficacy: It blocks the absorption of the dietary fat into the bloodstream, thus, reduces the number of calories that one get from meal. At the recommended dosage level, it cuts dietary
fat absorption by almost 30 percent. Combined with low-fat diet, it is used to promote weight loss and discourage the return of unwanted pounds. The drug is prescribed for the frankly obese and for merely overweight people who have other health problems such as high blood pressure, diabetes, or high cholesterol levels. It is a locally-acting drugs, which means, it has no effects on the central nervous system of the user. Unlike some diet pills, it does not suppress your appetite but interferes with the absorption of fats. Recent evidence has also pointed out that the use of Orlistat help reduce the incidence of coronary diseases. However, this is just a very preliminary finding which gives some advantage to this agent in the treatment of cardiac problems.
Drawbacks: Since it blocks about 30 percent of fat in the food you eat, you may experience oily discharge, increased bowel movements, an urgent need to have them and an inability to control them, particularly after meals containing more fat than recommended. Experts advised to have a low-fat diet while taking this medication to minimize the side effects of the medicine.
Dr. Go says the absorption of fat is variable and it may actually be ineffective to certain people and effective to others. The absorption of fat is dependent upon the secretion of bile from the liver in order to help digest and absorb the fat. However, people who suffer from chronic malabsorption syndrome (a condition that prevents nutrients from passing from the stomach to the bloodstream) or from cholestasis (a blockage in the supply of bile needed for digestion) should avoid this product.

2. Trade Name: Exofat Generic Name: Liphosan Oligrucose
Marketed as: Dietary Supplement
Dosage: Two capsules every meal
Price: P17.00; Forte P20.00
Efficacy: Oligofructose, a natural fiber extracted from sugar cane, aids the impact of the chitosan by improving the efficiency of the digestive process through encouragement of the work of the Bifido-bacteria. Exofat acts like a non-digestible sponge. It stays in the stomach and gets the fat when the food comes down naturally. It ensures a healthier digestive tract and regulates bowel movement. It binds the fat – a principle in decreasing the weight.
Drawbacks: Leads to constipation if the user do not take enough water (it acts like an insoluble fiber).

3. Trade Name: Ionamine Generic Name: Phentermine
Marketed as: Prescription Drug Dosage: Once a day or as recommended by the physician
Price: P20.80 (15 mg); P32.50 (30 mg)
Efficacy: It suppresses the appetite for the short-term management of obesity along with other lifestyle modifications. It works by stimulating a gland, called the hypothalamus. It affects certain neurotransmitters to suppress the appetite. It has some potential for psychological dependency and should be used with caution.
Drawbacks: People with hypertension, thyroid disease, or cardiac problems should not take this product (unless monitored closely by a doctor) because there might be a dangerous drug-disease interaction which could cause heart disease, hypertension or exacerbation of hyper thyroid gland condition. Other possible side effects include insomnia, anorexia, restlessness, nervousness, difficulty of sleeping, or dry mouth.

Note: After you stop taking this drug, your body may need time to adjust. Phentermine may affect blood sugar levels so consult your doctor if you have any concern. You should also notify your doctor if you experience any mental depression, nausea or vomiting, unusual fatigue, or trembling after you stop taking phentermine. And before you have medical or dental treatment, be sure to tell your doctor or dentist that you are taking phentermine.

4. Trade Name: Reductil a.k.a Meridia Generic Name: Sibutramine
Marketed as: Prescription Drug Dosage: Once a day
Price: (15 mg) P126.00 per cap
Efficacy: It decreases the appetite while increasing the energy expenditure. Studies are showing significant weight loss and reduction in factors relating to diabetes. Sibutramine causes a feeling of fullness. It should be used with low-calorie diet. It works by boosting levels of certain chemical messengers in the nervous system, including serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine.
Drawbacks: Possible hypertension and abnormal heart rhythms. People with high blood pressure, a history of stoke and arrhythmia should not take this drug.

Note: You should avoid this product if you suffer from compulsive dieting disorder known as anorexia nervosa. Do not combine this drug with other medications used to suppress the appetite.

5. Trade Name: Bangkok Pills Chemical Component: Combination of sedative, phentermine, fluramine, dexfenfluramine, penfenfluramine, ephedrine (or pseudo ephedrine), bisacodyl (laxative), and diuretics.
Marketed as: Illegal in the Philippines
Efficacy: The combination of its ingredients is the main reason why people who take it lose
weight drastically. It also contains diuretics that makes the user urinates more. When your water is lost, your weight becomes lesser because water occupies space and weight. According to Dr. Sy, most people that she encountered who took this medication have really lost weight but ended up in the hospital.
Drawbacks: Its ingredients ephedrine and pseudo ephedrine can cause hallucinogenic effects. Dr. Go says that it is a psychological stimulant to the brain. "We have patients who actually take bangkok pills and they lose weight but they hallucinate. Some of them after three days attempted to commit suicide. The combination of different drugs put together is actually dangerous. It can cause brain damage after prolonged use. Primarily, it affects the blood vessels in the body and it also some effects on the temper. Some people feel a feeling of wellness initially but they crushed afterwards when the drug effects waned off," explains Dr. Go.
Part of its ingredients dexfenfluramine and penfenfluramine has been banned worldwide. It affects the heart valves by creating a hole in it and the effect would be similar to rheumatic heart disease. Researchers in the United States have found that these drugs could cause primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH), a life-threatening disorder that affects the blood supply to the lungs.

6. Trade Name: Xenadrine Chemical Component: Ephedrine, caffeine and aspirin
Marketed as: Dietary Supplement
Dosage: Two caps before breakfast and two more caps at mid-afternoon
Efficacy: Its combination has been shown to increase fat loss, not because it melts away the fat, but it acts as stimulant which suppresses appetite.
Drawbacks: Among the ingredients, ephedrine, which is a potent stimulant that works on the brain, may have the potential adverse, sometimes fatal side effects. Those include hypertension, increased heart rate, chest pain, heart attack, stroke, seizures, suicidal ideation
and suicide, psychosis, memory loss, nervousness, aggressiveness, anxiety, insomnia, nausea, diarrhea, hepatitis and death.

Note: There are questions on the long-term safety of Xenadrine since it has not been well studied. Xenadrine, like other food supplements, is classified as a dietary supplement, so the US-FDA does not have to approve it. That means you take it at your own risk.

7. Trade Name: Ponderal Generic Name: Fenfluramine
Marketed as: Phased out (its chemicals are banned worldwide)
Efficacy: It suppresses the appetite, thus leading to weight reduction
Drawbacks: It affects the heart valves.

Its chemical fenfluramine was banned by the US-FDA in September 1997 and every medicines that contain fenfluramine was pulled out from the market worldwide.

8. Trade Name: Power Up Chemical Component: Kelt, ephedra and 10 different "natural" ingredients
Marketed as: Diet drug (Not registered with BFAD)
Efficacy: It promotes diarrhea and loss of appetite, thus leading to weight loss
Drawbacks: The pill contained a substance kelt which had the deadly chemical arsenic.
Patients who take this have a higher risk of getting arsenic poisoning. Power Up distributors
claim that the the ingredients of their product are "all natural." However Dr. Go says that not
all natural ingredients are safe. "Even those diet pills touted as "all natural" also contain heavy
metals, which if taken at high doses will cause adverse effects. He noted that distributors
always advise the consumers to take health supplements because they knew that the
product would work in a way that would deprive the body of essential minerals and nutrients.

9. Trade Name: Ephedra aka Ma Huang Generic Name: Ephedra, ephedrine, pseudo ephedrine

It is a chemical drawn from plant leaves (also known as ma huang). Ephedra is
a natural precursor of ephedrine (a synthetic compound of ephedra). Ephedra, ephedrine and
pseudo ephedrine are sympathetic stimulants which causes an increase in the production and
release of adrenalin from the body which eventually cause stimulation, greater awareness,
insomnia, suppression of appetite or anorexia. All of these combined can make a person slim.
But ephedra, according to Dr. Go has incidental effects like hypertension, chest pain,
diarrhea and psychological damage and effect.
"Ephedra can be found in some Chinese medication. That is the reason why the
Dangerous Drugs Board has regulated the importation of Chinese medicine whether in natural or capsulize form to test if they contain ephedra because it is dangerous. There are medical indications for using ephedra but they are controlled substances and therefore need to be regulated by DDB," says Dr. Go.
Dietary supplements that contain ephedra alkaloids are widely consumed in the United States for purposes of weight reduction and energy enhancement. A number of reports of adverse drug reactions to dietary supplements that contain ephedra alkaloids, some of which resulted in permanent injury or death, have appeared in the medical literature.
The New England Journal of Medicine (December 2000 issue) for instance, says the side effects of ephedra include anxiety, tremulousness, insomnia, palpitations, and personality changes that are well-known to occur with the use of stimulant drugs. According to NEJM, when ephedrine is used for medical purposes, these types of reactions are considered side effects and must be included in the assessment of risks and benefits.
"In fact, ephedrine is rarely prescribed today for medical purposes because newer drugs have more specific actions and fewer side effects. The risks of taking ephedra alkaloids as a dietary supplement, however, are difficult to justify because the alkaloids have no demonstrated benefit. Unlike vitamins and minerals, ephedra alkaloid supplements are not essential for proper nutirion. People who take these products to increase their exercise capacity or to lose weight place themselves at risk without a substantial likelihood of benefit," NEJM states.
Pseudoephedrine and ephedrine can only be prescribed by doctors with special permits called S-2 license.

Products to watch out were those contained steroids, phenly butasol, methyline blue, potassium nitrate, thyroxine, ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, kelt, phenfluramine, phentermine and dexphentermine.
People with hypertension, diabetes, heart diseases and thyroid problems should not take diet drugs.

To make sure that the drug you are taking has secured a registration from the Bureau of Food and Drugs, you can call 807-0751.

[vcire]

Doc Ira, tanong po
Im doing weight training and cardiovas naman around twice a week, im quite content naman with my body except for one area: tummy. I thin im doing enough in terms of cardio exercise and ab exercises to no avail. The only time I really got cuts in my abs was when I went on a no-salt diet which lasted about a month. ang hirap gawin kasi kahit san ako tumingin lahat may asin--kahit luto ni inay may asin. So i guess that's my problem, can I do/take anything to hasten the release of salt in my body?

Salamat po!

[celeb]

hi po, doc

gusto ko lang sana magtanong tungkol sa mga side effect ng Reductil. nag-g-gym po ako regularly, pero hirap ako magkontrol sa kain. so far, 1 week ko na sinubukan itong Reductil at ang naramdaman ko so far ay: parang nauuhaw (kaya umiinom ako ng tubig), tapos parang medyo quick temper/nerbyos ng konti. pero nabawasan naman ang appetite ko: kumakain ako pero kain na ng normal na tao (hinde lamon) saka hindi ko na na-feel iyong need na mag midnight snack. (sa ganitong paraan nakakatulong naman ang reductil sa akin.)

ano pa kaya ang mga puwedeng maasahan na side effect? pano ko malaman na hinde na normal ang side effects na iyon? gaano katagal ba "safe" na i-take ang reductil? plano ko kasi after december, gradually eh hindi ko na ulit i-take. nakaka-adik ba ito? may withdrawal symptoms ba? (lalakas ba sobra ang gana kong kumain pag tumigil ako dito: baka dumoble ang appetite ko:iyon ang takot ko tuloy na hinde ko naman naisip nung nagstart ako. ngayon tuloy parang takot naman ako itigil itong reductil.)

sorry po sa dami ng tanong pero kung ano lang ma share ninyo ok lang. thank you ng marami pa din