Diverted weight-loss medication : Watch out for your health!
Misappropriating medication to lose weight is certainly the worst idea anyone could have!
I’ve seen people self-medicate for many reasons. But what shocks me the most is that some people go even further in diverting the use of drugs originally prescribed for other illnesses.
Today, we return to the subject of diverted drugs to make sure that the warning is still valid.
Drugs diverted from their original use: why and how!
By “diverted weight-loss medication”, we’re referring to a specific category of drugs with certain indirect or secondary effects that are said to promote weight loss in one way or another. In fact, certain types of medication have attracted the interest of certain doctors who have noticed noticeable side effects in terms of weight loss. Unfortunately, this information was passed on to other unscrupulous people who saw the lucrative side of the business.
In spite of all deontology and ethics, some members of the medical profession began recommending the use of certain drugs for weight-loss purposes. The risk is great, and we don’t even need to remind you of the importance of medical supervision for the administration of any drug, especially when it’s a weight-loss drug!
Baclofen, a drug misused to lose weight
Baclofen is a drug originally developed in the 1970s to treat multiple sclerosis. After a while, it proved effective in the fight against alcohol dependence. Indeed, this drug was able to curb the great “appetite” for drink, and many people were able to take advantage of this mechanism of action. However, many people soon began to believe that, just as this drug promoted a certain indifference to drink, it would also promote indifference to food! There was no scientific proof of this, and yet…
The French National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM) was forced to issue a warning against this drug. Consult the following link.
Epitomax, another hijacked slimming drug
Here’s another drug that’s supposed to be sold only on prescription, and that’s finding its way onto parallel markets. This drug is initially prescribed for people suffering from neurological pathologies such as epilepsy and migraine.
This time, the French Agency for the Safety of Health Products (AFSSAPS) has warned against the misuse of Epitomax. Epitomax contains Tompiramate which acts on the brain by regulating nerve impulses between neurons, preventing them from becoming overloaded and thus avoiding epileptic or migraine seizures.
Revia, a psychotropic drug misused to lose weight
Revia is not a weight-loss drug. Its International Nonproprietary Name (INN) is Naltrexone. It is prescribed for alcohol dependence, in the same way as Baclofen. Naltrexone acts directly on the nervous system, and therefore requires psychological treatment. The Naltrexone hydrochloride contained in Revia produces a feeling of disgust towards certain foods, which is why some people are interested in using it to combat compulsive eating. Reduced appetite is one of a long list of side effects, which you can read about in our article on Revia.
The list of diverted weight-loss drugs promises to be long. We won’t go into it all here, however. We leave it to you to consult our other articles, listed at the end of this post.
If you know of another hijacked weight-loss drug…
Don’t hesitate to react here and report any drug you suspect of being diverted from its original use. This will enable us, along with you and all the other readers of the site, to keep a watchful eye on any similar practices harmful to health.
