Anyone take ACOMPLIA?????

Hi Guys! I am trying to learn a bit more about this drug--as in peoples experiences....My best friend has failed at weight loss surgery because of her carb/craving addiction and am wondering if this could help. I know it is not FDA approved here yet, but it is in Europe and Canada...I know it suppresses the cravings (affects neurotransmitters in the brain--the same ones that give you the munchies if you smoke marijuana)... I'm just looking for peoples' personal experiences, thanks! Bonnie RNY 6/3/05 264/155--I surpassed my goal!! I love my RNY!!!

Never heard of it!  It sounds wonderful though!  Has your friend thought about a revision? Not sure what surgery she/he had but maybe it wasn't the best choice? I think with any WLS it's imperative that you work to overcome the carbs. That's a very difficult thing to do.  Not having had any WLS at this point I'm in no position to say which is better to deal with carbs but I do encourage her to check into it further.

Never tried it...sorry. I am on a prescription diet pill tho.

It works great for me. I have not had surgery - I started Optifast in early November with the intent of it being preop for an RNY.   I'd do Optifast during the day and have a low calorie meal at night for a total of 1200-1300 calories.  By mid December I'd lost over 30 pounds, but if I didn't eat every two hours during the day it was a problem - by three hours I was starving.  In November I'd heard about Acomplia on NPR where someone got it from Europe and it helped them so I started doing research about it.  Located a source and started taking it on 12/9.  Since then I've lost another 25 pounds (57 since 11/6 total), but more importantly, it has been much easier.  Often I have to remind myself to eat between 1000 and 1200 calories during the day. I've worked down to 1050 calories/day average.  I can go for hours in a meeting or other activity without starving.  When stressful things happen that make me want to eat, I can now reflect on why I'm hungry and talk myself off the ledge rather than just grabbing a bag of Ruffles.  Everyone has told me that surgery is just a tool and it can be as effective or ineffective as you make it. Acomplia has certainly been such a tool for me.  I log everything I eat including caloric content. I log how much I weigh every day.  Both my internist and my bariatric surgeon have agreed that if I continue to lose and keep it off, I can avoid surgery ; both are supportive of the Acomplia use.  Even if I do surgery, I might now do a lapband or sleeve instead of a bypass.  While my goal was go get off of Acomplia after reaching my goal weight, my surgeon suggested I continue to use it if it helps me avoid surgery.  I have gotten it from a website in England.  If that is ever a problem, I'd go to Mexico. As I recall, my research indicated it is not approved in Canada.  As for the FDA thing, they deal in populations and I'm dealing in individual.  I'm sure that when Acomplia approved in the US, everyone with an extra 10 pounds is going to want it.  The increased risks of depression likely are not worth it for lots of those people. tom