Rimnobant could save your life. We all know that being overweight isn’t healthy. Some experts say that obesity is the greatest health crisis that America has ever seen. Heart problems, diabetes and other diseases are far more likely to afflict the obese than those with a more normal body mass…not to mention sweating on relatively cool days! Now I’m not trying to make light about a serious health risk, and I am in fact about 60lbs overweight myself. My doctor has been encouraging me to lose weight for years, but I can never manage to succeed. I’ve tried all sorts of diets and exercise regimes, but whenever I can manage to lose a little, it always seems to fall back onto my extra large sized body before I know it.
I’m 44, and my dad was also a big man, and he died of a heart attack before his 54th birthday. I don’t know for a fact that it was his weight that killed him, but with that kind of history in my family I know that I really have to do something soon to try and lose weight.
At my last visit with my doctor, she mentioned that there was now a prescription medication available that had been really effective at helping people lose weight. It’s called Rimonabant (Acomplia) and it has shown more efficacy at helping people achieve their weight loss goals than anything previously available. She even told me that it was inspired from people who smoke marijuana and how hungry they get. She told me that researchers worked backwards from the cause of these “drug munchies” and found a way to block appetites. She told me all about the science behind it, but I confess that it pretty much went over my head. I was eager to try anything that might work, and accepted her offer for a prescription.
When I got home I took a look on the internet to try and learn a little more about the drug. I learned that it works by blocking something called the endocannabinoid receptor. There’s a neurotransmitter in the brain called endogenous cannabinoid. When these endogenous cannabanoids start floating around in the brain, they find a receptor (kind of like a lock in a key) and when they find and enter these receptors, the result is an increase in appetite. Rimonabant works by blocking up the receptors, so the transmitters can’t get in. If they can’t get in to this receptor, then they cannot stimulate appetite.
Apparently the medication also works for people trying to quit smoking, as those endogenous cannabanoids also trigger cravings for cigarettes.
Today, one in three Americans is overweight, and with all the overweight kids we’re seeing today, you can see how this might get even worse. I’m thankful that we finally have a drug that can help all of us overweight people lose some weight and start getting healthier!
One of the great things about rimnonabant is that it seems to work over the long term. Anyone who’s overweight knows that with a little will power and effort, you can get your weight down for a little while, but it always comes back again, and oftentimes more seems to comeback then was ever lost! Studies on this drug show that most people who took the drug lost a lot of weight, and even better, they kept if off for the whole two years of the clinical study.
I’m really excited to try this medication, and I’m going to write back again, to report on how it’s working for me. If it can help me lose weight and keep it off, then I’d pay any price. Thankfully the generic version of rimnonabant is also a lot cheaper than the name brand, so the cost isn’t much of an issue. All of us obese people out here have been praying for an answer to our weight problems. The clinical data on this drug is giving me a whole lot of hope that our prayers have finally been answered!