So when an FDA advisory committee considered a new diet superdrug this month, Qnexa, many put down their Pirate's Booty and listened. Especially when patient Erin Aycock testified she lost 50 pounds during trials and others were said to lose 10 percent of their body weight.
Qnexa, made by California biotech Vivus, combines Topamax, an anti-seizure drug also given for pain and bipolar disorder, with phentermine which was the phen in Fen Phen.
Topamax makes you lose weight alright say patients on the drug-rating site askapatient.com, along with your memory, word recall and hair! In fact Topamax brain zapping properties are so well known it is referred to as "Stupamax" in the military where it is in wide use, says Army Times.
Topamax's weight loss properties may come from the fact that it makes food and beverages tastes bad say 33 users. Last year it received an FDA suicide warning (along with other seizure drugs) and a few years ago, a warning for acute myopia associated a type of glaucoma.
And the amphetamine-related phentermine, the other drug in Qnexa? Not considered the deadly part of Fen Phen so still on the market? "I honestly can't distinguish this drug from Adderall, or even cocaine. It might as well be called Prescription Coke," says one phentermine user. Users report losing 50 and 60 pounds (many gaining it back) while being unable to sleep and chewing gum -- and the insides of their cheeks -- constantly.
Will American soon get a chance to lose weight on Qnexa, albeit lying awake and biting their cheeks? Maybe. The FDA advisory committee voted ten to six against Qnexa because of concerns about depression, memory-loss, birth defects and lack of long term data. But the committee only makes recommendations and the final FDA decision comes in October.
Meanwhile two other diet drugs soon come before the FDA, also made by California biotechs instead of Big Pharma.
In December, an FDA advisory committee will consider Contrave, another combination of already approved drugs that mixes the well known antidepressant Wellbutrin (which is also an antismoking drug) and the opioid and alcohol addiction drug naltrexone.
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