And now... a pill for binge eating

I don't think a doctor would prescribe a drug like this unless the patient was evaluated by a psychiatrist/psychologist of actually having binge eating disorder. And usually drugs aren't renewable unless the pateint is undergoing treatment.

I'd hate for a doctor to just prescribe this and send the patient on their merry way - especially since there is a potential for abuse.

I agree with you binge eating is all about emotional coping. This drug would probably set hopes too high which is especially problematic for people who have poor emotional coping skills. I think it could be useful if accompanied with counseling, but I think it would be best if taken only after several months of counseling. To lose weight successfully, binge eaters have to be ready mentally to do it. Unfortunately, most insurance companies would rather pay for a pill. If counseling is covered, it is usually limited. And most people aren't willing to pay much, if anything, out of pocket. Plus, a lot of people downplay anything having to do with emotion as being weak, fake, or something like that.

My personal story is an example. It took several failed diet attempts and subsequent depression over it for me to realize I needed to be mentally ready to commit, so I quit trying. When the weight did start to fall off (after about two years of intense counseling which did not specifically focus on my weight or food issues whatsoever, but on the underlying issues), a lot of emotions came up because the weight loss compelled me to face some things. It wasn't easy to face these issues, but I could do it since I had new coping skills and more compassion for myself. I think if I had forced weight loss before I was really ready, I would have started eating again and once again felt like a failure. I have since noticed very few people are willing to do what I did to lose weight. They would rather continue to be fat and feel *kitten* and complain all day than do the hard work.

I take Concerta, which is also for ADD. I've always had a huge appetite and been a bottomless pit, but when I take Concerta my appetite is much more normal, and I actually feel full when I've had enough to eat, not just when I'm stuffed beyond belief (which is often the case when I skip a day).

More and more doctors are coming to the conclusion that the traditional mantra of "eat less and exercise more" will probably not work for most people. Particularly if you are obese for some amount of time. It appears that if you are obese for some amount of time it may make permanent changes to your body such that it will now see that body fat level as the level to maintain and it will make metabolic changes and hunger changes to defend it.

A person who was once obese and loses weight will have a metabolism 15-20% less than a person of the same weight who was never obese. That means that not only do you have to learn to eat less food, you must learn to eat 15-20% less food than you would normally need to maintain that weight. Most people find this impossible to sustain.

This article from the medical journal The Lancet is the latest article I have read on this:

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/landia/article/PIIS2213-8587(15)00009-1/abstract

You must register to read the full text but it is free to do so.

This is in keeping with the research I have posted before from Dr. Rudy Libel of Columbia University Medical Center:

http://videocast.nih.gov/summary.asp?live=2993&bhcp=20

It is entirely possible that obesity is going to require actual medical intervention to solve. Today only bariatric surgery is known to actually reverse the neural and hormonal responsivities permanently. All current appetite suppressants stop functioning when the medicine is stopped.

I tend to think that obesity and binge-eating have multi-faceted causes. As someone else noted, the mind and body are not separate. Physiological/biological processes are a vital component of eating disorders and obesity. The danger in suggesting that these disorders are simply a result of poor emotional coping is that it tends to place the blame directly on the character of the individual.

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BFDeal wrote: »

Also, I don't have a binge eating disease and I'm not familiar with this drug but if there's something simple that can safely make your life a little easier what's the big deal? Everyone seems to want to nail themselves to a cross over some struggle they pushed through while crapping on people who wanted to take an easier path. I say if it helps and you feel you need the pill then take the pill.

This drug can cause death and people who have been on it have died. It's pretty much legalized speed.

I am a depressed binge eater and I don't feel right taking medication for any kind of emotional problem, so I really don't support certain medications.... And I don't like counseling.

If I had to, I would choose drugs over therapy any day of the week, though. Therapy doesn't and can't help me. It justs makes me want to die a little quicker. Not to belittle anyone's struggles, but therapy can't and doesn't solve all problems.

I've been taking Vyvanse for years for ADD, it didn't stop me from steadily gaining weight and pigging out.

I don't think this drug is scary or dangerous or anything. It was made to prevent abuse of this class of drugs. (i.e. take the potential fun out of it) It's metabolized by the liver, so snorting it is no more fun than swallowing it. Unlike Adderall where abusers could snort it or put it up the bum to get a big rush or whatever.

It might help people with appetite, but Vyvanse and Adderall are the same in that respect, and the appetite suppressing effect is very temporary. Not sure binge eaters are eating because they feel hungry though, so if you eat despite not being hungry (as I did and do) then these drugs aren't going to help.

aubyshortcake wrote: »

I take Concerta, which is also for ADD. I've always had a huge appetite and been a bottomless pit, but when I take Concerta my appetite is much more normal, and I actually feel full when I've had enough to eat, not just when I'm stuffed beyond belief (which is often the case when I skip a day).

That's how I am with my Adderall. And was with ephedra (except when I got stupid with ephedra and used it to crash diet instead of losing slowly). Guess which one I used to be able to get and which one I can't afford anymore? Stupid lobbyists and meth makers.

tekkiechikk wrote: »

More pills! That seems like the answer to everything these days, doesn't it? Sorry, OP, but please pursue other means... do you want to be on meds your entire life? Or just to the point where the FDA releases their findings telling you that the pill you've been taking for binge eating now causes cancer (or some other horrific side-effect). And sorry, I don't care if Monica Seles recovered from binge eating from using this drug (though I'm very happy for her), I'm not listening to someone getting paid by the pharmaceutical company producing the drug she's pushing. The maker of this drug even says it's a "type of amphetamine." Yeah, that's speed.

Seek psychiatric help- we binge eaters know it's all about the head and not the stomach. Taking a pill to mask the real problem isn't the long-term solution.

I don't think the OP is in favor of taking this drug for binge eating, or at least not by itself. After all, she said "the root is emotional." She was just asking for our thoughts on the matter.