MYSIMBA: effectiveness vs. side effects

Why try MYSIMBA, aka CONTRAVE?

Over the past few decades, and in view of growing demand, an impressive number of products have begun to flood the market for anti-overweight and anti-obesity treatments.

These are actually dietary supplements, not drugs.

It’s true that most of these products are effective, provided they are combined with a healthy diet and physical activity. Products based on natural ingredients are generally the best tolerated and most sought-after.

However, some overweight people fail to achieve their goals, and sometimes end up turning to more radical, even “aggressive” products: in particular, to drugs initially prescribed for obesity, which is normally considered a sickly condition.

These drugs must be prescribed by a doctor.

After carrying out a series of tests to determine the degree of overweight and the patient’s general state of health, the doctor prescribes them as part of a regular follow-up throughout the course of treatment.

So far, so good…

However, over time, some anti-obesity drugs have proved to be dangerous to health, and have unfortunately caused several deaths.

Let’s take a look at some of these tragic cases:

• ISOMERIDE, prescribed in the 80s and responsible for several cases of fatal pulmonary hypertension;
• the ALLI pill, withdrawn after 3 years on the market for lack of efficacy
  (read our article on this pill);
• MEDIATOR: diverted from its initial indication for use as an appetite suppressant, it was the cause of hundreds of confirmed deaths in France.

  The scandal it provoked still reverberates today, and prompts us to think long and hard about the safety of these products.

It’s worth noting that, for any drug, it’s the risk/benefit ratio that determines whether or not it can be marketed.

Today, we are faced with another controversial product, MYSIMBA.

Always keen to carry out in-depth research to shed light on all aspects of a given slimming product, we decided to investigate this product.

We are confident that a well-informed reader will be able to resist temptation and distinguish between false promises that risk obscuring the negative aspects of this product.

Why this interest in Mysimba?

In February 2015, France’s Agence Nationale de Sécurité du Médicament (ANSM) appealed to the European Committee to warn against the use of Mysimba.

France finally took a stand and voted against granting a centralized marketing authorization (AMM) for this product.

The ANSM statement reads:

“France considers that the benefit/risk ratio in the indication selected for Mysimba is negative, due to its limited efficacy on weight loss and safety issues, such as uncertainties about neuropsychiatric and cardiovascular adverse effects.”
(Source: ANSM. February 3, 2015)

What is the composition of Mysimba?

Mysimba is manufactured by the American laboratory Orexigen Therapeutics.

It is marketed under the trade name “CONTRAVE” in the United States.

It is the result of a combination of two active ingredients:
1. NALTREXONE :
Used in the treatment of alcohol dependence and addiction to opiate drugs;
2. BUPROPION :
An amphetamine derivative prescribed as an antidepressant and used to combat smoking.

After several years of negotiation and hesitation due to its cardiac and psychiatric effects, the FDA finally approved its use in the USA.

L’indication title of Mysimba is as follows:

Mysimba is indicated as an adjunct to dietary therapy and increased physical activity in the management of overweight adults with a body mass index greater than 30 or between 30 and 27, if the patient has co-morbidities such as type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia or controlled hypertension.

Treatment with Mysimba should be discontinued after 16 weeks if patients have not lost at least 5% of their initial weight, or if they present intolerance problems such as increased blood pressure.

It turns out that Mysimba is quite effective in the weight-loss process, and the clinical trials it has undergone are quite satisfactory.

But the concern remains the presence of serious side effects which do not justify taking the risk.

How works Mysimba work?

Mysimba’s active ingredients act at brain level, targeting the circuits linked to food intake and energy expenditure. In particular, they act on the reward system which controls the pleasure of eating.

In other words, its action consists in inhibiting the feeling of enjoyment linked to food intake, which is highly developed in people who rush to eat to compensate for the slightest feeling of frustration, by inducing a kind of indifference to food.

As a result, calorie intake is reduced, automatically leading to weight loss.

Mysimba is therefore a real appetite suppressant that can help patients control their weight.

However, according to our research, taking this type of medication has very often resulted in weight regain after discontinuation of treatment, a phenomenon commonly referred to as the “yo-yo effect”.

What’s more, these drugs can cause serious cardiac and psychiatric problems.

These fears are corroborated by articles in well-known journals such as “Prescrire” and “The British Journal”, which consider such drugs to be far from effective, and in fact to represent nothing more than a regression for patients.

Our opinion on Mysimba/Contrave for slimming:

In the light of all the warnings issued by official health authorities, particularly in France and Ireland, we strongly advise against the use of drugs like Mysimba, whose side effects can be very dangerous.

For healthy weight loss, several safe and secure methods are available, even in cases of morbid obesity. These are the methods we encourage to preserve your health.