Lomaira – New Obesity Medication Now Available

These symptoms usually go away within a short period of time. However, if patients notice more extreme agitation, an irregular heartbeat or chest palpitations, they should stop the medication and consult their physician as soon as possible. Other side effects may also be seen with weight- loss, such as constipation. Patients should drink six to eight glasses of water a day to help alleviate constipation.

One of the advantages of the 8 milligram tablet of Lomaira is that stimulatory side effects can be minimized by appropriate dosing. If patients only need one tablet a day to help with their appetite at dinner, there is no need to increase the dose. This allows for lower exposure to the stimulatory effects of Phentermine. Since other formulations are in doses of either 15 milligrams or 30 milligrams of Phentermine, Lomaira at 8 milligrams can produce a better safety margin.

How Much Weight Can I Expect to Lose with Lomaira?

As is always the case with medications that are used for weight management, the total amount of weight-loss will depend on the intensity of weight-loss efforts that the patient puts in.

You can expect to lose more weight than you would on your diet effort without a medication, but the weight-loss will vary from person-to-person. Patients should undertake their best effort at diet, physical activity and behavior change, but Lomaira can help them stick to their efforts so long as they do not expect the medication to work on its own.

How Long Can Lomaira be Continued?

When the FDA approved Phentermine 50 years ago, medicines for weight management were only studied for a few months. As a result, there are currently no long- term studies with Phentermine or Lomaira. It is generally recommended that Lomaira only be continued for a few months, so it is not intended to be taken forever.

In a study of Phentermine at doses similar to Lomaira, weight-loss at 28 weeks for the placebo group was -1.7% from baseline. For Phentermine at 7.5mg/d, it was -5.5%, and for Phentermine at 15 mg/d, it was -6.1%.

The appropriate patient for Lomaira will take the prescription for a few months and then begin to try other treatment approaches. Patients can use strategies like initiating a lot of moderate physical activity (45 minutes or more a day) to maintain weight-loss after using Lomaira to achieve their goals with diet. Lomaira and other forms of Phentermine are controlled substances and a special prescription is required.

How Much Does Lomaira Cost?

Lomaira is the least expensive of the newer medications for weight management and will be marketed to cost about $0.50 cents a pill. For patients who need three pills a day, that equates to only $1.50 a day. For patients who need less, the cost could be $1.00 or even $0.50 cents a day.

Summing it Up

It is true that not every patient needs medication to be successful with weight-loss, but many patients do struggle. Physicians can help their patients achieve health benefits through weight-loss, and they should not hesitate to prescribe appropriate treatment for patients who need greater help achieving their goals.

Lomaira can help patients who meet appropriate guidelines (no history of heart diseases, not pregnant or nursing, controlled blood pressure, etc.) and who are undertaking a dietary program. Patients can take Lomaira for a few weeks or months to lose weight and then switch to weight- loss maintenance approaches. The chief advantages of Lomaira are that the medication improves the safety and efficacy profile of Phentermine by allowing physicians to tailor treatment to an individual patient’s needs, thus giving them the minimum dose needed for efficacy and timing that dose to the patient’s hunger profile.

About the Author: 
Donna H. Ryan, MD, is Professor Emerita at Pennington Biomedical Research Center. Dr. Ryan’s scholarly activities include authorship of more than 200 original publications and 45 chapters and reviews, primarily in the field of obesity. She is Associate Editor-in-Chief for “Obesity.” She served as Co-chair of the Expert Panel that produced the AHA/ACC/TOS 2013 Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Obesity and was a panel member of the 2015 Endocrine Society Systematic Evidence Review and Guidelines for Medications that Affect Body Weight. She is President-Elect of the World Obesity Federation.