A new diet trend is the combination of different medicines to help patients lose weight. The pills are often not medicines associated with weight loss, but are intended to help such conditions as diabetes and epilepsy. As discussed on Dr. Oz today, some say that these unlikely combinations are just what obese patients need, but some say the risks are too great.
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Fen-Phen was an example of this type of treatment and showed good results. One half of that combination was determined to be unsafe and was pulled from the market. Dr. Robert Skversky says that he replaced the dangerous part of the Fen-Phen combination with other medicines that act in the same way and his patients have continued to see good results. Not only do patients lose weight, but they are able to keep it off long term.
Dr. Skversky tells Dr. Oz that he is up front with his patients regarding the medications' risks and that with any medicine, it's a matter of weighing the risks against the benefits. He says that for his patients, he's found that the benefits outweigh the risks in this case.
Some other physicians disagree with this philosophy and say that we simply don't know enough about how these medications interact once they're in the body. They feel that this shifts the balance of benefits vs risks and makes it too risky of a treatment.
If you're morbidly obese, talk to your doctor to find the best option for your body and needs. Traditional diet and exercise are a safe, dependable way to go, but some patients need to lose weight fast or have tried several diet plans without success. Learn your options, both for medical weight loss and bariatric surgery to determine which treatment is best for you.
