Rimonabant
Rimonabant is a prescription anti-obesity medication.

Rimonabant

Rimonabant is a prescription anti-obesity agent and selective CB1 endocannabinoid receptor antagonist recommended in combination with diet and regular exercise to treat obesity in people that did not respond to other methods of treatment attempted. This medicine is manufactured by the Sanofi-Aventis company and has been reported to improve a wide array of cardio metabolic factors, as well as help in smoking cessation. The effects of this medicine are unlike the effects of any other medications available - it works by turning off some brain circuits responsible for causing the feeling of hunger in people smoking cannabis. However, patients taking rimonabant are expected to use the drug along with a healthy diet and regular exercise to achieve reductions in body weight, waist circumference and improve the lipid profile. Another great benefit of rimonabant is that this medicine does not lose its effectiveness after two years of taking it, while the story is a bit different with other drugs - after 6 months most of them stop being effective because patients develop resistance. However, taking rimonabant for a long time is associated with a higher risk of developing suicidal thoughts. This is why anyone taking this medication is supposed to show up for regular doctor's appointments to make sure their condition is monitored for any dangerous side effects of this drug.

A dose of this medicine should be taken once daily in the morning before you have breakfast. If you happen to forget a dose - and it's almost time for the next one - you can skip the dose you missed but do not take a double dose of rimonabant as this is not going to make your treatment more effective. Rimonabant is quite well tolerated with nausea and upper respiratory tract infection being the most commonly reported side effects. Less common side effects include upset stomach, diarrhea, itching, excessive sweating, irritability, dizziness, memory loss, back pain, fatigue, depression, trouble with sleeping, vomiting, hot flushes and muscle cramps.

The tablet of rimonabant contains 20 mg of the active ingredient, as well as a number of inactive ingredients: magnesium stearate, croscarmellose, sodium, maize starch, lactose monohydrate, povidone, laurilsulfate, and miceocrystalline cellulose. In case of being allergic to any of the active or inactive ingredients, inform your health care provider. You will probably be unable to take this drug as the same allergic reaction is likely to happen again. You should be especially careful with taking rimonabant if you have impaired liver or kidney function, if you are receiving treatment for epilepsy or in case you are younger than 18, as the effects of rimonabant in people younger than 18 have not been properly studied. Do not combine this medicine with any other drugs without discussing it with your health care provider first: antifungals (ketaconazole or itraconazole), HIV medicine (ritonavir), certain antibiotics (telithromycin, clarithromycin) and antidepressants (nefazodone). If besides the prescription medications mentioned above you are also taking over-the-counter drugs or other products of the kind (rifampicin, medicines for weight loss, St. John's Wort, medicines to improve blood lipids, antidiabetes medicines and medicines to treat epilepsy), report them as well.

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