Belviq

Belviq is a prescription medication used to help adults who are obese or who are overweight and have weight-related medical problems to lose weight and keep from gaining back that weight. Belviq must be used along with a reduced calorie diet and an exercise plan. Belviq is in a class of medications called serotonin receptor agonists. It works by increasing feelings of fullness so that less food is eaten.

This medication comes in tablet form and is taken typically 1-2 times a day, with or without food.

Common side effects of Belviq include headache, nausea, and back pain. Belviq can cause low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) in patients with diabetes.

Belviq can also slow your thinking and cause dizziness. Do not drive a car or operate heavy machinery until you know how Belviq affects you.

Belviq is a prescription medication used to help adults who are obese or who are overweight and have weight-related medical problems to lose weight and keep from gaining back that weight. Belviq must be used along with a reduced-calorie diet and an exercise plan.

This medication may be prescribed for other uses. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Take this medication exactly as prescribed by your doctor. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully.

The recommended dose of Belviq (lorcaserin) for weight management is 10 mg twice a day.

Serious side effects have been reported with Belviq including the following:

• Serotonin Syndrome or Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome (NMS) like reactions. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have some or all of the following symptoms:
  • mental changes such as agitation, hallucinations, confusion, or other changes in mental status
  • coordination problems, uncontrolled muscle spasms, or muscle twitching (overactive reflexes)
  • restlessness
  • racing or fast heart beat, high or low blood pressure
  • sweating or fever
  • nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea
  • muscle rigidity (stiff muscles)
• Valvular Heart disease. Some people taking medications like Belviq have had problems with the valves in their heart. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have some or all of the following symptoms:
  • trouble breathing
  • swelling of the arms, legs, ankles, or feet
  • dizziness, fatigue, or weakness that will not go away
  • fast or irregular heart beat
• Changes in your attention or memory.
• Mental problems. Tell your doctor if you notice:
  • hallucinations
  • feeling high or in a very good mood (euphoria)
  • feelings of standing next to yourself or out of your body
• Depression or thoughts of suicide. Pay attention to any mental changes, especially sudden changes, in your mood, behaviors, thoughts, or feelings. Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any mental changes that are new, worse, or worry you.
• Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus who also take medications, such as insulin or sulfonylureas, used to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus. Monitor your blood sugar before you start Belviq and during your treatment with Belviq .
• Painful erections (priapism). Belviq can cause painful erections that last more than 6 hours. If you have an erection lasting more than 4 hours whether it is painful or not, stop using Belviq and call your doctor or go to the nearest emergency room right away.
• Slow heart beat. Tell your doctor if have a history of your heart beating slow or heart block.
• Decreases in blood cell counts. Belviq can cause your red and white blood cell counts to decrease. Your doctor may do tests to check your blood counts while taking Belviq.
• Increase in prolactin. Tell your doctor if your breasts begin to make milk or a milky discharge or if you are a male and your breasts begin to increase in size.

Belviq can slow your thinking and cause dizziness. Do not drive a car or operate heavy machinery until you know how Belviq affects you.

Do not take Belviq if you:

• are allergic to Belviq or to any of its ingredients
• are pregnant or planning to become pregnant

Serious side effects have been reported with Belviq. See the “Belviq Precautions” section.

Common side effects of Belviq include:

In non-diabetic patients:

• headache
• dizziness
• fatigue
• nausea
• dry mouth
• constipation

In Diabetic patients:

• low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)
• headache
• back pain
• cough
• fatigue

This is not a complete list of Belviq side effects. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Tell your doctor if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away.

Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take, including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Especially tell your doctor if you take:

• triptans, used to treat migraines, such as sumatriptan (Imitrex, Treximet), eletriptan (Relpax), almotriptam (Axert), frovatriptan (Frova), naratriptan (Amerge), rizatriptan (Maxalt), and zolmitriptan (Zomig)
• monoamine oxidase inhibitors such as isocarboxazid (Marplan), phenelzine (Nardil), tranylcypromine (Parnate), selegiline (Emsam, Eldepryl, Zelapar), rasagiline (Azilect)
• tricyclic antidepressants such as trimipramine (Surmontil), amitriptyline (Elavil), nortriptyline (Pamelor, Aventyl), protriptyline (Vivactil), and clomipramine (Anafranil)
• selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as escitalopram (Lexapro), sertraline (Zoloft), citalopram (Celexa), paroxetine (Paxil), fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem), and fluvoxamine (Luvox)
• serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) such as venlafaxine (Effexor), duloxetine (Cymbalta), desvenlafaxine (Pristiq)
• cabergoline
• linezolid (Zyvox)
• tramadol
• dextromethorphan
• St. John's Wort
• tryptophan
• lithium (Lithobid)
• bupropion (Wellbutrin)
• medications used to treat erectile dysfunction

This is not a complete list of Belviq drug interactions. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.

The FDA categorizes medications based on safety for use during pregnancy. Five categories - A, B, C, D, and X, are used to classify the possible risks to an unborn baby when a medication is taken during pregnancy.

Belviq falls into category X. Belviq is contraindicated during pregnancy, because weight loss offers no potential benefit to pregnant women and may result in fetal harm. There are no situations where the benefits of the medication for the mother outweigh the risks of harm to the baby. These medicines should never be used by pregnant women. If Belviq is used during pregnancy, or if the patient becomes pregnant while taking this medication, the patient should be warned about the potential hazard of maternal weight loss to the fetus.

Tell your doctor if you are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. 

It is not known if Belviq crosses into human milk. Because many medications can cross into human milk and because of the possibility for serious adverse reactions in nursing infants with use of this medication, a choice should be made whether to stop nursing or stop the use of this medication. Your doctor and you will decide if the benefits outweigh the risk of using Belviq.

Your doctor may tell you to stop taking Belviq if you do not lose enough weight during the first 12 weeks of your treatment.

It is not known if Belviq is safe and effective when take with other weight loss products, including prescription, over-the-counter, or herbal.

Belviq is a controlled medication. Belviq may be abused or lead to drug dependence.