One should start by saying that most people agree that drug based therapy is only ever part of the solution to weight loss. Having said that mopst medications fall into two categories. There are drugs such as fenfluramine or dex fenfluramine, which have been withdrawn in many countries, that are related to amphetamines. They act centrally i.e. wothin the brain to supress hunger via the part of the brain called the satiety centre that gives us messages to say " I'm hungry now - let's eat" They can have significant side effects as you would imagine. The newer agents are drugs such as Xenical (orlistat) which acts within the bowel to prevent the action of enzymes called lipases. The usual function of these lipases is to break down fat molecules (that can be very big) into smaller fragments that can then be absorbed through the intenstine. If these enzymes are blocked that fat passes straight through without being absorbed. The absorption of other types of food such as protein and carbohydrate is not affected.

Fenfluramine and dexfenfluramine are allegedly defective and not a good idea to take. All people who have had these drugs need to be checked for heart and lung disease caused by these meds. You could use Phentermine or any amphetamine based drug ie Dextroamphetamine (mainly used for ADD). Don't forget many of the drugs in the weight loss category are addictive. I'm not sure about the med that acts within the bowel, because long term use may cause irritable bowel syndrome... Don't just rely on drugs to combat obesity, use exercise and a proper eating regime by a Dietrician and you'll lose weight. :)

If you have no past history of drug abuse, I highly recommend amphetamines. They completely remove your urge to eat. If you cannot obtain them for some reason, ephedrine would almost be as effective. Now illegal in America due to it's use in methamphetamine production you will have to get this from a reletive in Canda or something. :(

Unfortunately, there is no magic wand and a drug that works well with me may not work with you. All drugs have side-effects and people respond in different ways and with differing levels of severity. Drugs should only be used in conjunction with a dietary program tailored to your needs. They need to be prescribed by a doctor and your response to them monitored closely. If you are uncomfortable with what your doctor is doing or believe that you are not being monitored properly, change doctors. You also need to take the initiative to work with your medical providers constructively. I have used a couple of weight loss drugs and here's my take on them. Dexfenfluramine: helped me lose weight without any negative side effects. Unfortunately, it was pulled off the market a few weeks after I started using it because of abuse, almost entirely in the US market. It was being prescribed in combination with another weight loss drug - phentermine - the mix was called 'fen-phen'. This was done in direct contradition to the manufacturer's recommendations. The consumer information included in packages of fenfluramine specifically stated the danger of mixing these two drugs. Net result: several deaths, an effective drug pulled from the market, and the responsible doctors getting off scott-free. Personally, I would describe any doctor who precribed fen-phen as being criminally responsible for those deaths; that's what my own doctor called them. (This is not entirely unlike Vioxx, another drug that was over-prescibed and given to some people who should never have been on it.) Some patients felt thwarted when doctors would not prescribe both to them. Patients who sought fen from one doctor and phen from another have only themselves to blame for the outcome. Xenical: inhibits the uptake of fat by the body. You need to modify your diet to reduce fat intake to get the most benefit. Side effects include diarrhoea, which, in my case, was so bad that I had to stop taking the drug. I won't use amphetamines, since I have had uncomfortable responses to such drugs in the past.