Medicines
Appetite stimulant
Category: Medicines
Type
Involuntary
Introduction and description
The correct name for an appetite enhancer or appetite stimulant is an orexigenic. One would have thought that with all the problems of obesity in the so called ‘developed’ world, the last drug that one would need is an appetite stimulant, but pharmaceutical companies have aimed this class of drugs at:
- Anorexics and those suffering from bulimia
- The elderly
- Those with cancer
- Those with AIDS
- Those with cystic fibrosis
All the people with these problems are of course generally ill or old.
In the case of anorexics, they are ‘mentally’ ill and the cause is psychological in the sense that they are unhappy and troubled people who need love. In effect, they really need help and support from people not drugs.
In the case of the elderly, many choose not to eat as a gentle, easy and pain free way to die, often when they have had enough of life. My Mum gradually reduced the amount she ate – she had dementia and my Dad had died – she was very well cared for in a home near us, but she lived for my Dad, my brother and I and was no longer in a position to help us – which is what she lived for. So she lost the will to live. She faded away – very gently, with no pain. She died, according to the certificate – of ‘old age’.
Those with cancer, AIDs and cystic fibrosis are indeed very very ill. The body is kind to people with severe illness, as it tends to help people die in a more gentle way. Dying quickly from a lack of nutrients is often a great deal less painful than dying very slowly from AIDS and cancer for example.
Thus one might question the logic of the companies who provide drugs to keep those who have either chosen to die, or whose body’s are dying anyway, alive.
Types of drugs
Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of this area is that the ‘appetite enhancement’ industry uses the undesirable side-effect of weight gain in drugs on the market for other illnesses, and then resells them under different names for the purpose of weight gain.
In a sense therefore, by seeing the list of types of drugs remarketed as appetite enhancers, we also see which drugs cause weight gain and the list is indeed impressive.
Many of these drugs cause weight gain through their action on the serotonin receptors. Serotonin functions as a messenger that helps control appetite, as such it would seem an ideal candidate to control weight. But as all drugs have multiple receptor activity and serotonin causes multiple actions in the body – not just weight gain, the side effects of any drug remarketed to promote weight gain is likely to be ‘interesting’, meaning that some very unlikely looking drugs are included in this list.
- TCAs – tricyclic antidepressants, via the serotonin activity
- Anti-histamines – many anti-histamines also have serotonin activity; where they don’t the action is via their immunosuppressant activity. If one suppresses the immune system, the pathogen causing the illness is able to obtain more of a hold and one become more ill. In this case it appears the body attempts to encourage us to take in more food so that there is more fuel to fight the pathogen
- Anti-psychotics - via the serotonin activity
- Beta blockers – here the effects may be through the epinephrine links, although this is not entirely clear. Few have serotonin activity. It is interesting to note that “Probably owing to the effect at the α1-adrenoceptor, the racemic and the individual enantiomers of propranolol have been shown to substitute for cocaine in rats”. Cocaine is serotonin controlled, so there is very clearly an inter-linking system here which has not been fully explored
- Immunosuppressants – such as dexamethasone. If one suppresses the immune system, the pathogen causing the illness is able to obtain more of a hold and one become more ill. In this case it appears the body attempts to encourage us to take in more food so that there is more fuel to fight the pathogen.
- Contraceptives – based on hormones like progesterone. Contraceptives fool the body into thinking it is pregnant and one of the things the body does during pregnancy is increase the appetite – as one is now feeding for two people not one
- Cannabinoid extracts – such as the TCH/dronabinol and nabilone extracts. Cannabis itself has no effect.
- Anabolic steroids – such as Oxandrin, nandrolone and testosterone all have the effect of stimulating the appetite
- Anti-diabetic drugs – These dugs affect sugar levels and via a complex process the amount of glucose in the blood also has an effect on appetite, in effect if you have not enough glucose to provide your cells with energy, the body’s systems work to let you know you need to eat. In diabetics, the use of insulin also has the same effect if given at too high a level.
- Lithium – lithium is known to be responsible for significant amounts of weight gain
- Some anti-epileptic drugs such as valproate, carbamazepine and gabapentin also contribute to weight gain
One of the most effective ways of obtaining weight gain without the use of any drugs at all is via so called ‘smoothies’. These have the advantage that they also contain nutrients. In general it is the fructose – which in a smoothie tends to come in almost overdose proportions – that contributes to the gain in weight.
Side-effects
Given the vast range of different types of drugs here, describing side-effects is not meaningful. But it may be of interest to show the ultimate spiritual experience - death - and the figures for this, for the drugs shown below in the observations. The figures come from ehealthme and were derived from ADRs sent by doctors and compiled by SEDA and the FDA.
Deaths example figures
Amitriptyline- On Aug, 10, 2015: 5,798 people reported to have side effects when taking Amitriptyline hydrochloride. Among them, 76 people (1.31%) have Death
Chlorpropamide - On Jul, 22, 2015: 408 people reported to have side effects when taking Chlorpropamide. Among them, 4 people (0.98%) have Death
Clonidine - On Aug, 4, 2015: 9,255 people reported to have side effects when taking Clonidine. Among them, 357 people (3.86%) have Death.
Coreg - On Aug, 10, 2015: 23,213 people reported to have side effects when taking Coreg. Among them, 868 people (3.74%) have Death
Hydrocortisone - On Jul, 25, 2015: 13,602 people reported to have side effects when taking Hydrocortisone. Among them, 352 people (2.59%) have Death
Dexamethasone - On Jul, 13, 2015: 53,189 people reported to have side effects when taking Dexamethasone. Among them, 2,458 people (4.62%) have Death
Vivelle [Estradiol] - On Aug, 10, 2015: 2,751 people reported to have side effects when taking Vivelle. Among them, 14 people (0.51%) have Death
Glyburide - On Jul, 18, 2015: 25,749 people reported to have side effects when taking Glyburide. Among them, 479 people (1.86%) have Death
Haldol - On Aug, 8, 2015: 9,421 people reported to have side effects when taking Haldol. Among them, 302 people (3.21%) have Death
Provera - On Aug, 10, 2015: 43,964 people reported to have side effects when taking Provera. Among them, 82 people (0.19%) have Death
Megace - On Jul, 26, 2015: 5,986 people reported to have side effects when taking Megace. Among them, 571 people (9.54%) have Death
Cesamet - On Jul, 15, 2015: 128 people reported to have side effects when taking Cesamet. Among them, 3 people (2.34%) have Death.
Nandrolone - On Jul, 28, 2015: 206 people reported to have side effects when taking Nandrolone decanoate. Among them, 2 people (0.97%) have Death
Zyprexa - On Aug, 4, 2015: 42,794 people reported to have side effects when taking Zyprexa. Among them, 1,539 people (3.60%) have Death
Periactin - On Aug, 10, 2015: 1,320 people reported to have side effects when taking Periactin. Among them, 31 people (2.35%) have Death
Prednisone - On Aug, 7, 2015: 146,871 people reported to have side effects when taking Prednisone. Among them, 3,016 people (2.05%) have Death
Progesterone - On Aug, 10, 2015: 4,320 people reported to have side effects when taking Progesterone. Among them, 6 people (0.14%) have Death
Inderal - On Jul, 15, 2015: 9,299 people reported to have side effects when taking Inderal. Among them, 114 people (1.23%) have Death.
Quetiapine - On Jul, 11, 2015: 4,720 people reported to have side effects when taking Quetiapine fumarate. Among them, 166 people (3.52%) have Death
Seroquel - On Jul, 18, 2015: 76,345 people reported to have side effects when taking Seroquel. Among them, 2,391 people (3.13%) have Death
Seroquel xr - On Aug, 1, 2015: 9,022 people reported to have side effects when taking Seroquel xr. Among them, 122 people (1.35%) have Death
Remeron - On Jul, 31, 2015: 12,154 people reported to have side effects when taking Remeron. Among them, 270 people (2.22%) have Death
Risperdal - On Aug, 9, 2015: 41,491 people reported to have side effects when taking Risperdal. Among them, 1,847 people (4.45%) have Death
Thorazine - On Mar, 7, 2015: 2,424 people reported to have side effects when taking Thorazine. Among them, 63 people (2.60%) have Death
Yasmin - On Aug, 10, 2015: 38,284 people reported to have side effects when taking Yasmin. Among them, 68 people (0.18%) have Death
Observations
In the following tables only a few representative drugs are shown from the lists above.
The figures come from the eHealthme website.
If the link no longer works, it may be a temporary problem caused by an update by eHealthme, or the drug company may have withdrawn the drug, or the drug may have been renamed. The latter possibility is not infrequent, as it ensures that trying to summarise the adverse side-effects for these drugs becomes almost impossible. As we have kept historical records for you, we might have made it a little easier.
As the number of drugs is extremely large, it would not have been practical to list every drug.
For a full list of drugs turn to the section for each class of drug.
|
Drug |
No of Hallucinations |
|
65 |
|
|
1 |
|
|
84 |
|
|
112 |
|
|
64 |
|
|
219 |
|
|
89 |
|
|
107 |
|
|
259 |
|
|
7 |
|
|
38 |
|
|
76 |
|
|
6 |
|
|
1 |
|
|
902 |
|
| Periactin | 44 |
| Prednisone | 633 |
| Progesterone | 9 |
| 121 | |
| Quetiapine and Seroquel | 1293 |
| Remeron | 270 |
| Risperidone and Risperdal | 3026 |
| Thorazine | 34 |
| Yasmin | 27 |
| TOTAL | 7,487 |
Related observations
Healing observations
- Betony - The Healing power of Herbal teas – Ceres Esplan 019453
- Fenugreek - The Healing power of herbs – Ceres Esplan 019986
- Mrs Grieve on Fenugreek 016791
Hallucination
- Amitriptyline hydrochloride 015646
- Chlorpropramide 017371
- Clonidine 005096
- Coreg 005087
- Cortisol and hydrocortisone 017362
- Dexamethasone 017361
- Estradiol 017367
- Glibenclamide, Glyburide and Micronase 005496
- Haloperidol and Haldol 001495
- Megace 024086
- Megestrol Acetate 019505
- Mirtazapine [use and abuse] 024094
- MPA - Medroxyprogesterone acetate and Provera 017364
- Nabilone and Cesamet 017360
- Nandrolone 017370
- Periactin 002096
- Prednisone 015666
- Progesterone 017365
- Propranolol and Inderal 005089
- Quetiapine and Seroquel 001504
- Remeron 015694
- Risperidone and Risperidal 015701
- Seroquel 015708
- Thorazine and Chlorpromazine 001492
- Tolbutamide and Orinase 017372
- Yasmin, Jasmine and Yarina 017366