Betahistine: Weight Loss Super-Pill?

hellooooo ppl ,just reading through ure posts think i am an expert on dizzyness/betahistine.
ive been constantly dizzy now for 3 months and have been taking 16mg 3x a day with food as it says in instructions and if any thing ive gained weight...at first i lost half a stone but like somebody said earlier i think its down to stress and anxiety of not knowing what the matter is. still dont know whats wrong,convinced i have a brain tumour.

Im a 52 year old male taking 16 mg SERC x 3 daily for Menieres for the past 9 months. I cycle or run 10 hours a week 50 weeks a year, for the past 30 years. I often ride 60 to 70 mile bike rides. I'm 6' and my weight has dropped from 185 to 165 in the first 6 months and is now stable at 165. I'm also taking Diazide and on a low salt diet, both for the Menieres. I suspect that elmination of high salt foods (virtually everything at resturants or processed) has reduced my total caloric intake, but perhaps the SERC is also a factor in reducing my food intake. I've had perhaps 20 Vertigo attacks in the past year, which means throwing up for 8 to 12 hours, and no food intake for 1 or 2 days. I would rather have the 20 extra pounds and no Vertigo.

I take Betahistine for Meniere's disease and "hydrops". I have severe tinnitus and get episodic dizzy spells. Usually the only solution for this are vestibular therapy which did NOT work on me, adjusting hormone therapy, or taking betahistine and/or a diuretic. There are other avenues of therapy as well. Hormone adjustments and betahistine have been more successful for dizzy spells. I haven't noticed any change in weight or appetite, but that could change as I only started it.

I sort of resent the comments about all you need to do is make lifestyle changes. I do not smoke, drink, or take drugs; I eat healthy, no MSG or additives and watch my Sodium intake. Some people get stricken with diseases or sundry afflictions by no fault of their own. Part of the problem is medicine has not caught up with these problems and therefore all therapies of any kind are basically "inadequate" to varying degrees.

How Much is 2 stones?

1 stone = 14 pounds, if I'm not mistaken.
And I will be shocked if I lose even 1 stone on betahistine! Seriously, I can't tell any difference whatsoever, but I only take 16 -24 mg a day to help control dizzy spells. Some people are taking more than that.

Dosage: The usual adult daily dosage range is 24 to 48 mg administered orally in divided doses. 8 mg tablets: 1 to 2 tablets 3 times daily; 16 mg tablets: 1/2 to 1 tablet 3 times daily. As betahistine can cause gastrointestinal upset in some patients, it is recommended that doses be taken with a meal.

I am taking betahistine. I will let you know if it works for weight loss. I read about the study on weight with this drug.I ordered it off the internet. Beth

About two years ago I was prescribed betahistine for tinnitus, at the time i was going to slimming club, I lost three stone and was eating normally however when I stopped taking the tablets I put it all back on again without changing my diet at all, in my opinion they do aid slimming.

To the so called Dr. who thinks that all someone needs to do is make a lifestyle change, it's no wonder that you went into surgery since that's akin to bloodletting, and that's about your level of sophistication concerning medicine. Just because you weren't trained about something doesn't mean that you should go around displaying your ignorance. Shame on you, you so poorly represent the medical profession. That's also probably why surgeons have a reputation for totally lacking in compassion.

There are many factors that determine weight, lifestyle is only one. Have you ever been really hungry. Really, truly straving hungry. Now imagine being that way all the time. Tell me what lifestyle changes you will use to overcome that.

I have vertigo and just have started Betahistine 8 mg bid as of yesterday. So far, it makes me very sleepy and I am hungry constantly. It does seem to help the vertigo. If I happen to loose any weight I will let you know but it is seeming unlikely with the low energy caused by drowsiness and being hungry all the time.

Hey not sure who this DR J is but if he is a real Physcian let him show his licence to pratice. Anyone can claim he/she is a physcian .....I say this physcian must not see patients since he has so much time to be posting in the internet. For all of you that want to know about this slimming pill here is what I found to be the truth.....
Vertigo pill is new obesity wonderdrug
by MARTYN HALLE -

A new pill for obesity helps overweight people shed more than 4lb a week. The drug, Betahistine, is currently used to treat the dizziness disorder vertigo.
But an obesity expert in Israel stumbled on the alternative use while looking for a new treatment for his overweight patients.
Now drug company Eli Lilly has become involved and is backing trials being carried out in Canada and America. In the first human trial in Tel Aviv, volunteers shed excess weight at a rate of almost 4lb a week for three months.
Because Betahistine is an existing drug, it is expected to be fast-tracked by British and American drug safety regulators and should become available worldwide for treating obesity in 2009.
About 40 per cent of adults in the UK are overweight, and 20 per cent are obese. This figure is rising, particularly among young adults.
"This drug is significantly more effective at helping people to lose weight then anything else on the market at present," says Dr Ami Eyal, medical director of Obecure, the company developing the pill.
"The great thing is that this drug has been around since the Sixties and there are no significant side-effects from taking it. It has already been used by 130 million people for vertigo - it is licensed in the UK for this - so we know it is safe.
"Some of the existing drugs for obesity have been linked with depression and suicidal tendencies, but there have never been any such reports with this drug.
"Our patients were absolutely amazed at how quickly they lost weight and they were quite disappointed when we had to stop the trial.
"Existing anti-obesity pills have proved to be slow in reducing weight in seriously obese people and they generally need to have surgery. But operations for the morbidly obese are risky."

Betahistine works on a part of brain known as the histamine receptor. Histamines are a group of chemicals that are part of the body's immune system, and protect it against disease.

Over-production of histamine causes allergic disorders such as peanut allergy, hay fever and sensitivity to wasp and bee stings. Histamine also helps to suppress appetite, although it is not clear why.

Betahistine is a manufactured copy of histamine.

"Histamine is found in the gut as well as the brain, but its connection with appetite control has not yet been established," says Dr Nir Barak, of the Rabin Medical Centre in Tel Aviv, who discovered the new use of the drug.

"We found that the patients in our trial developed a dislike for fatty foods," says Dr Eyal. The pill has also been found to reduce cholesterol levels in the blood.

Betahistine could be used as a real alternative to highly expensive, and potentially dangerous, obesity surgery which is rationed in some parts of the NHS. The new drug should cost the NHS just a few pence per tablet.

"Although Betahistine does not have a licence to treat obesity, because its safety as a drug has been proven doctors in Britain can already use it to treat patients for weight loss," says Dr Eyal.
Dr Ian Campbell, medical director of the charity Weight Concern, says: "It's smashing news that we may soon have a new drug to treat obesity. Surgery is very expensive and if there another option .
Heck.why not try it!

You may want to consider taking our own advise and make our own "lifestyle changes"
For those people that do suffer from weight control for whatever the reasons might be, just make the choice that it is right for you and research all your options and balance the pros and cons. As for myself , I am a 47 female, that used to be a size 8 until age 34 that I notice that it was not easy to lose weight. I have been on various diets weight watchsers, jenny criag, cookie diet, I exerises by walking at least 5 x a week for one hr or longer. I eat healthy , although as many I cheat at times and head to cold stone for ice cream.
About 13 yrs ago I did well with the phen-phen diet pills and lost 30lbs. However my metoblism is not as fast as it used to be. I have been going to a Accupunture/Holistic facilty for 3- 4 weeks b12 inj 2x a week,herbal medication for weight loss and DVD'S that helps your subconsciousness mind. I lost approx 7lbs.
Now lets try these "slimming pill". If it works I will let all of you know. I am hoping to lose 60 lbs in 3months. ( 20lbs a month If Betahistine works as advertises I will let all of you know. bye DR RITZ!

Hello. I just received my 3 month supply of betahistine today (16mg tid). Where is everyone ordering from? I've ordered from a company in India that is rather cheap--$120 for 650 tablets of 8mg.

$60 for 4032 mg of betahistine here (252 tabs)...they are 16 mg tabs, so I think this is a little better deal.

http://www.inhousepharmacy.com/general/betahistine.html

I'm a 50 year old anglo male and have been taking 48 mg a day for vertigo for 18 months. I've also been on a low salt diet for the 18 months. I'm a serious runner and cyclist for the past 30 years, and ride about 150 miles per week year round. Since I began the SERC I've gone from 185 pounds to 165 pounds, most likely from the low salt diet, which eliminates virtually all high calorie or fatty foods, because of the salt content. Perhaps the SERC helped the weight loss, perhaps it was from the vertigo induced nauesa which prevents me from eating anything for a day or so, once or twice a month. The vertigo induced nauesa is terrible, and seems to be triggered by salty foods, so it has acted like aversion training...hence I don't want to meet high salt/calorie foods.

we are in a time that has 10000 food for person in the west. also our food has sugar and oil and carbo.only 60 years ago people had bearly bread to eat . go to asian countries and see how obesity is low because of 3 meals rise diet and water drink. we have commercals for food..bigmack with cheese and bacon

so we have a new disease - and pills is how we face a new disease. it will work for some people. good luck!

I ordered from inhousepharmacy as well. 252 16mg pills for $60.00 have been taking 32mgs a day for a week after 1week moved to 48mgs... have not seen any results..of course my first thought is since I ordered them from overseas..maybe theyre not even real.

just to add my tuppence worth. I had my first ever vertigo attack on May 9th 08 and have been on Serc now for 3 months. They suspect i have Menieres as my father had it also and 1 in 10 pass it on to their kids. I take 48mgs per day and while i think it has a small effect on my vertigo there is no doubt that while on this drug and without any change in my daily life i have lost a stone and a half since i started taking them. That is 25llbs to you across the pond. I have noticed that it does seem to suppress my appetite particularly my after 9pm munchies. It does not cause drowsiness and infact if anything you may feel a bit more alert!. I certainly have. It is a strange one but i can only tell you what has happened to me. I am not suffering the real bad bouts of menieres where you can go a few days without eating due to the nausea like some here have and indeed my dad suffered from. I have eaten normally throughout the last 3 months. Hope this is helpful to those seeking answers..

U have betahistine for my mèniére and i dont lose any weight at all i have 16 mg and dont lose any weight i dont know ho is telling those tinghs that you lose weight whit it it is not true believe me i gain 4 kilo and i use it for a longer time i must eat those pills three times per day for my illnis so i dont cant say that you lose weight with it