Before starting Meridia, patients should have their blood pressure and heart rate checked by their doctor.  Their doctor should continue checking their blood pressure regularly while taking Meridia.  It is important that patients have regular check-ups with their doctor while they are taking Meridia.

People should not take Meridia if they have severe liver or kidney disease, are pregnant or planning to get pregnant, or if they are nursing.

Patients should tell their doctor if they have or ever have had glaucoma, kidney or liver problems, seizures, bleeding problems, gallstones or depression, are pregnant or planning to become pregnant, or are breastfeeding.

Using Meridia with certain other medicines may affect how Meridia or the other medicines work.  Patients should tell their doctor about all the medications they take, including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins and herbal supplements.  Patients should especially tell their doctor if they take: a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) medicine, other weight loss medicines, cough and cold medicines, migraine headache medicines, medicines used to treat depression, narcotic pain medications, lithium, tryptophan, or medicines that thin the blood.

Meridia may cause serious side effects, including:

Serotonin syndrome, which may happen when people take Meridia with certain other medicines that affect a brain chemical called serotonin.  Patients should not take other medicines with Meridia unless their doctor has told them to.  Patients should get medical help right away if they have any of the following symptoms: feel weak, restless, confused or anxiouslose consciousness (faint)have a fever, vomiting, sweating, shivering or shakinghave a fast heart beatseizures (convulsions, fits).bleeding.  Bleeding may happen if patients have a condition that causes bleeding or if they take a blood thinning medicine.

Certain weight loss medicines have a rare but life-threatening problem that affects blood pressure in the lungs (pulmonary hypertension).  It is not known if Meridia may cause this problem.  Patients should call their doctor right away if they have new or worsening shortness of breath.

The most common side effects include dry mouth, loss of appetite, trouble sleeping, constipation and headache.

Patients should not drive, operate heavy machinery or do other dangerous activities until they know how Meridia affects them.

Never give Meridia to anyone else because it may cause death or harm them.  Selling or giving away this medicine is against the law.

This is some of the most important information to know about Meridia.  For more information, patients should talk with their health care provider.

SOURCE Abbott