Lorcaserin

Lorcaserin 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. Lorcaserin must be used along with a reduced calorie diet and an exercise plan.

Lorcaserin 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 lorcaserin include headache, nausea, and back pain. Lorcaserin can cause low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) in patients with diabetes.

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

Lorcaserin 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. Lorcaserin 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.

Lorcaserin may be found in some form under the following brand names:

• Belviq

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

Common side effects of lorcaserin include the following:

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 lorcaserin 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), almotriptan (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), and Pristiq (desvenlafaxine)
• 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 lorcaserin drug interactions. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Serious side effects have been reported with lorcaserin 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 lorcaserin 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 lorcaserin and during your treatment with lorcaserin.
• Painful erections (priapism). Lorcaserin 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 lorcaserin 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. Lorcaserin can cause your red and white blood cell counts to decrease. Your doctor may do tests to check your blood counts while taking lorcaserin.
• 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.

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

Do not take lorcaserin if you:

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

Medications can interact with certain foods. In some cases, this may be harmful and your doctor may advise you to avoid certain foods. In the case of lorcaserin, there are no specific foods that you must exclude from your diet when receiving this medication.

Before taking lorcaserin, tell your doctor about all of your medical conditions. Especially tell your doctor if you:

• are allergic to lorcaserin or to any of its ingredients
• have or had heart problems including
  • congestive heart failure
  • heart valve problems
  • slow heart beat or heart block
• have diabetes
• have sickle cell anemia, multiple myeloma, or leukemia
• have a deformed penis, Peyronie's disease, or ever had an erection that lasted more than 4 hours
• have kidney problems
• have liver problems
• are pregnant or plan to become pregnant
• breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed

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

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.

Lorcaserin falls into category X. Lorcaserin is contraindicated during pregnancy, because weight loss offers no potential benefit to a 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 lorcaserin 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 lorcaserin 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 lorcaserin.

Take lorcaserin exactly as prescribed.

Lorcaserin comes in tablet form and is taken twice every day.

If you do not lose a certain amount of weight during the first 12 weeks of your treatment, it is not likely that you will benefit from taking lorcaserin.

It is not known if lorcaserin is safe and effective in children under 18 years old.

If you miss a dose, take the missed dose as soon as you remember. If it is almost time for the next dose, skip the missed dose and take your next dose at the regular time. Do not take two doses of lorcaserin at the same time.

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.

If you take too much lorcaserin, call your healthcare provider or local Poison Control Center, or seek emergency medical attention right away.

• Store lorcaserin at room temperature between 59°F to 86°F (15°C TO 30°C).
• Keep this and all medicines out of the reach of children.
• Lorcaserin is a controlled substance (CIV). Keep lorcaserin in a safe place to protect it from theft. Never give your medication to anyone else. Selling or giving away this medication is against the law.