Lifestyle tips

Appetite stimulants

I don’t know about the OTC ones you have listed, but I want to say on the general topic: don’t get prescription strength appetite stimulants unless you actually have a medical need for them because the side effects can be brutal. Having battled an eating disorder, I’ve been on both Periactin and Megace before at different times. They work very well, at least at first (I found they lost effectiveness over time) but they are only worth it when the alternative is eating so little it’s dangerous because they can really mess with your mood, energy levels, and general health.
1 year

Appetite stimulants

Finickyfeedee:
I don’t know about the OTC ones you have listed, but I want to say on the general topic: don’t get prescription strength appetite stimulants unless you actually have a medical need for them because the side effects can be brutal. Having battled an eating disorder, I’ve been on both Periactin and Megace before at different times. They work very well, at least at first (I found they lost effectiveness over time) but they are only worth it when the alternative is eating so little it’s dangerous because they can really mess with your mood, energy levels, and general health.


Agreed … mirtazapine for depression and metoprolol for blood pressure are notorious for causing weight gain … BUT! mirtazapine can knock you out, and metoprolol can kill your sex drive. I have used both, for their intended and prescribed uses, but I stopped them. The benefit of weight gain is not worth the side effects.
1 year

Appetite stimulants

I tried Periactin which is a medication they actually prescribe to underweight people and experienced nothing but extreme drowsiness.
1 year

Appetite stimulants

Finickyfeedee:
I don’t know about the OTC ones you have listed, but I want to say on the general topic: don’t get prescription strength appetite stimulants unless you actually have a medical need for them because the side effects can be brutal. Having battled an eating disorder, I’ve been on both Periactin and Megace before at different times. They work very well, at least at first (I found they lost effectiveness over time) but they are only worth it when the alternative is eating so little it’s dangerous because they can really mess with your mood, energy levels, and general health.

MarshmallowMinotaur:
Agreed … mirtazapine for depression and metoprolol for blood pressure are notorious for causing weight gain … BUT! mirtazapine can knock you out, and metoprolol can kill your sex drive. I have used both, for their intended and prescribed uses, but I stopped them. The benefit of weight gain is not worth the side effects.


As a pharmacist I have to disagree about Metoprolol causing weight gain in a significant % of patients.

It's very true of Mirtazapine, however.
1 year

Appetite stimulants

Wat:
I tried Periactin which is a medication they actually prescribe to underweight people and experienced nothing but extreme drowsiness.


It's normal, Periactin is, like Benadryl, a first generation antihistamine. Both cause a lot of drowsiness.

Periactin is the medication many patients of African origin buy in pharmacy to encourage weight gain in girls deemed "too skinny". It's available without a prescription in Canada.
1 year

Appetite stimulants

I found the drowsiness reduced after a few days of use. Those first few days, though. Awful.
1 year