Q: I am a 37-year-old female weighing 74 kg and height 5.2 feet. Can I take Obego 10 mg, Metadoxine and Evion. What are the side effects of Obego?

A:Obego is the brand name; the name of the medicine is sibutramine. It is indicated in a very few, selected cases of nutritional obesity (i.e. due to over-eating) as adjunctive therapy provided the body mass index is not less than 30 and also if other measures have failed. There are many contraindications to the use of this drug such as breast-feeding. Its side effects include tachycardia, palpitations, increased BP, vasodilation, loss of appetite, constipation, dry mouth, nausea, haemorrhoid aggravation, insomnia, light-headedness, headache, anxiety, paraesthesia, sweating, taste perversion, etc. Unless there is proven, documented deficiency of vitamins, there is no need to take supplements such as Evion since it has many side effects such as lethargy, muscle cramps, diarrhoea, etc.