Q: I am a 23-year-old female weighing 87 kg and five feet three inches tall. I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, for which I was prescribed Exermet 500 tablets (twice daily), Aldectone 100 tablets (once daily), Obestat 10 mg tablets (once daily) and Caberlin tablets (half a tablet per week). I have already lost 10 kg with regular exercise and by taking Slimona tablets (once daily) with Eltroxin 100 mcg tablets (once daily. So, I wish to continue Slimona with the newly prescribed medicines. Is it safe to consume Slimona along with the above-mentioned medicines?

A:Since your thyroid function is not adequate, Eltroxin (thyroxine hormone secreted by thyroid gland) is the appropriate medicine. Once your thyroid function comes to normal or near normal, your weight problem will get considerably reduced. Please keep in mind that people with inadequate thyroid function are invariably obese. Unless the root cause of obesity is removed, other weight reducing medicines are not only ineffective or temporarily effective, but often dangerous. Obestat (sibutramine) is indicated in some selected cases of nutritional obesity (i.e. overweight due to diet) and certainly not in patients of hypothyroidism. It has a huge number of side effects including high blood pressure, anxiety, paraesthesia etc. Slimona is an Ayurvedic product and is not permitted to be prescribed by allopathic doctors as per 1996 Supreme Court Judgement. We have no information on its safety, efficacy and interactions with modern allopathic drugs. Exermet contains metformin indicated in the treatment of diabetes and other cases of insulin resistance such as Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). Caberline (cabergolin) is used in the treatment of high blood prolactin levels, naturally after getting prolactin levels measured. Its side effects include: Dizziness, vertigo, syncope, nausea, g-i upset, headache, fatigue, breast pain, asthenia, hot flushes, aggression and psychotic disorders, nervousness, hypotension, loss of scalp hair (alopecia), dysmenorrhoea, paraesthesia, somnolence, fibrosis, valvulopathy, rarely palpitations, nose bleeding and vision (sight) abnormalities. Aldactone (spironolactone) is a diuretic that increases the production of urine. It is also used in female hirutism (unwanted hair on face, etc.). Please discuss the side effects with your treating doctor before using the medicines.