Physicians may prescribe the generically termed medicine sibutramine as an aid to help obese people lose weight. The drug, marketed with the brand name Meridia, usually in 10 mg doses, works to raise the level of activity of the neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine, which MayoClinic.com states helps people lose weight. The doctor also usually will prescribe a strict diet to accompany the use of the medicine.
Anxiety
Like many weight-reduction medications, Meridia 10 mg acts as a stimulant that may cause the person taking it to experience some non-serious and temporary side effects. When the person first starts using Meridia 10 mg, he may find that he feels anxious without provocation. This side effect, MayoClinic.com reports, generally goes away by itself. If the person feels an extreme form of anxiety, or if it does not disappear on its own, MayoClinic.com recommends asking the doctor for some help with it.
Irritability
Compounded with the stress of dieting, Meridia 10 mg also can cause the person using it to become irritable. The person may exhibit abnormal impatience with inanimate objects and tasks as well as people. These side effects, too, classify as non-serious and should vanish without a physician's aid.
Pain
Taking Meridia 10 mg can cause the person to feel pain in several ways. For example, she may feel pain in her back or she may develop headaches. She may experience pain in her joints and she may get sudden pain during her menstrual cycle period. She also may develop pain in her throat. None of these problems classifies as serious side effects. Drugs.com indicates doctors expect pain from Meridia 10 mg to cease without medical help, but recommends talking with a doctor if the pain exists in a severe form or it does not end as the person's body becomes accustomed to the medicine.
Flu-Like Syndrome
Meridia 10 mg can produce side effects that feel to the person as if he has caught a cold or influenza. This condition, called flu-like syndrome, should vanish as the person gets used to Meridia 10 mg, Drugs.com indicates. The side effect may produce such symptoms as a fever, chills, rhinitis or a runny nose, nasal congestion and nausea. The condition typically ends during the body's adjustment to Meridia 10 mg. Many people will assume they have colds because of this side effect, and like the flu or a cold, it will go away in a short time, Drugs.com indicates.
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