Quitting Symlin (or, the Appetizer Suppressant!)

[M. (for now!)]

While at a program for diabetics in Arizona recently (Lifestyle Center of America; more on that in another post), I was placed on an injected drug called Symlin. Symlin is a drug that simulates something in a healthy pancreas called Amalyn (Amalin?), and from what I understand, Amalyn works to slow the rates of gastric emptying and even out post-meal blood glucose in non-diabetics. Symlin is a synthetic drug made to do the same, but it is not a perfect surrogate. It didn’t do very much for stabilizing my blood sugars, but it did suppress my appetite significantly and make me nauseous whenever I ate.

As they watched my appetitie and waistline shrink, others would joke about Symlin being a “miracle drug”, but in fact I find it quite the opposite. I never felt that it was necessary to “Eat to Live” rather than “Live to Eat”. Food, and the enjoyment of it, is an extremely significant part of life that no one should feel deprived of in service of weight maintenance. Now that I’ve been using the Symlin for a long time, I’ve started to dread meals. That might make for rapid weight loss, but it also makes for rapid depression and loss of daily pleasure.

So, I am going to see what happens if I stay off of the Symlin for a few days. I haven’t had appetizers in months, and I normally love them. An appetite suppresant didn’t sound bad, but an appetizer suppresant? Now that’s too much to give up…

[Lindsey]

Haha nice. I've been thinking about going on it, but I haven't heard much feedback. Especially negative feedback.