Can Anything Be Done For My Daughter’s Appetite?

QUESTION:

Dear Dr. Heller:

My daughters hypothalamus was damaged after debulking a tumor.  Almost three years now we’ve been battling a constant appetite.  She’s currently taking other medications, cortef, Synthroid, DDAVP and BuSpar.  Is there ANYTHING out there that she could take to suppress her appetite?  If so, please respond.

 

ANSWER:

Some medications can indeed suppress appetite including Topamax and higher doses of Remeron.  Meridia is an appetite suppressant as well, but a poor one.  I’d highly recommend doing the screening test I use for my patients to see if there are any diagnoses present that need treatment.

If nothing shows up, a visit to an academic center that specialized in appetite seems to be in order.