Orlistat? Alli?

greensalad

Bit of an odd question but I wondered, people in Orlistat, did your doctor recommend it or did you ask?

I am thinking I would like to ask my doctor to go on Orlistat in order to save the money I would spend on Alli, but I feel a bit like asking for it is cheeky... but I've heard good things about it. My Mum is on it and has lost more weight than she feels she would have done alone.

I'm currently on Weight Watchers and have been for only 2 weeks and have lost weight but I feel that with a little extra help I'd obviously be able to lose more and feel more motivated.

I am considering booking an appointment to ask my doctor for it but I am not sure how it works in terms of "asking" for specific treatments rather than being recommended them.

I cannot blame it entirely but I went on the contraceptive implant in January 2013 and gained a whopping 4 stone. Like I said, much of it is my fault but before that I had stayed a bit chubby 12st 7lbs for several years. My weight gain started 2 weeks after having the thing put in. It's now out, and I have maintained at 16st 8lbs since November but am obviously now trying to lose! I graduate in mid July and have it in my head I would like to lose 1.5 stone by my graduation date (that's 21lbs over 19 weeks). But I am wondering if Orlistat will help me maybe lose 2 stone by then, which would be fab.

So... has anyone just gone in and asked and been successful? I have the same doctor who put the implant in and took it out when I said I was unhappy with the weight gain. So perhaps she will see as she did discuss with me at length getting it taken out and agreed that my weight gain had probably been influenced by it, but I'm just not sure about asking for stuff! Maybe I am too British.

terra_ferma

Isn't Alli/Orlistat that medication that makes you leak fat from your (I don't know how to put it more politely) back passage? Incontinence seems to be another side effect (among many others) according to wikipedia.

If you are losing weight naturally, personally I'd stay away from pills and similar weight loss products.

margaretclare

terra_ferma wrote: »

Isn't Alli/Orlistat that medication that makes you leak fat from your (I don't know how to put it more politely) back passage? Incontinence seems to be another side effect (among many others) according to wikipedia.

If you are losing weight naturally, personally I'd stay away from pills and similar weight loss products.

That was certainly the side-effect when my DH was prescribed it by his GP. Needless to say, getting up in the night to change all the bedding down to the mattress-cover was not what we volunteered for. He didn't stay on it for very long, as you can appreciate! Once was enough.

greensalad

I've tried it before (mum gave me a small pack of her pills, I know she's not supposed to, and I did it for three days) and I didn't have side effects too bad (yes I did have that... but not that bad.)

terra_ferma

margaretclare wrote: »

That was certainly the side-effect when my DH was prescribed it by his GP. Needless to say, getting up in the night to change all the bedding down to the mattress-cover was not what we volunteered for. He didn't stay on it for very long, as you can appreciate! Once was enough.

OMG sounds horrible :eek:

heartbreak_star

greensalad wrote: »

I've tried it before (mum gave me a small pack of her pills, I know she's not supposed to, and I did it for three days) and I didn't have side effects too bad (yes I did have that... but not that bad.)

Give it a fortnight. That's when I started leaking.

Besides, all it does is help fat pass through...fat isn't bad. Processed and refined sugars are.

Do you exercise?

HBS x

Watto30

Sorry to hear about the weight gain from the implant but sounds like you are doing the right things to shift it. I have never asked for orlistat but been offered it by doctors, have politely declined so have never tried it, was always too scared! dont be nervous about asking your GP for them as they will have seen the weight gain due to the implant so if there is help available in the form of these tablets then surely you should be entitled to it


I know two people who were successful on the orlistat pills and lost good amounts of weight alongside following a healthy low fat diet and as far as I am aware they didnt seem to suffer with the side effects and managed busy lives with travel to and from work etc


For me it was the possible side effects that really put me off taking them,mind you I probably would have lost a tonne of weight as would have been too nervous to eat anything just in case!! I sit on trains for two hours per day to and from work and really could not face the potential for accidents as getting to the toilet carriage not alwasy straightforward on a packed train (sorry am not trying to put you off these) from the little I know about them sometimes even good fats get passed out like salmon or eggs but I guess its horses for courses so what might affect one person might be fine for someone else.


Good luck with asking for them

Twisted_Cherry

I've been on Orlistat on and off over the years and it has helped me lose weight. As for the side effects I've never experienced the 'leakage' people talk about, yes when you go to the toilet you pass oil - supposedly the fat you eat... but never experienced problems with leakage that I have heard others talk about!

greensalad

heartbreak_star wrote: »

Give it a fortnight. That's when I started leaking.

Besides, all it does is help fat pass through...fat isn't bad. Processed and refined sugars are.

Do you exercise?

HBS x

I've started running again and going to an aqua class with a friend next week. I don't think I'm too unfit (45 minute uphill walk to uni, walk around town a lot running errands and such and do a lot of outdoors stuff at the weekends.) But I guess every little helps and it'd be good to do some exercise alongside diet but I'm well aware that for me it's nearly all about what I eat.

terra_ferma

Twisted_Cherry wrote: »

I've been on Orlistat on and off over the years and it has helped me lose weight.

Do you mean that you had a lot of weight to lose and it took years, or that you were putting it back on, losing it again etc?

mumps

Don't you just get the leakage if you eat too much fat? Well that is how a friend explained it to me, she said if she stuck to low fat she didn't have a problem.