Alli

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One of my friend and my sister are taking Alli. Is this dangerous for them? I'm not considering taking it. I only want to loose 10 more lbs, but I worry about them taking it. They say it is okay because it is FDA approved.

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  • MaryKatU
    MaryKatU Posts: 146
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    One of my friend and my sister are taking Alli. Is this dangerous for them? I'm not considering taking it. I only want to loose 10 more lbs, but I worry about them taking it. They say it is okay because it is FDA approved.
  • lotusfromthemud
    lotusfromthemud Posts: 5,335 Member
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    "You may feel an urgent need to go to the bathroom. Until you have a sense of any treatment effects, it's probably a smart idea to wear dark pants, and bring a change of clothes with you to work."

    The above statement is copy/pasted from the Alli website. Anything that must say this on their official website is NOT for me. The FDA has approved many things that they have later recalled due to safety issues.

    Why take the risk? The "magic pill" for weight loss is simple: eat food, sensibly in good portions, and add activity to your life. End of story.:flowerforyou:
  • shorerider
    shorerider Posts: 3,817 Member
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    You're joking?? The website really says that? I've never heard of this stuff but I would never take something that carried a warning like that--bet it comes with coupons for Depends, too!
  • LokiFae
    LokiFae Posts: 774 Member
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    From what I've heard, it's not dangerous, but if you eat over 10g of fat a day, you get horrible horrible digestive pains and...well...yuck. You pretty much need the extra clothes viviakay quoted from the website. And since they advertise it as a life-long thing, you can never splurge on anything without having the runs. Definitely NOT for me.

    It's better to not limit yourself so if you DO have a little lapse in willpower judgment, you don't have to spend all day in the bathroom.
  • lotusfromthemud
    lotusfromthemud Posts: 5,335 Member
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    You're joking?? The website really says that? I've never heard of this stuff but I would never take something that carried a warning like that--bet it comes with coupons for Depends, too!

    I couldn't make this stuff up. See for yourself, about halfway down the page.

    http://www.myalli.com/howdoesitwork/treatmenteffects.aspx
  • flcaoh
    flcaoh Posts: 444
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    My best friend took that for a while. I gave her constant hell about her 'oily discharge' LOL. NO THANKS. I'd rather workout for 3 hours a day than take a pill that's gonna cause me to poo myself in public.
  • icandoit
    icandoit Posts: 4,163 Member
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    "You may feel an urgent need to go to the bathroom. Until you have a sense of any treatment effects, it's probably a smart idea to wear dark pants, and bring a change of clothes with you to work."

    The above statement is copy/pasted from the Alli website. Anything that must say this on their official website is NOT for me. The FDA has approved many things that they have later recalled due to safety issues.

    Why take the risk? The "magic pill" for weight loss is simple: eat food, sensibly in good portions, and add activity to your life. End of story.:flowerforyou:

    ditto:flowerforyou:
  • LightenUp_Caro
    LightenUp_Caro Posts: 572 Member
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    My father is a Gastroenterologist and he explained it to me:

    Apparently as long as you maintain an extremely low in fat diet, you don't have the urgent oily stools and what have you. Apparently what it does is it takes one fourth of the fat you eat and shoots it straight through you. The rest of it is digested normally like we usually would. It is nice in theory, but the reality of it is horrible and gross. If you're eating the amount of fat it will allow you then you aren't getting enough- our bodies NEED fat. And if you eat a Whopper, you need a diaper.

    Its a Lose/Lose situation. Either you aren't getting vital nutrients to keep you healthy or your the girl who uncontrollably poops fat on her pretty clothes.
    Expensive- you have to buy new pants...LOTS of new pants.
  • icandoit
    icandoit Posts: 4,163 Member
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    The diet pill works by blocking 25 percent of fat from being digested. Alli users take one pill with every meal, and to avoid an “Alli oops,” they should eat less than 42 grams of fat a day, or about 15 grams per meal. But those fat grams can be sneaky. One grande Starbucks Caramel Frappuccino contains 15 grams of fat, and if an Alli user adds even a low-fat muffin to that meal, it could get icky.

    “It’s so important to understand that you must adopt a low-fat, healthy lifestyle,” Jones says. “We call them treatment effects — that’s a signal for you that you’re not staying in the guidelines. What Alli will not do is make up for not living a healthy lifestyle.”

    Cheaters share cautionary tales
    But we don’t always like to bother with directions. Those who haven’t completely followed instructions offer cautionary tales on the drug company’s Web site.

    “(I)’ve pooped my pants 3 times today, and sorry to get descriptive but it even leaked onto the couch at one point!” writes one user.

    It can strike any time — even in the early hours of the morning. One user writes: “(Y)a know how when you start moving around in the morning ya pass a little gas. Well, I did and then went into the bathroom and to my horror I had an orange river of grease running down my leg.”

    Fellow cheaters advise each other on the best clean-up methods, and some even suggest using panty liners or Depends. One frugal user noted, “I’m thinking that infant diapers might be a cheaper way to go, just use them as a large pad.”

    The gross side effects might scare away the less-committed, but some experts appreciate Alli’s very real, very immediate consequences of cheating on your diet.

    “It forces you to eat a lower-fat diet — if you don’t, you’re violently penalized for not doing so,” says David Sarwer, the director of clinical services at the Center for Weight Loss and Eating Disorders at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. “When they eat a little too much fat, they’ll learn not to do it again.”

    The drugmaker claims Alli is promoting healthier lifestyles by teaching users that weight loss involves eating healthy food and getting enough exercise — and Sarwer agrees.

    “People who are struggling with their weight assume that thin people never think about what they eat,” Sarwer says. “I’ve always been impressed by patients who really rolled with the punches with some of these events. They say, ‘Well, I learned that I couldn’t do that. It taught me to eat differently.’ And that’s where I think Alli can be the greatest benefit.”

    Side effects are avoidable
    Some Alli enthusiasts have been conscientious enough to avoid any side effects. Carole McMahan, who’s trying to lose 10 pounds, started taking Alli the day the product hit drugstore shelves on June 15, and has been careful to follow the low-fat diet.

    “No pun intended, but I’m very anal about it,” says McMahan, who’s 44 and lives in Greensboro, N.C. She appreciates the way Alli holds her accountable to her eating habits.

    “I started very cautiously, and I’ve just grown more and more comfortable with it,” McMahan says. “I just follow the diet. I knew I couldn’t go out and order hot fudge cake.”

    But some Alli fans, like 25-year-old Rachelle Beaini, are just asking for it. Beaini, who lives in Henderson, Nev., and wants to lose 20 pounds, has lost 6 pounds in two weeks without a single side effect. Inspired by her success, last week she dared to eat a meal of chicken nuggets — while wearing white pants. (Still no unpleasant consequences, she swears.)

    Still, as some obesity experts point out, if you’ve made a change in your eating habits, why is a diet pill necessary? Drewnowski, the Seattle public-health researcher, says that hearing “Alli oops” stories frustrates him.

    Go to this and read whole write up if you would like
    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19587389/
  • abbychelle07
    abbychelle07 Posts: 656 Member
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    I would much rather lose weight without a pill.

    Before you take any medications, you should ask yourself: Do you really know what it does and how it does it? Do you know the ingredients? Do you know how it will affect you? Do you NEED to take it? What are the common (and uncommon!) side effects? Do they sound worse than what you have now?

    I used to take a pill for everything, even small headaches, but then I got pregnant and didn't take ANYTHING for over a year (for the pregnancy and breastfeeding.) It kind of reminded me that you can get through a lot without pills. Of course, pushing out a baby gives you some confidence in your body too! :laugh:

    I always laugh when I see a drug advertised on TV. They breeze through how wonderful it is for you and then someone says really quickly and quietly: may cause abdominal cramps, bloating, gas, diarrhea, blot clots, weight gain, seizures, death, etc. No thanks!
  • banks1850
    banks1850 Posts: 3,475 Member
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    Ugh. Why would you ever consider this? It's insanity IMHO. If you want to eat a lower fat diet, just choose to eat lower fat foods and keep track. I don't see what the big deal is. I'm sorry, but I don't EVER see there being a good reason to loose bowl control if you can avoid it. I don't care if it turned me into Mr. Universe I would turn it down.
  • chimpoco
    chimpoco Posts: 193
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    Sounds terrible! I would rather be 10 pounds overweight than to poop my pants in public.
  • neome90
    neome90 Posts: 420
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    Sounds terrible! I would rather be 10 pounds overweight than to poop my pants in public.
    I concur.....:noway: !!!!!!!!
  • jenbar
    jenbar Posts: 1,038 Member
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    I attempted it. Not for me. The oily farts and excuse my lack of another description, pizza like grease when you poop, it wasn't worth it! Gave it away for some other poor woman to try!
  • DjBliss05
    DjBliss05 Posts: 682
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    Sounds terrible! I would rather be 10 pounds overweight than to poop my pants in public.

    My understanding is that it isn't for people who have 10lbs to lose. Although, I have about 60 to lose and you can bet that I won't be taking anything that may cause me to poop my pants!

    Yuck!

    It is really amazing the lengths that people will go to in order to lose weight. I can't say the idea of taking a pill to lose weight doesn't appeal to me, but I'm okay with exercising and eatting healthier!
  • icandoit
    icandoit Posts: 4,163 Member
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    Here is a quote from my cousin who tried it-She is very straight to the point:blushing:
    "I am fat and I like food. I am lazy and do not like to move any more than I have too. Therefore a pill is right for me. I bought Alli-loved the colors on the bottle. I took it and I ate a pesto bagel ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. Took my second one with my lovely dinner that was Long John Silvers. I began to feel like I needed to fart-so I did. Cheese Whizz came out my butt. That was not good. I just paid $60 for those pants. I ended up with a somewhat fierce stomachache cause I was afraid to fart. I decided to give it one more try. I had a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast and that ugly pill. My crap was very loose, and the color that the crayola company doesn't even use. I called in sick to work because the smell that came out of me was not something I wanted to share with my co workers. There wasn't a match big enough to get rid of that. I took another pill and had lunch. I had leftovers. Cheese Whizz again. I am proud to say that I am stain free and only get my Cheese Whizz in a can.
    It makes a great gag gift for those you hate."

    Sorry-she cleaned it up a bit.
    She has gone from a size 32 to a size 14. Diet, exercise and no pill.
  • dakoda
    dakoda Posts: 38
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    Here is a quote from my cousin who tried it-She is very straight to the point:blushing:
    "I am fat and I like food. I am lazy and do not like to move any more than I have too. Therefore a pill is right for me. I bought Alli-loved the colors on the bottle. I took it and I ate a pesto bagel ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. Took my second one with my lovely dinner that was Long John Silvers. I began to feel like I needed to fart-so I did. Cheese Whizz came out my butt. That was not good. I just paid $60 for those pants. I ended up with a somewhat fierce stomachache cause I was afraid to fart. I decided to give it one more try. I had a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast and that ugly pill. My crap was very loose, and the color that the crayola company doesn't even use. I called in sick to work because the smell that came out of me was not something I wanted to share with my co workers. There wasn't a match big enough to get rid of that. I took another pill and had lunch. I had leftovers. Cheese Whizz again. I am proud to say that I am stain free and only get my Cheese Whizz in a can.
    It makes a great gag gift for those you hate."

    Sorry-she cleaned it up a bit.
    She has gone from a size 32 to a size 14. Diet, exercise and no pill.

    That is too funny!
  • sgtinvincible
    sgtinvincible Posts: 2,559
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    "You may feel an urgent need to go to the bathroom. Until you have a sense of any treatment effects, it's probably a smart idea to wear dark pants, and bring a change of clothes with you to work."

    Considering that my bathroom urges are about the only thing I do have control over in my life *thanks for the training Mom and Dad!!! Props!*, I'll pass on the magic pants darkening pills. :wink:
  • ali106
    ali106 Posts: 3,754 Member
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    lol...omg....I need glasses I thought this one was for me LOL! ugh...

    ANYWAY now that I read it I have to say I have heard from a friend that she had to a wear....um...back ups because it was explosive! literally ewwww...not something i'd try after that testimonial...and omg...lmbo the others too!

    so this is one L Ali offering hugs and wishing you luck LOL
  • MaryKatU
    MaryKatU Posts: 146
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    Thanks for all the comments. My sis and friend didn't mention any of the nasty side affects. I can't wait until I talk to them later. :laugh: