Orlistat/Xenical Question

taijade
taijade Posts: 38
edited September 21 in Health and Weight Loss
My Dr is putting me on Orlistat (also called Xenical and for those that buy it OTC - Alli) to see if it helps me shift some weight (given that nothing else he told me to do has...)

I know how it works but I was wondering something.

Does it differentiate between the "good" fats that we're meant to have (ie/ from fish, nuts, etc...) and the "bad" fats that we're meant to avoid?
I know the side effects that happen if you eat too much fat in a meal (which I won't go into here... :sick: ) but what happens if you were to have something like grilled salmon for dinner or a snack of nuts - would you still have the unpleasent side effects?

From what I've read it seems like it doesn't differentiate; so I would suffer the side effects if I were to eat something containing the "good" fats we're told to include in our diets...It's all a bit confusing!!

Replies

  • lilmissy2
    lilmissy2 Posts: 595 Member
    Nope, sorry :( It doesn't. It is really designed to work in conjunction with a low fat diet. If you are on the side of 'control your cals and include healthy fats' which is a good approach, then it may not be for you.

    Good luck with your decision :flowerforyou:
  • taijade
    taijade Posts: 38
    Thanks for the reply - I shall just have to be careful with things like salmon, etc until I'm at the weight my Dr wants me at.

    Unfortunately my decision is made for me. I spoke to my Dr today to ask him for help/advice and that's what he is telling me to do; so I get my first lot tomorrow and I'm in with him in 4 weeks time to check progress.
    He is wanting me to follow a low-fat, carb-watching (not low, just careful) diet and wants me under 1000 cals per day.

    Could be interesting!!
  • lilmissy2
    lilmissy2 Posts: 595 Member
    I think things like salmon that are really quite low in total fat should be ok. It's more things like nuts, oils, margarine, full fat dairy, fatty meats, chicken skin, fried foods.. that are high in fat that would cause problems. Your diet doesn't have to be fat free to avoid symptoms of Orlistat but just lower fat.

    Yikes :ohwell: I would say 1000cal is too low! (but I'd also say that Drs shouldn't give diet advice :wink: :laugh: ). Best of luck!
  • taijade
    taijade Posts: 38
    I've said that to him (about the calories) but he's insistent that I don't need more than 1,000 due to the fact that I'm unable to exercise (at the moment anyway) -rolls eyes- :laugh:

    Aha, I'm dairy free anyway (lactose intolerant!) and don't touch meat except for chicken and turkey; so hopefully I should be okay....we'll see!!

    Thank you again, I appreciate you're replies :flowerforyou:
  • kgrutch
    kgrutch Posts: 223
    just an fyi, i used to use alli occasionally. i had labwork done (for other reasons) and found that my liver enzymes were elevated. i immediately stopped the use of alli. i had my labwork rechecked after a month and they were back to normal. i have no health problems and no ther reason for my liver enzymes to be elevated. i would definitely ask the doctor to check your blood work occasionally to make sure it is ok. good luck.
  • neilmc74
    neilmc74 Posts: 3
    I have just came off Xenical. As the posters above say - it doesnt tell the difference between good and bad fats.

    As for Salmon - you should be fine - I would have had a fillet every sunday for my dinner and never had any "problems"
  • taijade
    taijade Posts: 38
    @kgruch - thank you, I'll make sure my Dr checks things like that when I see him again in 4 weeks....He does tend to be a bit lax in that sort of area so I appreciate you mentioning it otherwise I wouldn't have known!!

    @neilmc74 - that's good news for me, I love my salmon!! Much appreciated; I feel a bit better about eating it now!
  • dgroulx
    dgroulx Posts: 159 Member
    I'm a pharmacist. The med blocks intestinal absorption of fats. If they don't get absorbed they only go one place - out. Your stool will have a lot more fat in it. This is called a side effect of the med, but it is not really. That is the intention. It's no more harmful than diabetes meds that block carbohydrate absorption (not approved for weight loss, though).

    My doctor had me on Bontril (diphenmetrizine). It's a diet pill that speeds metabolism and cuts your appetite. My daily max calories was 800. I stayed on it for about 6 months. There's no problem eating that few calories. Unfortunately, I had a bad bicycle accident that laid me up for a while and gain back most of the weight. Now that I can exercise, I'm doing it all again myself on 900 to 1000 per day without the pills.
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