Has anyone tried Alli?

I not only used it, in the past, but I also worked on the brand indirectly. No medical claims here - I tried it once without paying attention strictly to the fat in my diet. I definitely experienced the side effect.

But, once I started getting clinical info about the brand I tried it again. It was very effective and without side effects when I paid strict attention to the fat in my diet. In other words, once i ate a clean diet - no fast food, no fried food, no smoked salmon, cutting away all visible fat from any protein I ate - I experienced no side effects whatsoever.

And, it was a great jumpstart to help me lose lbs. I only used it to jumpstart, after a couple months I stopped using it 'cause my diet had become so clean and manageable that I did not need it to manage me anymore.

Hope this is helpful.

Yes, I worked at GSK and got it cheap in the company store. It was OK, but I gave it up because it was too restrictive.
If you try it, be sure you don't cheat. Alli stays in your system for a while after you stop, so you can't just decide to quit immediately. If you increase your fats too soon after discontinuing, you will know it!

The side effects are too scary. Poop escapes with no notice.

I've used Alli, twice. It is a good weight loss booster but IMHO not worth the price. It works well with mod-low fat diets. If you eat McDonalds then take one pill, yes you will suffer the medications wrath! Yes, it is worse then you think, uncontrolable greesy bowel discharge. NOT pretty. Especially if your out and about. Incontinence is bad enough but from the backside is worse.

That being said if you take the same dose as prescribed (two tabs at each meal) instead of what is recomended, this will happen more often. Or if you eat more then a certain amout of Fat in a single meal, this will also happen.

The last time I took it, I did not have any side effects. 1. because I was on WW and following a low fat diet 2. because I only took 1 pill per meal with more then 2 grams of fat.

It did increase my weight loss on WW but very slightly. Not even half a pound a week. It is not worth the price. Watching what you eat and exercise is much cheaper.

::raises hand:: I took it when it first came out a few years ago, lost 15lbs but stopped taking it because I couldnt eat what I wanted. I wanted chicken wings and whoppers. Anyhow I kept the weight off for years and just this January began taking it again in attempts to drop more weight. It works! Im down 25lbs this time. Unfortunately though it wont be available again until June. The active ingredient was limited and halted production. Ive been without it for 6 weeks and Im maintaining. I had trouble with the side effects at first but once I realized what I could and couldnt have it worked great! No worries about changing panties. Give it a shot if you like, but dont eat donuts.

I've been here a while and can't remember a single thread in the Success Stories board involving Alli. I wonder why that is.

Two words.

Anal.Leakage.

Peanut poo.

LMAO!

the dr. gave me 3 months once to get my colesterol down all I did was alli with my meals and I brought it down.
I have it now but because of the price I only use it when I know I'll be eating a high fat meal. I don't have problems with side effects no more then I take it.
I figure every little bit helps :happy:

Taken from http://thewvsr.com/alli.htm
Hilarious!! :laugh:

Alli is a new over-the-counter weight-loss pill which, predictably enough, has proven to be a massive best-seller from the moment it became available. The drug, manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, reportedly works by blocking the absorption of excess fats by the body. And folks are waddling, not walking, to their local drug stores for a chance to get started on the Alli "program."

As is the case with most drugs, Alli comes with a risk of certain side effects. Or, as they're known on the company website, treatment effects.

A person is reportedly limited to 15 grams of fat per meal, and if they go over (or even if they don't), there's a significant chance they'll find themselves out behind a shopping center somewhere, crying and clutching a wad of horrifyingly soiled underwear, searching for a place to ditch it.

As best as I can tell, anyway...

Since a lot of this stuff is couched in language that is technically truthful, but very carefully worded, I've taken it upon myself to go through the list of side (treatment) effects and warnings, and translate it all into layman's terms.

I'm no scientist or doctor, and don't pretend to have any special knowledge. I'm just a person who's fairly good with words and reading between the lines... The highlighted phrases below are direct quotes from the Alli website, with my translations in between.


Undigested fat cannot be absorbed and passes through the body naturally. The excess fat is not harmful. In fact, you may recognize it in the toilet as something that looks like the oil on top of a pizza.

Here the drug makers are trying to soothe the nerves of the skeptical fatty, by speaking their language. Pizza is something fatties understand, and a big part of the reason they’re interested in Alli to begin with. Pizza is good, pizza is reassuring… even when it’s flowing from your *kitten* like molten lava.

The website mentions seeing the undigested fat in a toilet, but that’s clearly a best case scenario. You might also see it on the tops of your shoes, across the hood of a car, or way up the shower curtain, near the loops.

The fat passes out of your body, so you may have bowel changes, known as treatment effects.

Bowel changes. Notice how they phrase that? It means stuff will be happening the likes of which you could never have imagined. It’ll be like a daily Dean Koontz novel inside your underwear.

You may get:

gas with oily spotting

You’ll be farting Wesson oil straight through your Dockers…

loose stools

and having violent chipped beef explosions...

more frequent stools that may be hard to control

all the time, with a sphincter that can no longer be counted as a friend.

Eating a low-fat diet lowers the chance of these bowel changes. Limit fat intake in your meals to an average of 15 grams.

The McDonald’s Big Mac has 34 grams of fat, and the Burger King Whopper has 40. Eat either of these while taking Alli, and you’ll very likely be transformed into a diarrhea cannon.

Learning how to manage treatment effects is an important part of being successful with alli. Here's how to take control:

Start trimming fat from your diet now, even before you begin taking alli. Then pick a day to begin taking alli, such as a weekend day so you can stay close to home if you experience a treatment effect. Make the timing work for you. If you're getting ready to travel or attend a social event, hold off on starting with alli until the event is over

Blowing liquid feces down a row of bridesmaids, for instance, could be viewed negatively in certain circles. Further, an unexpected bout of the power-squirts while riding “The Bullet” at the county fair might not ingratiate you with your friends. Or anyone on the fairway. Or the folks in the parking lot walking to their cars.

While no one likes experiencing treatment effects, they might help you think twice about eating questionable fat content. If you think of it like that, alli can act like a security guard for your late-night cravings

You see, when you think about it, ****ting yourself is actually a positive.

You can't "save fat grams" from lunch and "spend them" at dinner. Spread your daily fat gram allowance of 15 grams on average per meal over the whole day

Cheating can lead to embarrassment, tears, and the introduction of a frantically constructed toilet paper crack-wedge in the bathroom of an Applebee's. It’s simply not worth it.

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

Until you get the hang of it, you should probably take along a rolling suitcase full of brown clothes everywhere you go, while taking Alli. Luckily, however, turd-colored clothing is in this season; turd is the new vomit.

If co-workers ask about it, there is no shame in telling the truth. You might be surprised how understanding folks can be if you simply say, “I dress like this to conceal the poop that's constantly soaking through the seat of my pants.”

You may not usually get gassy, but it's a possibility when you take alli. The bathroom is really the best place to go when that happens

Showboating is not recommended.

You can use a food journal to recognize what foods can lead to treatment effects. For example, writing down what you eat may help you learn that marinara sauce is a better option than Alfredo sauce

In addition to a handcart full of extra pants designed to camouflage your anal leakage, it might also be a good idea to carry a schematic and information wheel, so you don't repeat past mistakes and have a treatment effect halfway up your back.

I hope this information has proven to be valuable.

^ I laughed my *kitten* off at all of that. Not on Alli, though, so the panties survived. :laugh:

Been there done that. I lost 14 lbs on it in about 3 weeks when it 1st came out as a prescription medication.

A couple of tips for you:
1. ALWAYS carry at least one extra pair of underwear with you. EVERYWHERE you go. Also a change of clothes is an excellent idea as well.
A. It doesn't hurt to also pack around extra toilet paper. A travel size pack of kleenex works well.
2. Do not wear light colored pants/skirts. This includes tan/khaki colored scrubs.
3. Do NOT eat pepperoni pizza; EVER, while taking this medication.
4. Never stray far from a restroom; preferably a secluded, soundproof one.
5. Don't work long shifts on your feet in a busy ER while taking this medication.

See the pattern?
Yes, so did my coworkers and patients. It only takes one funny joke or a sneeze to ruin your day and get you a new nickname.

Good luck!:flowerforyou:

Keep baby wipes in your handbag.:flowerforyou:

I've never taken it, but besides what the others have said, I would also be concerned about fat soluable vitamins not being absorbed and also not getting the beneficial effects of the good fats you eat.

save yourself all that money!!! if you don't u better buy some depends!!LOL just in case your tempted to eat something fatty and u do eat it and fart OMG so enough said just log into MFP and keep track and you will loose!!! Trust me on this, been there done that and ain't goin back anymore that way!!!

I have used it when it was by prescription and later as over the counter. It helps because if you don't watch your fat intake you will know it. I really watched my fat and lost weight. I maintain a low fat diet now without it and am loosing weight just fine. I know someone who took it and thought they could eat what they wanted. They found out the hard way about it. You can do it without the Alli and enjoy some treats along.