Orlistat from the gp

[IncessantNameChanger]

Is anyone using orlistat? I did two weeks of slim fast and lost 10lbs as a kick start then asked my gp for orlistat as although i lost a good amount on my kick start i do eat some crap at weekends like a doughnut, two ice creams, roast dinner etc.

Anyway I've been good as usual in the week but shocked to see I have lost 6lbs this week. Is the normal? Its 120mg. I wasnt expecting this much. Will it settle down? It's good dont get wrong but I'm not sure I want to loose this much every week. My BMI was around 38

to be honest it had absolutely zero effect on me in terms of weight loss or side effects .
i took it fir a month and then have the rest to my niece who said the exact same thing!!
i'm still as fat as ever sadly
but i really hope it helps you xxx

Just eat as littl fat as you can, @FlabbyPirate , especially in the early days. Your tolerance will likely build over time.

@FlabbyPirate just wondering how you got on? I've just taken my first tablet with lunch and I'm slightly nervous about taking my son for his swimming lesson

Orlistat worked for me. You need to work out how it affects you and when, so you can decide if to give it a miss at any time. I had very few bad moments with it, was still regular. You will know when you've had something particularly bad in terms of fat.
Until you try it for a few days with your usual diet you won't know what changes you need to make longer term and whilst you are taking it.
Good luck!

I'll be honest Slummy, I'm doing well. I'd already started a lower fat diet in terms of weightloss anyway by cutting out chocolate, cakes, sweets etc. I guess the thing you have to ask yourself and outweigh is more would you rather eat chocolate and high fat food like takeaways or defecate yourself?
You have to look at the whole fat content of the meal not just one particular part. I've learnt in the last 5 days that my limit is no more than 6g of fat. And I've been good.

My current diet is;
Breakfast
1 or 2 slices of wholemeal toast with jam (each slice is between 0.8g and 1.1g of fat)
Butter (check the tubs but usually a 10g to 15g nob of butter is around 1.1g of fat) I then have around enough to cover the jam.

Or a small bowl of cereal such as cheerios or weetabix or porridge.

Lunch
Soup (Tesco's own three been chilli 1.6 grams of fat for the whole tub and less than 500cal full of protein)
Or
Salad with tuna in spring water

Low to fat free yoghurt

Tea
Vegetarian chilli with brown rice (home made no more than 6g of fat)

Whole grain pasta and vegetables sprinkling of low fat cheese

Salad with skinless chicken (cooked in own juices rather than oil)

Dessert piece of fruit or home made fruit salad.

I take the tablet when I start eating and have a pint of water with each meal.

Also, a low fat 6 inch sandwich for subway (turkey ham and ham salad) sandwich without cheese or sauce is around 4-5g of fat. Do not do a foot long! It doesnt make you lose control, but does do several clean outs over a period of time!

For me this tablet is working wonders. I'm actually genuinely repulsed by food because the thought of being unable to control my bowls in public is a massive fear. Sticking to a menu has also helped me think less about food. This was what I needed.
So far by my scales I have lost 3kg. My original calorie intake was around 4000 and now I'm on around 1800. I'm not particularly missing anything until someone around me has it e.g. pizza. I've resisted and will continue to do so, this isnt a permanentfix its just to get me in to the right habits, i.e. about making healthy choices and losing weight because I'd got to the point I didn't know where to start.

Good luck, play safe and hopefully in a month we can check in with each other and the results will be positive.

@FlabbyPirate thank you! I'm a bit scared to eat anything but I suppose that's better than mindlessly eating anything and everything on it. It's good to know that 6g of fat is your limit, as I had no idea where to start with, as I've just been eating in a ww style but i had no idea if a salmon fillet was going to be a mistake. I'll keep checking in, hopefully with some good results!

I’ve started today ,is this thread still running
would glad to chat
I feel so sick on it ,is that normal ,I feel lightheaded too

I have another box from the gp so going again this month.

I’ve lost 4 Stone 13lbs so far in 7 months. Had one accident but washing up liquid saved the day and got the orange oil out of my new jeans. I feel fantastic, my skin is better, I had developed obesity-related acne and it’s gone. I’m back in size 14-16 and feel like I can move again. I think this medicine is working for me because it has broken my psychological self-sabotaging barrier to weight loss where one blowout would knock me off the rails. I can have a takeaway, eat chips and enjoy it and then enjoy flushing it all away the next day. So long as it’s not every meal, I still consistently lose weight. I find it so satisfying seeing pools of oil in the loo (sorry!) knowing that’s not in my body and I’ll still lose weight. It’s changed my life, I’ve never lost anything like this amount of weight before, and I’d really recommend it to anyone - https://pharmacy-medshop.com/product/xenical/

I've lost 4 stone since September. I've worked hard at it calorie counting, working out and walking. I've not consistently taken orlistat but do try to. Like the previous poster it is satisfying flushing the oil away. I have however had two bad reactions when I've taken it with a meal I probably shouldn't have. The first was a cheese and onion pie and chips and I had stomach cramps and eggy burps for 3 days. The second was only for a morning of stomach cramps but I learnt buscopan and omeprazole fixed me up the first time so perhaps better prepared and tackled it straight away. If it happened more regularly I would be put off I think, but twice since September is manageable. And I've taken it with takeaways and rich meals and puddings etc.

Been on Orlistat from my GP for 5 weeks now, but lost no weight at all. Spoke to my dr after 3 weeks as bad constipation and cramps and wind and she weighed me and said your right the exact same as when you began😩 she said to continue with it but gave me a mild laxative but still have to take occasionally as can’t stand full feeling. I am on a weight loss calorie controlled app which I have filled in every day for 5 weeks, I can type in name and weight and it comes up in my app and fills in for breakfast/ lunch/ dinner and it also gives you fat and protein plus carbohydrate content. I was on a 1200 cals a day which is what I should be on to loose weight and and Mai ting is 1400 as I am only 4 ft 11ins occasionally got some oil in the loo but nothing to speak of but not I am not eating a lot of high fat food. I thought I would try having a portion of homemade macaroni and cheese which was counted within my calories for the day but had no affect on me whatsoever, I just wanted to see if it was working, a few days later had some ice cream again counted in cals as a snack and was all in my calorie limit but again no side affect,🤷‍♀️. I have read so many successful stories with Orlistat but also some mirror ‘accident’ so was very wary, but I need not have worried regarding having an accident ….touch wood lol. I only get this tablets for 3 months if I have not lost 5% of my body weight in that time. Would be good to hear from anyone else with this same experience or give me some hope. 🤞PS. Don’t norMalloy have Mac and cheese or ice cream in my diet just and experiment! Xxx

You won’t but do you realise it means you have fat depositing itself in your colon. Not good for you

I am having very little fat all day. Never seen anyone else say that, for majority it seems to work.

Hello all,

I'm currently on day 11 of Orlistat and I don't seem to be having much going on in the weight loss dept.

I'm weighing in (now, as I type) at 250.2lbs but last week I weighed in at 248.7lbs. I've got the side effects (oily stools, stomach churns, gassy etc) and it seems to have an effect on what I eat, if I'm not eating 100% healthily. I'm also exercising 2 - 3 times a week either 2+ miles bike ride or a workout via FitOn app... drinking lots of water. This weekend has been particularly bad on the healthy eating front... food hasn't been McDonalds / Burger king / takeaway's but it's not been massively low fat either and wine has been involved and chocolate.... (don't shun me ladies)

So, I guess, what I'm asking is - has anyone seen a slow, gradual slide of weight on Orlistat or has it been quite structured as the medical journals suggest and it be bang on 1-2lbs a week... I'm feeling quite untrusting of this medication just because I REALLY want it to work to help me get back to recognising myself in the mirror again... and liking what I see... and I don't want to go back into the dark of not understanding how to make my body work how it should.

If anyone can offer CONSTRUCTIVE feedback... it would be most appreciated.

lots of love
ChubRub

I won't shun you ChubRub, I've just had a few days away & enjoyed lots of wine also! Also some CHIPS - they were delicious and no bad side effects 😅

I've been on Orlistat for a few months now and I like it. But I don't find it a quick way to lose weight. I only lose one or two pounds a week and sometimes I plateau but that is probably because I cheat a lot (see above).

The thing about Orlistat is that it doesn't change our appetite so it's not a particularly easy way to lose weight compared to Ozempic or surgery. But for me, the fear of having an accident has changed my mindset. Most days I eat in a low fat way. If I know I have a fat heavy time coming up like a holiday, I stop taking it for a while and then restart when life goes back to normal. But the best thing is that it has made me really aware of which foods are high in fat so even when I'm not being that good, I'm still being mindful if you know what I mean. It has changed my mindset so I eat healthily most of the time and I feel positive that it is sustainable. I've lost nearly a stone but over a few months.

Congratulations on the weight loss!!!!

and thank you for replying, I appreciate the honesty. I had my reservations for this because I am paranoid to the max about loose skin after loosing weight... but I don't think I'll end up having it on this as I think ill be a slow burner.

I'm really glad you've told me this about your experience with it too as I feel I may have the same experience. That's put my mind at ease having read over the dramatic weight loss's I've seen on other people's comments, I was starting to think there was something wrong with me.

Even a stone in a few months would be amazing for me, just SOMETHING to see the change. After YEARS (about 5 years) of going to the gym, stopping, going back, hurting myself (torn ACL), depression... and being on citalopram for 5 years and gaining a stone every year after being on them... I just want to feel like me again... and not struggle to bend over, pick things up, get into jeans that don't have an elasticated waist band, be able to be more flexible, not have a big bloated stomach all the time... this seemed like a Godsend so I'm really hoping it'll work.

I'll say SOMETHING though - im a LOT less bloated on this than I was without it... so it's doing something... just may have to give it more time for the weight loss to come.

thanks so much for replying! and good luck on the rest of your journey if we don't speak again!

ChubRub x

Thank you!

I don't know how people lose weight so quickly on Orlistat tbh - they must never eat! I'm losing weight slowly enough that I have no loose skin and doubt I will get any. It's a slow burner as you say, but I don't mind as long as the weight is going in a general downwards direction instead of upwards on the scales as was common before I started Orlistat.
I've lost just under the stone and I won't lie, it feels amazing! I'm still the same size in clothes at the moment but the difference is, they feel comfortable now and I'm not worrying that I really ought to be going up a size. My stomach is still squidgy but no longer big and bloated, more gently rounded now😊

Good Luck on your journey too! There is another Orlistat thread I'm on that is more active than this one so I'll give you the link

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/weight_loss_chat/4758894-orlistat

I’ve reported your post because it’s not feasible that someone would lose 80lbs in 2 months on this medication.