Orlistat

[AcerPacer79]

Hi, I have just started taking Orlistat today and I can see lots of old threads about it but none recently posted so just wondering if anyone else on here is on this same journey? I have around 5-6 stone that I could do with losing so my doctor suggested Xenical as a starting point. I have Fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome too and I am sure my weight at 18.5 stone won't be helping those. Any friendly advice or chat would be greatly appreciated

@TheShellBeach hey, sorry for my silence, I'm okay but life stresses are getting in the way at the moment. I've now been diagnosed as hyper glycemic so I'm going to see the diabetic nurse for more blood tests next week and I'm going to talk to her about my diet, see if I can't kick start it again. Well done everyone! It sounds like everyone is doing is really well ! That's so great to hear x x

I finally ended my plateau and lost a bit more weight so I am happy with that. Though I weighed myself just before we went away for a couple of nights - was chuffed to have lost a stone but then had 2 days of meals out with wine so... have put a couple of pounds back on. That's the problem with diets, life gets in the way. But even while away and eating loads, I was more restrained than normal and said No to the puddings for example.

Sorry to hear that life has been stressful for you @AcerPacer79 I hope the diabetic nurse can offer you some good advice and motivate you to kick start the diet again. In the meantime, take care.

That's the problem with diets, life gets in the way

Ain't it the truth.
😩

Sooo I’ve technically lost around 6 pounds in three and a bit weeks which I know I should be grateful for - and I am - but getting a little frustrated with the fluctuations on the scales. Having lost weight before I know this is totally normal but am definitely finding it quite demoralising - I had a “day off” over the weekend for a friend’s birthday and first thing on Monday I’d apparently put all the weight that I’d lost back on! Of course it’s come back down again now, but I think I’ll have to start weighing myself every few days or weekly instead.

Also finding it tougher to stick to calorie deficits some days over others - I had a horrendously stressful week last week where I was out loads and so couldn’t really make my own food a lot. But oh well, getting there. Hoping the 1-2lb losses per week continue.

Weighed today and I'm 12st 11.6.
Still not taking a tablet every day as I have noticed that 1 tablet works for about 2 days (bonus on the money saving) I've lost over 6 pounds in around 3 weeks with Orlistat, calorie counting and low cal. Weight is coming off which for someone with an underactive thyroid I am so happy about.
Just learning what foods react worse at the moment other than the obvious, eggs not great, salmon not great and cheese is just terrible, I've also moved to skimmed milk to help a bit.
So far so good.

Can I join please? I have the tablets arriving tomorrow, I’m 5ft 2 and I weigh 15 stone 7. I am so ashamed. Just come back from holiday and I was so embarrassed at how I looked 😔

Welcome!
I weigh a lot more then you.
I've found the Orlistat to be very helpful.
I know exactly what you mean about being ashamed of how you look.

Thank you ☺️

Weekly weigh-in:

I've lost another 4lb.
How's everyone else doing?

@Ruthlessaunt have you started taking the Orlistat yet?

After quite a long plateau I’ve lost another 2lb. It’s slow progress but I’m happy to be losing. And no bad side effects either.

Excellent.
That's good news!
I hate those interminable plateaus.
So demoralizing.

Yeah they do make you wonder why you are bothering with eating healthily when your weight stays the same! I have to remind myself I'm not gaining weight which I was before so it's all good …especially when the scales do eventually show some movement.

4lb is a very good loss for you@TheShellBeach

Are you being very good & careful with what you eat?

No weightloss for about a week, got down to 12st 10.8 but now it's going up and down about 2 pounds, I'm due on my period and slightly constipated so not too worried, last time I lost weight it took me 6 months to lose a stone so 6 pounds in 4 weeks is pretty good going for me

6 pounds in 4 weeks sounds like excellent progress.

Keep up the good work food wise and I'm sure you will shift some more pounds soon.

Yes, I am now on day 4. Been getting headaches and I am on night shift tonight so sorting out everything. Well done on losing 4lb!

Hi I'm somewhere on the thread under some other name.

Most people stop taking this med fairly soon for the same reason as me.

You can't predict as easily when you need the loo, so even though I'm not out of the house for more than a few hours a day, it's not compatible with normal life.

Some people get on OK with it though.

I'm going to try Ozempic next.

It's also old fashioned for a diet to be based on this low fat.

We now know some healthy fats (more than people get on this diet) are needed in the diet.

They help the brain and are also essential for absorption.

Make sure you take a multivitamin and mineral supplement on this.

Well I personally find that there is no urgent need to go to the toilet unless you eat a lot of fat. I haven't eaten a lot of fat since starting it as I'm too scared of the consequences, so for me that is a good way to keep on the straight & narrow. For me it is compatible with normal life though I appreciate some people may react differently to the drug.

There is a huge shortage of Ozempic in the UK at the moment and doctors/pharmacies have been told to prioritise people that need it for medical reasons because they are diabetic. It's a really bad time to be starting it as you will probably struggle to source it once you move up to higher doses. Also, it's currently costing about £300 a month.

I wouldn't say it's old fashioned, I think there are 100 different diets out there and they all focus on different things. It's a low fat not a no fat diet - I still eat things like avocado and cheese in smaller quantities plus I drink semi skimmed milk in tea, etc. I just limit the amount of fat I eat a bit more carefully than I used to. For example, I will still eat milk chocolate but not a whole family sized bar! That would probably have bad consequences.

I've had no bad health effects from Orlistat at all. Whereas some of the people on the Ozempic threads currently are discussing their hair falling out because they are losing weight too quickly and not getting enough vitamins/nutrients.

I agree with this.
I've had no toilet emergencies at all on this medication. And I'm consistently losing weight.
I had wanted to try semaglutide but there is none available.
I'm actually really happy on Orlistat.
I've lost 18 lb so far.
And it's much cheaper than the injections.

It's so much cheaper.

Hopefully Wegovy (similar to Ozempic) will be available in the UK in the next year or so via the NHS and that is licenced as a weight loss drug that will give people quick results if that's what they want.

In the meantime, and for people happy with a slow loss that is sustainable, Orlistat is a good option for lots of people.

I'm hoping to persuade my GP to prescribe it, given my success and lack of side-effects.

The online pharmacy where I bought it keep offering me more discounts to buy some more.
I'm putting them off till my appointment with the doc.

I've had my first "urgent" trip to the loo - got there just in time sorry for the tmi.

It was my own fault. Fell off the wagon yesterday with a bowl of chips followed by a chocolate cookie. Now I'm back to the salads and low fat protein.