Alli Side Effects That You Must Know About
Posted by Richard Gonzales
The Alli craze is in full-effect because it’s the first over-the-counter diet drug that is FDA-approved. But for many who have been taking the drug for weight loss have given a prevailing recommendation and that is to “wear dark pants”.
What many Alli users are learning is that by straying away from a low-fat diet, one can have leakage problems (aka Steatorrhea) due to the drug effectively blocking dietary fat from being absorbed and thus fat is excreted and unchanged when a person excretes feces.
But what is Alli? Alli is essentially Orlistat created by the company GlaxoSmithKline and is known as tetrahydrolipstatin, a drug used to treat people who are obese. The diet pill prevents the absorption of fat from the human diet and also reduces caloric intake.
The drug inhibits the pancreas enzyme known as lipase from breaking down triglycerides in the intestine. Without the enzyme, the triglycerides are prevented from being hydrolyzed into absorbable free fatty acids. So, only trace amounts of the Orlistat are absorbed and the lipase is inhibited and eliminated through a bowel movement.
The reason for the buzz is because studies have shown that people have lost weight and also a report has shown a 37% reduction in the incidence of type-2 diabetes. So, naturally, it is not surprising that Alli has done so well. Being the only FDA-approved diet pill is a plus but studies showing that people have lost weight, have not had any significant side effects has been a big positive.
Of course, there are still side effects and many physicians have recommended that people take the drug during a day off to give it a try. GlaxoSmithKline is very insistent by including a booklet telling people that there are side effects if they stray away from their low fat diet.
Primary side effects to using Alli are:
- Flatulence – Passing gas
- Steatorrhea – Oily and loose stools
- Fecal Incontinence – The urge to have a bowel movement frequently
On a variety of forums on threads about the drug, some people have mentioned that they have had constant urges to do a bowel movement, one user posted that they leaked into their couch.
One wrote in the forum how they had the urge to have gas but when they did pass gas, orange liquid ran down their leg.
Another post is about a person who ate pizza and when having the urge for a bowel movement, nearly all the grease from the pizza that they ate is what came out. All oily content from what he may have eaten.
So, for some people, leakage is going to be an issue but the drug maker has been clear that it’s important to eat a low-fat diet. Not to eat foods high in fat, so it kind of forces the users to eat well or suffer the leakage consequence.
In order for any dieting to work, it takes commitment in eating the right foods and lowering your calorie count, exercising and practicing healthy habits and of course, drinking a lot of water and eating foods with more fiber.
Alli is sure to make people lose weight but it’s good to know the side effects of Alli and how to prepare for them.
