orlistat - alli - xenical updated 5/3/2016

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This medication, under the name of "Alli" is offered as an "over the counter" drug and from what I've heard, it's a big seller.

Truth being, not only is it not very effective and has some nasty side effects like er... "anal leakage" (you might have to wear serenity pads if you don't want to be changing your undies all the time) but also, may be extremely unhealthy in the long run.  You need the fat enzyme which is hampered by this drug, to digest vitamins A,E,D,K and especially "beta carotene".  Some research on the fat blockers suggests that people who take them may be more susceptible to cancer because of a beta carotene shortage. The Alli websites say to take a multivitamin if you take this medication but you only absorb 2% of any vitamin supplement which will likely not fix a shortage (that's why they're called "supplements"!)

I, for most of 2005, visited a lady who had cancer and you so don't want to go there if you can avoid it. Trust me in this. :(

Best weight loss I've heard of with this medication is about 15-20 lbs and if that's all you have to lose, there are so many more pleasant ways to lose it.  But most of us had a lot more to lose than that - on me, I was fat enough that 15 or 20 lbs made very little difference at all.

Just because it's over the counter, doesn't mean it's really safe! 

I think this medication is so nasty and ineffective than most folks cannot take it long enough to cause any damage.

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