Orlistat (new to the forum)

Posted , 6 users are following.

Been put on this to assist me lose weight. I'm 17 stone but go to the gym three to four times per week. I also had an over active thiroid where my thiroid was burned away by taking an iodine tablet./ I now take levothyroxine as a suppliment.

I also have trouble with my knees (Grade 4 Osteoarthritis in both knees) so to lose weight is my GPs idea that If I do it would ease the pain on my knees.

So in comes the Orlistat. My GP makes me out to be some kind of liar, he tells me my weight is my fault and it's what I eat that is preventing me from losing it. I have been on these tablets for a month and nothing has changed, my weight is the same and not once have they made my go to the loo out of turn. I don't eat a lot of fatty foods just good healthy diet including fruit & Veg most days. .....................I visited my GP last week & he told me again I cannot possibly be sticking to a diet and must be eating take aways etc, I never eat anything as such.

Has anyone else experienced anything similar? my weight is the same as before despite excersising and eating healthy.

Baffled.

1 like, 5 replies

5 Replies

  • Posted

    I have followed a low fat diet for quite some time, I have an under active thyroid and pocs. I have been on Orlistat to help kick start my weight loss and have been taking them for 2 weeks, with no weight loss yet. I have not had any side effects either and from reading other posts, they say if you have no side effects then you are eating the right diet. So your doctor is not well informed by saying you must be eating cake because my understanding is that if you do that, you will be in the bathroom a lot!! 

    However, I did also measure myself all over and I have lost 18cm all over, which is probably only 1 or 2 cms from each area but added up sounds encouraging! it is disappointing to stand on the scales and not see any difference, especially when others claim to have lost a stone in a month etc. I will give it another 2 weeks then may try the doc again, but maybe measuring would be a good thing too?

  • Posted

    i have been on the tablets for 10 days lost 4lb in the first week i also have underactive thyroid type 1 diabetes and addisons my gp told me if there is not a lot of change in for weeks they are going to put me on metformin as this is a weight loss tablet aswell as being used for type 2 diabetes dont give up you are doing all the right things xx
  • Posted

    it might take some time for it to show up, from reading a lot on these forums sometimes the weight loss starts quickly and other times there are other health factors to take into account like your thyroid and diabetes etc which may take it longer. Just keep going on your low fat and it'll start coming off - also remember that muscle weighs three times more than fat so if you're at the gym a lot you're also being muscle! That's what I keep forgetting - I'm a pole dancer and boxer (odd combination I know!) so I have good core muscles (under all the fat somewhere) and biceps so I know I weighed less before I was doing those things!
  • Posted

    Yes Dennis, I was on Orlistat years ago & they did'nt do much for me, because if your not eating fatty meals there is nothing to come away, keep a food diary so the doctor can see what your eating & ask to be refered to a dietitian at the hospital to help you. I also have under active thyroid it was undiagnosed for a year, so the weight piled on.

    Good Luck.

  • Posted

    Hi - I was quite surprised when I started logging everything I ate on My Fitness Pal - you can do this online and/or using the App. It's free. For me I was 'kidding' myself and I was eating more than my body needed. I'm not saying that you are doing the same but sometimes going back to basics with the weighing scales and the food diary is quite an eyeopener....

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