Side effects

you need to make sure that you are eating enough. 5lbs weight loss is great but maybe a bit much in your first week. my doc recommended a loss of 2lbs per week. some people don't eat enough while on these tablets as they are afraid of the side effects but if you waatch what your eating the side effects can be minimal. Maybe this is why you are feeling crapy?

Chin up :wink:

I have heard that they can cause depressive symptoms, but I don`t know alot about that.

Keep an eye on it and if ur mood doesn`t pick up, please go back to ur GP.

Well done on ur weight loss.

(But its not worth feeling like sh*t for - remember that )

To 'skye'. That loss is brilliant in your first week.But if you are feeling so crappy,maybe these tablets arent for you.Interesting you have said about the feeling low and even a bit depressed because I have been exactly the same.Couldn't really put my finger on it, and havent seen it listed as a side effect, but I too have a bit of a feeling of constant 'low'.I put it down to feeling bit flat after my wedding and honeymoon, (going back to work etc and back to normality) but now I really think about it have felt it always whilst on orlistat and do have the headaches too but not constant.I have been taking this for a year now to lose weight for my wedding and didnt quite reach my goal weight but am happy to maybe continue dieting of my own accord without the tabs now and going to maybe come off them.Think maybe you should stick with it and see how you go but if you maybe get a bit weight off then come off them and try your own diet and see if you feel better????You see thats why this forum is great because this is something I thought was just me!!!!!x

Glad to know it's not just me. For the first day all week I have no headache but still feel miserable! I am reluctant to come off the pills without giving them a fair try because I had tried and tried diet and a lot of exercise (eating pretty much the same as I do with Orlistat if not better, and 4 hrs swimming a week) with absolutely NO weight loss. I feel like these are my only hope! I would at least like to lose a stone or so before coming off them. I go back to the doc for my one month check up on August 26 so I will see how I feel by then I suppose!

Im so glad that someone else is having the same effects as me! i havent been able to have a good nights sleep in the past week (and that is not like me i sleep like a baby hehe) but then on the day im really tired :? my boyfriend has also said my mood has changed from one minute acting all happy and silly and the next feeling quiet down. I have been on the tab for 2 weeks now and at first i was going to the toilet less then i used to however yesterday and today wasnt good i had a really bad belly ache yesterday and the feeling i was going to be sick and today ..... i had the accident i was dreading i was so lucky that i had just got home because it doesnt leave u much time to run to the loo. i have also been getting the headaches but a quick painkiller has been working for me up to now. not weighed myself yet wanna wait till i go back to the doctors, however my jeans feel abit looser :lol:

loving hearing all your experiences

Fantastic news on the weight loss - I get my pills this afternoon and thanks to the Forum have a pretty good idea as to what to expect. Having recently suffered depression I am not sure that the \"feeling low\" issue is one I want back again but maybe i will be lucky and not suffer that side effect. :P

Good luck and keep it up

If it is not a side effect that is listed, you should contact your GP, as if it could possibly be linked to the drug then it needs to be reported to the drug manufacturer as they are responsible for drug safety. (i work for a pharmaceutical company and help in that department!!!) They need to see whether it is a side effect which did not show itself in the clinical trials. Could the low mood be linked to the headaches etc which could be causing you to feel unhappy?

However speaking to the doctor when i was prescribed these tablets, they should not cause this. I am also on Citalopram for low mood, and this meant Orlistat was the only weight loss medication available to me.

It says on the slip in the pack, that if you continue to feel low or depressed contact your gp. If you suffer from depression your not supposed to take them !!

Mine dont mention that anywhere on the PIL, and it is a new drug so there should only be one manfacturer :?:

I know there is another medication which you cannot take if you suffer depression as it is basically an aphetamine. This is an inhibitor so should not cause that kind of side effect

Very well could have been the headaches making me miserable, even though I've never been known to get that upset over feeling ill! I've not had a headache today or yesterday and feeling much more chipper! :D

Mine dont mention anything about it on the packet either.

Glad to hear you are feeling chirpier Squeak!!

It could be a combination of the headaches and diet, as i know i get grumpy etc when im hungry or sick of easting salad!!

I think the one which you cannot take whilst depressed is Reductil (Sibutramine), as it supresses appetite, This is totally different to Orlistat

There is another one but it has been withdrawn as there is a link to increased the risk of suicidal tendancies!!

Hmm working in a pharmaceutical company really doesnt help, ive spent all morning readin product information!

Mines doctor prescribed me them and he knows ive had bad depression for 5 years.So....... i think if your depressed you can still take them.Anyway Good Luck :D

Has anyone thought that the headaches and mood swings could be related to the change in the food types we are eating - say you have stopped or reduced the amount of chocolate you eat then the headaches could be withdrawal symptoms from the chocolate or caffeine.

I used to eat a lot of chocolate and when I first started taking the tabs I experienced bad haedaches and felt low for a couple of days, but after being on them for 2 months I feel much better and have lost nearly 1 stone which is the best I have done in ages. It was such a joy :D to read 14 instead of 15 in the stones field on the scales and hopefully that 14 will be 13 soon and I will be the lightest I've been in years.

Keep up the good work everyone and keep the helpful tips coming, they have been very useful. :wink:

the first couple of days of me taking the pills i was suffering with headaches but seem to be ok now xx