Alli, the Over-the-Counter Orlistat Diet Drug, Hits the Market: Can Thyroid Patients Take It?
Orlistat (brand name Alli), the newly-approved, over-the-counter version of the prescription weight loss drug Xenical, is hitting the market this week. Since many thyroid patients struggle with weight problems, I thought it would be helpful to take a brief look at this new drug. I also consulted with endocrinologist Dr. Ted Friedman to find out whether the drug is safe for thyroid patients. Find out more now.
About Orlistat
Typically, a dosage of orlistat is taken with each meal, with care given to control the amount of fat in the meal. The drug works by reducing the amount of fat absorbed by the body.
Orlistat has been available in prescription form in the U.S. since 1999. Unlike stimulant diet drugs, it’s considered generally safe, though it can have unpleasant side effects, including gas, bloating, an oily discharge, loose stools or bowel urgency, diarrhea, stomach pain, and nausea, among others. There are also certain interactions with orlistat, meaning that even though it is now available without prescription, you should always discuss taking it with your practitioner.
According to information released by the University of Kentucky, a study done during the fall of 2006 by Dr. James Anderson, head of the UK College of Medicine Metabolic Research Group, looked at the effects of 60 mg orlistat (this is the dosage of the over-the-counter Alli brand product that is going on the market) in people who were mildly to moderately overweight. The 16 week study compared taking either 60 mg of orlistat, vs. placebo, daily with meals, three times a day. According to Anderson:
"Our research showed that people taking orlistat and following low-fat diets lost almost five percent of their initial body weight, about seven to15 pounds, over four months," Anderson said. "While two to four pounds a month isn't dramatic, steady weight loss of this amount can have major health benefits. For example, the reduction in LDL-cholesterol, the bad-guy cholesterol, of 10 percent can reduce risk of heart attack by 20 percent." Thyroid patients will note that the warnings on orlistat say that you should “Ask a doctor or pharmacist before use if you are taking medicine for diabetes or thyroid disease. Your medication dose may need to be adjusted.”Dr. Friedman on Orlistat for Thyroid Patients
I asked nationally known endocrinologist Dr. Ted Friedman, who is a board-certified endocrinologist, and Chief of the Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Molecular Medicine at the UCLA School of Medicine, about orlistat. According to Dr. Friedman, orlistat has the potential to interfere with fat-soluble vitamins and medications, but water-soluble medications like levothyroxine and antithyroid drugs are not likely to be affected.
For Dr. Friedman, does orlistat have any value as part of an overall weight loss plan?
Said Dr. Friedman: “It works somewhat like Antabuse (a drug given to people to make them averse to alcohol). When people on orlistat eat fatty foods, they get abdominal pain, gas and bloating. Then they don’t want to eat more fatty foods. It’s sort of a negative conditioning.”
Note from Mary
If you decide to take orlistat, be sure that you consult your physician first, and make sure that you don’t have any other conditions, or aren’t taking any other medications, that would be affected by orlistat. Also, you probably will want to have your thyroid levels re-evaluated 8-12 weeks after you start, just to be sure that it’s not affecting your absorption of your medication.
If you and your doctor do decide you’re going to try orlistat, be sure to familiarize yourself with the drug and how it’s taken, the potential side effects, etc. Alli’s website has a fairly detailed Common Questions page.
More Alli/Orlistat Resources
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Comments
Hi, I’m writing from England, where the TSH normal range is 0.something to 5.5. For the past 9 years, mine has been consistently over 4.33, usually around 6.01 to 7.18. No treatment is available until the TSH reaches over 10. My endocrinolgist, while reluctant to treat my underactive thyroid problems, prescribed orlestat even though I had told him I did not want to take slimming pills.
My reasoning for refusing this drug was that I ALREADY follow a healthy diet and lead a very active life, walking and cycling everywhere. In fact I have never been able to tolerate fatty food as it gives me heart-burn and the runs, and so I naturally have a low-fat diet. If anything, my appetite is almost non-existent though I do remember to eat sensibly to keep my fragile energy levels up. Yes, having wind, bloating and the runs really is a deterrent to eating fatty food – though I don’t need a drug to do that to me!!
In spite of my best efforts, I have a tendency to sudden alarming inexplicable weight gain, eg- 1 stone in 2 weeks recently, always followed by extreme fatigue and achiness plus increased susceptibility to colds and infections. Sometimes my hair comes out too (my eyebrow ends had only just began to grow back from the last episode).
Basically this sudden weight gain scares me beause it always heralds a rough ride for months afterwards. This time, for example, I have had a continuous cold since January, developed back problems and, thanks to an ear infection, gone totally deaf possibly permanently.
Would this have happened if my endo had treated my hypothyroidism rather than simply seeing me as a fat person with no initiative to look after my own body?
I feel that fobbing off overweight patients like me with diet pills is avoiding tacking the underlying cause.
However, that said, the Orlestat patients’ support program does look excellent for people with genuine food-based issues and who tend to suffer from low-self esteem.