Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Alli fat pill for weightloss from GSK


Alli is the new fat pill from GSK that everyone is talking about, the next big thing to hit pharmacies since the morning after pill. Everyone wants Alli anti-fat and weight loss pill to get slim. Alli's active ingredient is Orlistat which has been available as Xenical (by Roche) on prescription for years.

Before a pharmacist can dispense Alli over the counter (OTC) the patient must meet some criteria:

- The patient is eligible to buy Alli if their Body Mass Index (BMI) is 28 or above.
-- BMI is worked out by ...
-- If your BMI is under 28 that means your are not overweight enough and Alli will do more harm than good.
- The patient must come and ask for the medication themselves.
-- This is so the pharmacists can make a judgement if the patient is telling the truth about their BMI.

Alli weight loss pill contraindications and interactions
- Malabsorption
- Hypersensitivity to orlistat
- Reduced gallbladder function (e.g. after cholecystectomy)
- Pregnancy and breastfeeding
- Use caution with: obstructed bile duct, impaired liver function, and pancreatic disease
- If you are on other medication please check which the pharmacist for interactions

Alli Side-effects
The main side effect of taking Alli is if they eat a fatty meal then their will be uncontrolled diarrhoea. Alli works by stopping/reducing the absorption of fat, therefore more of a percentage of the fat you eat will just pass through your system and is not absorbed. If you eat low fat meal then the fat that is not absorbed will mix with the stool and you will not get this side effect from Alli. If you eat a fatty meal e.g burger and chips, then the fat will just leak out, yes leak out! and this is uncontrollable. So before you take Alli make sure you are willing to start a low fat diet and are willing to stick to it.

The second significant side effect of Alli is Vitamin deficiency. As mentioned earlier Alli reduces the absorption of fat, however some vitamins are fat soluble (A, D, E, K), these fat soluble vitamins are usually absorbed with fat. Alli reduces the absorption of fats and therefore reduced the absorption of these vitamins. To counter this problem patients are encourage to take multivitamin tablets while on Alli.

Alli is not a magic pill for weight loss, it is clinically proven on prescription, and it does help, but like anything losing weight on Alli still requires hard work and dedication.

For more information on Alli check out http://pharmacyknowledge.co.uk/

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