I took Alli and all I heard for a month straight was my boyfriend bitch about how I need to flush the toilet six times to get the oily crap down!

@MissPiss: "Send your orlistat side effect horror stories to tips@consumerist.com with "Orlistat" in the subject line, and we'll send them along."

(in other words, gross, just send it to their tip line!)

This guy, (John Hargrave) took Alli for a few weeks and attempted to eat the fattiest foods to see if he could induce the side effects. It's grosslarious.

For good reasons, the term 'side effect' has a negative connotation with the general public when it comes to pharmaceutical products. For instance, you take an antibiotic, but you then go deaf. That's a true "side effect".

Although there isn't a better term that I can think of, using 'side effect' to describe what happens when you take Alli is a bit misleading. The drug prevents enzymes in your gut from breaking down fats, so all of that fat stays undigested in your stool. You're taking a large part of your diet and instead of getting energy from it, you are lubricating your bowels.

Alli's 'side effects' are really just a potent demonstration that the drug is doing exactly what it was designed to do. Sometimes the cure is worse than the disease.

@youbastid: Aw, but where's the fun if you can't gross out other commenters?

It almost seems like a company had a large supply of Olestra after they took it off the market and lost a bunch of weight after eating some bad fish and spending hours on the Colbert when inspiration struck.

Wasn't Alli approved by the FDA?

Thought I heard them boast that in their commercial.

This youtube video is the only thing that can accurately describe Alli/Orlistat's side effects. I may or may not know from experience.

@DrKai: Dang, instead of spending all that time on the wikipedia for this, i could've just scrolled down.

@MooseOfReason: It was approved by the FDA as a weight loss medication, but there are always side-effects or interactions with other medications. Part of the FDA approval process is to ensure that these ill effects are minimal and that the drug is generally safe, but there has been some recent criticism of the FDA for approving drugs that pose too high a risk.

@MooseOfReason: High praise indeed!

Hey, their ads say that Alli "gently reminds you if you don't eat right". If by "gently remind" you mean "induce greasy downward geysers", you're right on!

@wdgasu:

That's quite possibly one of the funniest things I've ever read.

I took Alli for a short while. The gastro symptoms were not that bad (my diet wasn't that fatty to begin with), but I actually suffered badly from colds and sinus infections during that time. My hunch is that my body lost too many nutrients in addition to the excess fat/grease, so it just wasn't worth it.

@DrKai: Although there isn't a better term that I can think of, using 'side effect' to describe what happens when you take Alli is a bit misleading.
If you read the Alli product information, you would learn the term is "treatment effect".
It's right there in the John Hargrave blog. [www.zug.com]

@Snakeophelia: In the directions it says to take a multivitamin with certain vitamins and minerals at night, to counteract the loss.

I take Metformin (a diabetes drug) and it is bad enough on your gastrointestinal system but, at least, is doing something positive for my body. Taking a drug for JUST for weight loss to have that kind of gastric distress or worse seems like an awful idea.

My experience with Alli has been nothing but marvelous. I sent my experience to the tip line.

IMHO, people that cant handle the side effects either 1.) Lack willpoweror 2.) Aren't willing to change their diet to a low-fat one.

@MustyBuckets: My guess is that the multivitamin isn't enough. I had an ex that took the stuff a number of years ago and it made her look pretty sickly despite taking a multivitamin. Not to mention the number of uh-oh moments she had in her pants. Orange butt oil is NOT an aphrodisiac.

I have no problems as long as I take a fiber supplement. no fiber supplement and yeah theres oil.

At best, it gets rid of only 25% of the fat you eat. It seems silly to spend $40.00 - $100.00 per bottle and go through cramps, ruined oily clothes, embarrassment, etc....when you could just could out 25% of fat you eat and save money, clothes and piece of mind. Hey, whatever works for ya.

Think pizza grease floating in the toilet. Color varies on what you're eaten.

Although I smell wonderful off-brand marketing uses for those into scat.

My girlfriend took Alli.

She didn't have any problems, as long as she ate the specified healthy foods.

You just can't eat unhealthy food when you're on Alli. I think that's the secret.

The side effects make you eat healthy.

@TeraGram: Yes, but Laura used the term "side effect" in her blog post. I'm guessing that's why he addressed it as such.

@Mark: 3. Don't have a significant other they care about grossing out?

Just want to remind everyone that it IS a drug. It's a little unreasonable to expect it to not have side-effects. Generally everything that you put in your body affects it in some way or another. Part of choosing to start a medicine routine is weighing the benefits with the risks of side effects. We shouldn't go getting our britches in a bunch just because a medicine doesn't do EXACTLY what we want it to do 100% of the time.

@Preyfar: On one of those "Celebrity Gossip" shows they talked about famous people pooping their pants during the Orlistat craze of the late 90's. They even went so far as to interview a personal assistant, who refused to name names, who discussed such an incident in a very trendy Beverly Hills boutique's changing room.

I will admit I am a pretty nice person, but if a famous person came in my store, had an accident like that IN MY STORE, and I knew about it...I guarantee pictures and a full story would be on TMZ.com before they paid for their purchases and cleanup, which could be why I do not own a trendy boutique in Beverly Hills.

I know there are numerous health issues associated with obesity, but if the "cure" means the possibility of soiling myself in public I'd honestly rather be fat. Of course, these drugs aren't the only "cure." There's also diet and exercise, but no one likes doing that stuff.

@wdgasu: Definitely worth a read, that guy was pretty hilarious.

"Viscous Anal Discharge"

@MissPiss: Any bio-fuel potential?

Anthony of the "Opie and Anthony Show" on XM radio had a great story about waking up one morning to find his girlfriend's ass had turned in to the Exxon Valdez and how he then knew how all those oiled soaked birds felt like. She was taking Alli and seemed not to eat low fat foods.

He got a new bed.

@wdgasu: I love John Hargrave. He was my bounceback when Chris Rudder left The Spark and later, when The Spark lost its funny.

@wdgasu: Odd, that in that entire article (which was hilarious) never was mentioned the frequent re-definition of "Treatment Effects" found elsewhere online:

Alli-Oops!

I took Xenical (briefly). And yes, I experienced all of the "wonderful" side effects. I did more laundry those couple of weeks than I EVER have.....

@Trai_Dep: Although the use of the word 'smell' in your statement gives one pause...

@onapartyock: And she burned the girl she found him in bed with's clothes. I wonder if that is a "treatment effect" of taking Alli.

Lord. My father took this stuff and now all I can think about is him having "oily discharge." Thanks Consumerist!

@MissPiss: Wow last thing i expected this morning , read about beautiful girls pooping ..

@arymede: Yeah I had to stop there and have a serious talk with myself about not being able to "un-read" anything, before I continued past 'smell'...

My Mom took Alli ...

I still remember, VIVIDLY as my mother cut a fart, got off the couch and sitting there was an oily mess of you-know-what ...

The look on my brothers face was so incredibly amusing I felt as if Aalli had given ME a Christmas gift ...

Mom ... well she's a nurse and proceeded to EXPLAIN why she $hit on the couch while I thanked god above I had just come in from smoking a joint ...

@savdavid:

But my Mom would rather waste money on that stuff so she has an excuse when she eats the wrong foods and they run outta her behind ...

Common sense doesn't apply to many who take "miracle" diet drugs sadly.

I took it back when it was Rx-only, lost 100 pounds on it and kept it most of it off.

You'll the runs at first until you figure out which foods are fatty and which ones are not. Once you figure it out, you won't have any problems. I had about one rough month while I learned. I saw it as immediate feedback and punishment. Eat something you think is healthy, get the runs, then you realize it's loaded with fat.

Trial and error. It works. I'd do it all over again.

@Mark: But Mark, this drug is designed for and marketed to people who have demonstrated their lack of willpower and unwillingness to change their diets by becoming overweight or obese. "Here's a pill that will make you skinny! WOOT!"

@savdavid: Not to mention that refined carbohydrates / sugars cause more fat gain than actual fat anyway...

@Mark: If they had willpower and were willing to change their diet, would they NEED the drug?

@wdgasu:

Genius! LOL x 1 million.

Favorite lines include:

"...it works by adhering itself to any fats that you eat, like Republicans on Rush Limbaugh."

"it was cheaper than Jenny Craig, though more expensive than having sex with Jenny Craig, which runs about 20 bucks."

"- I avoid dairy, breads, carbs, processed foods, alcohol, and mescaline."

"It was like an Alaskan oil tanker collided with an Italian chef."

"someone could remove my stomach, fry it up, and serve it as a new fast food invention: the McHaggis."

"I ... looked at my underwear. It looked like the Shroud of Turin, if the Messiah had been incontinent."

"Do you know the term "skid marks?" These were more like snowmobile tracks."

"the built-in "fat monitoring alarm" will let you know if you cheat, by going off in your pants."

You're welcome.

@Preyfar:

I needed a big laugh this morning! Thanks.

My mom has been taking Alli on and off since it was FDA approved as suggested by her physician (she weighed approx 190lbs at the time). She religiously works out 4-5 days a week (walking outdoors, jogging on her treadmill, and aerobics DVDs), but due to age and medical reasons, she has a hard time losing weight unless she cuts her calories down to about 800 a day.

While the "side effects" certainly are disgusting and do happen, she knows exactly when they will happen (she knows the time frame of when the side effects will hit her if she eats poorly) because she is now very aware of what she puts in her mouth and how it effects her body. As long as she eats healthful meals, which is the point of the medication, she has no problems. She has never had any sort of "accident" or problem in public or private as a result of the medication.

So far, she's lost 25lbs with the help of Alli. It's not a wonder drug - it's more like motivation to eat better because unlike other diets/medications, you'll feel and see the consequences of eating poorly within 8 hours, rather than waiting to see it when you get on the scale.

@davere:

Cool! Did you find that low-fat dairy products were OK with the Alli? (like fat-free yogurt, skim milk)

I wonder if you would have lost the 100 lbs simply by keeping your fat and calorie intake down, which apparently you did while taking the med. Not skeptical; just genuinely curious as to how and why it helped you lose all that weight. (and envious; yes, it's true!)