Dieters Debate Effectiveness, Side Effects of Alli
posted 3:51 pm Wed January 09, 2008 -
"I was in line, at the front door of Wal-Mart waiting for Wal-Mart to open when Alli was introduced," she recalled. "I'm 100 pounds overweight. It's emotionally draining. I cry constantly. At 24 years old I weigh 240 pounds."
Henderson has battled her weight all of her life. She saw promise in GlaxoSmithKline's $150 million ad campaign for the over-the-counter diet aid.
She was encouraged by her quick loss of ten pounds. But she says after four weeks, her weight loss plateaued and she began to experience some unpleasant side effects that sent her to the emergency room twice.
"I couldn't control my bowels," said Henderson. "I was running to the bathroom, leaving meetings, being in the car and literally being stuck."
Henderson stopped using Alli after six weeks. She says within three months, the majority of her MySpace support group had also given up. Meantime, Alli users began to complain on Internet message boards about the side effects.
One user wrote, "What they do not tell you is that you will have to take several changes of underwear wherever you go." Others said, "When they say to watch your intake, watch it, otherwise you will pay." Another: "I was in Alli for three weeks and followed the plan exactly. The scale did not budge."
"People took it and had the same problems I did," said Henderson. "It wasn't worth the expense and the trouble and the embarrassment to lose the weight."
Experts say sticking with a diet drug is tough, even without the side effects.
"The typical pattern for people on weight loss drugs is to go into it with a lot of enthusiasm. Many people don't lose as much as they'd like and they get discouraged and go off the drugs," said Kelly Brownell with Yale University's Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity.
Both GlaxoSmithKline and the FDA say Alli has proven results when combined with healthy eating and exercise. The drug company says Alli continues to surpass sales expectations.
"It's an assist," says GlaxoSmithKline dietician Rebecca Reeves. "It's a way to help you give a little bit of an edge on helping to lose weight."
But some experts doubt the drug will help in the bigger picture.
"Looking at this from Glaxo's standpoint I think they have a very effect business model," says Dr. Mitchell Roslin, of Lenox Hill Hospital. "Do I think this will make an impact on the nation's health? The answer is no.”
Jennifer Erickson had a different experience. She says her active lifestyle in Colorado wasn't enough to drop the weight. She credits Alli, exercise, and eating right with helping her lose 40 pounds since April.
"It was so empowering that Alli was a tool I used, but it was all me - all my sweat in my workouts - all my good choices and I just used used Alli to help me make those good choices," she said.
The drug maker says it warns customers about the embarrassing side effects, saying it can be controlled by controlling the amount of fat in your diet.
"If you abuse the drug, if you abuse the fat intake that you're eating, you're going to see a treatment effect," said Reeves.
Stefanie Henderson disputes that. She says she didn't abuse the drug and followed the directions. In the meantime, she has given up on diet drugs and has chosen to lose weight the old fashion way.
"No late night snacks, going to the gym 3 or 4 times a week," she said. "Getting sick to lose weight, I finally realized it's just not worth it at all."
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