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A Diet Pill Dilemma
Added: (Thu Feb 01 2007)
Which diet pills are the best? This is the perennial question we get asked when we are prescribing medication to help people lose weight. The answer, unfortunately, is that it is impossible to say which medication is going to work best as the success that a person gets with any of the available diet pills depends on so many different personal variables.
There are three types of slimming pills that can generally be prescribed in the UK: Acomplia; Reductil; and Xenical. All of these treatments work in different ways and it is almost impossible to predict which one will work for which individual patient. It is always advisable to discuss the options with a doctor as he or she can go through the patient’s weak areas in terms of lifestyle. For example, if someone has a constant craving for a particular type of food such as sweet things, it might be advisable to try Acomplia first as this medication helps to make cravings much more manageable. If it is portion control that is the problem, then Reductil might be the best option of all the diet pills available as this helps people to be satisfied with less food, thereby reducing the amount that they consume overall.
Xenical (Orlistat) seems to be most popular slimming aid with NHS GPs. This could be because it is a bit cheaper than the other two slimming pills available and it also has considerably less serious potential side effects. Many patients that we see do not wish to try this medication as they have heard that it can cause loose or involuntary bowel movements. In practice, this will not usually happen if the patient is following a mildly low fat diet (where fewer than 30% of calories consumed come from fat.) Anyone serious about losing weight should be following this type of diet in any event.
If you have tried and failed to lose weight through diet and exercise or if you have reached a plateau of weight loss, you could discuss one of the treatment options mentioned here with your GP. The Online Clinic provides a free online consultation with a GMC registered doctor and is prepared to prescribe all three of the weight loss medications mentioned here, providing that they are suitable for the individual.