Bottles of Alli are flying off the shelves at some area pharmacies since the first shipments arrived last week.
The first FDA approved over-the-counter weight loss drug is priced from about $50 for a “starter pack” of 60 capsules to about $70 for a refill pack of 120 capsules.
“Sales have been very nice,” said Wade Schutze, a pharmacy district manager for Bartell Drugs. “We expected brisk sales.”
Many customers were asking about Alli before it hit the shelves, he said, following a big advertising campaign by its manufacturer, GlaxoSmith-Kline.
If included with a diet and exercise plan, Alli promises to increase weight loss by 50 percent.
That means if you could lose 10 pounds with dieting alone, you could lose 15 pounds using the drug in addition to dieting, according to information available on the product’s Web site.
“They worked very hard at getting their message out,” Schutze said.
The medication is a lower-dose version of the prescription drug Xenical, which has been available in the U.S. since 1999. It works by preventing absorption of about one quarter of the fat in the food a person eats.
Marla Gunn, a pharmacy manager at the Bartell Drugs in Edmonds, said that she gets about three to four customers a day asking about Alli.
Her message to them: “It requires some work,” she said. “You’ve got to be ready to change the way you eat. It requires exercise as well.
“As long as you’re willing and able to follow the program, you will lose weight,” she said.
The pill doesn’t eliminate the need for willpower, said Dana Hadfield, a pharmacist at Hadfield’s Pharmacy in Edmonds.
The recommended restrictions on fat intake are about 15 grams per meal when taking the pill.
“If you’ve taken a capsule in the morning and then you’re tempted with cake and ice cream at work, or someone asks you to go out to dinner, it would be very difficult to comply with this,” she said.
Part of that difficulty for those who over-indulge in fat intake are possible bowel changes including an urgent need to use the bathroom, according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
“Until you have a sense of any treatment effects, it’s probably a smart idea to wear dark pants and bring a change of clothes with you to work,” it advises.
Problems with loose or oily bowel movements were among the main reasons cited by consumers for stopping the prescription version of the product, causing it to plunge in popularity.
“There was a lot of excitement and then it really dwindled down virtually to nothing at our pharmacy,” Hadfield said.
So Hadfield’s and some other pharmacies, such as those at The Everett Clinic, are not stocking the product.
People might try a bottle, but will probably be put off by its “slow, potentially messy” benefits, said Nathan Lawless, a medication information specialist for The Everett Clinic.
Dr. Stacie Ly, an internal medicine physician for Providence Physician Group, said patients ask her questions about weight loss every day, but so far, no one has asked about Alli.
The product could be helpful for people who are significantly overweight, she said, along with a program of healthy eating and exercise.
Problems with diarrhea were the most common reason patients stopped the prescription version of the drug, she said.
If patients choose their food wisely, the side effects of the over-the-counter drug “may not be as bad,” she said.
Andrew Charter, vice president of pharmacy operation at Haggen and Top Foods, said there hasn’t been the high demand for the product at his stores that’s been reported elsewhere.
As of late last week, about a dozen bottles have been sold at its 32 stores in Western Washington, he said.
Since the over-the-counter version of the medication is half the dose of the prescription strength, its severe side effects should be reduced, too, he said.
“It helps you not absorb a huge source of calories; it blocks fat,” he said, which in American diets is a big percent of total calories.
“There’s no doubt about it, it’s a great product for the right person who takes it correctly and changes their lifestyle,” he said.
Eighty-one-year-old Irma Morton of Arlington has some advice for people thinking of trying Alli.
Morton, a member of the Take Off Pounds Sensibly or TOPS organization in Arlington, weighed about 150 when she joined eight years ago, but has cut down to, and maintained a weight of, 132 pounds.
“The only good way to lose weight is through change of lifestyle and change of eating habits, and do it slowly rather than lose a whole lot rapidly,” Morton said. “You really have to want to do it.”
Reporter Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486 or salyer@ heraldnet.com.
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