Reply

I never realised when I started this thread that it would provoke such a reaction. I think it's time that I clarified some points.

Firstly, I don't work for weightwatchers or any other organisation, I am a normal person who has tried loads of diets.

Secondly, A few people have suggested that I posted and then dissapeared and have suggested that I wouldn't come back. Well, if not replying within minutes is doing a runner I must apologise! I posted last night and have just sat down to reply tonight. Unfortunately I don't have time in the day to monitor the site. If i thought that people needed info that quickly I would have found a way to get on today.

Third, as a few people have pointed out, I am not for a moment suggesting that people don't do Lipotrim and as I said last night I am perfectly well aware that I may be the only person who may be affected in this way. I was only suggesting to people that they may want to be cautious and do as much research as possible before starting. The reason I said this is because fortunately my liver was fine when I started, but if somebody did have a liver problem to begin with, it is possible that it could cause them harm. My liver results increased massively from 50 to over 1500 so if somebody already had high results and were affected similarly, who knows what might happen?

Fourthly and most importantly, I am not saying that Lipotrim has caused this. I will actually say that again. I am not saying that Lipotrim has caused anything. I was simply telling you the facts as they are. I was fine before trying Lipotrim. I had symptoms (which I will describe below) whilst on it. I stopped taking Lipotrim as I felt unwell. I went to the doctor and discovered that my liver function tests were massively raised, I spent a week in hospital while they investigated. They discharged me after eliminating every other possibility (alcohol, hepatitis etc) without knowing what was causing it. And finally after consulting with colleagues, they have said that in their opinion, the raised results were caused by the diet. I have a letter signed by the consultant saying that the opinion of the doctors is that the diet was the cause of the raised results.

For those that expressed concern, thank you very much. I am not actually ill and it is important to point out that the raised results themself are not dangerous, but could have been an indicator of something serious. Happily, they are now almost back to normal and I am fine.

And the symptoms that so many people wanted to know were as follows:-

First thing I noticed was itching which became very bad. I did also have a burning sensation on my skin. I had a few palpitations, but these were not regular. I felt nauseous some days. My urine became dark brown in colour with a greasy film on it. my poo was clay coloured and more frequent. I also felt a few times that I was going to pass out.

So finally, please let me make this very clear. I am not saying Lipotrim is dangerous. I am not saying don't do it. I am not even saying that in my one off case it is what caused it. I am perfectly happy to accept that it may be a complete coincidence. I am only saying be cautious. If the good points outweigh the bad ones, go ahead and best of luck.

Thank you for your responses. I wish you all the best of luck with whatever diet you choose.

XXX

I'm glad you are ok. Thank you for clarifying this - it is always best to be aware of any side effects - which is why you get a long list with every tablet you ever take ... but normally don't suffer from any of them.

You said.... "After many tests and discussions with colleagues, he advises that the problems I was suffering were caused by the diet and not just a bad reaction to the diet." so you have said that the diet was the cause. I dont mean to sound harsh but if you do want to post a thread about being ill please re-read the thread and make sure you make it as clear as possible for other people reading it eg telling us about the symptoms. After all liver problems can be caused by hundreds of things!

Glad you are feeling better and sorry LT is not for you but you do need to look after yourself, take care and I hope you find a diet that suits you, I just want to wish you the best of luck for your path ahead

Thanks for that- those do sound very serious symptoms. Glad you are nearly back to normal. I'm one of the people who was worrying but I haven't had anything like those symptoms so am relieved about that. In fact apart from lack of concentration it seems strangely okay.
I hope you find a way to lose weight and feel better than ever soon. It was good of you to tell us about this possible complication and what kind of symptoms we should look out for.

Bile stained urine and clay cloured faeces with pruritis (itching) are classic textbook symptoms of obstructive jaundice (with or without yellowing of the skin or sclera)
The commonest cause of this is a small gallstone, which lodges in the common bile duct and prevents the flow of bile into the gut for digestion.
The backflow of bile into the bloodstream causes the symptoms. Because the bile can't get into the gut, it can't make your poo brown, hence the pale stools, it gets to the kidneys via the blood,resulting in the dark wee. Liver enzymes will be raised during the episode.
Small gallstones are common in a high percentage of the population and can result from yo-yo dieting and rapid weight loss. ( I said this in an earlier post) Tests may not show them up once a person is ill, as the stone may have made its way through and been passed through the gut.
Hard to understand why a consultant is unable to explain this satisfactorily to a patient.

Cathy said:

Bile stained urine and clay cloured faeces with pruritis (itching) are classic textbook symptoms of obstructive jaundice (with or without yellowing of the skin or sclera)
The commonest cause of this is a small gallstone, which lodges in the common bile duct and prevents the flow of bile into the gut for digestion.
The backflow of bile into the bloodstream causes the symptoms. Because the bile can't get into the gut, it can't make your poo brown, hence the pale stools, it gets to the kidneys via the blood,resulting in the dark wee. Liver enzymes will be raised during the episode.
Small gallstones are common in a high percentage of the population and can result from yo-yo dieting and rapid weight loss. ( I said this in an earlier post) Tests may not show them up once a person is ill, as the stone may have made its way through and been passed through the gut.
Hard to understand why a consultant is unable to explain this satisfactorily to a patient.

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So basically she had gallstones?

hmmm

(ps from most of the consultants I've met it's no mystery to me why they can't explain things)

emm..actually I had gallstones having my gallbladder removed November 2006, suffering with a recurring pain I can't even describe it was sooo horendous for 11 years -labour was easier let me just say that - but none of those symptoms which minsky described. Perhaps that was why it took them so long to realise what was wrong with me but perhaps it means that symptoms can be indicativeof many things.

Glad all is well minsky, good luck and all the best.

vlcd can cause gall stones as well as most other diets, so the cause the dr gave may be half right.

thanks for coming on and clearing things up, do let us know what they suggest to help you lose weight, dont let them leave you without a new course of action now that they have taken this diet away as an option.... dr's are like that, stop this - stop that, but rarely offer an alrernative aside from generic advice that is useless to many of us!

for ref, rosemary connoly developed her diet after gall stones, so that may be a good place to start next.

do check with doc first though.

cathy, are you a doctor or why are you diagnosing minsky? The girl is only telling readers what her doctor siad!!!!

Sailor jack goes and hides behind the sofa

newlifenow said:

cathy, are you a doctor or why are you diagnosing minsky? The girl is only telling readers what her doctor siad!!!!

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NLN I'm not a Doctor, I'm a highly experienced senior nurse with 37 years full-time under my belt.
I'm not diagnosing anyone. Simply explaining what the particular symptoms described may be a result of.
I'm also speaking from personal experience, having lost 6 stone in 1998 on Lighter Life and then collapsing with acute pancreatitis (due to tiny gallstones migrating up the pancreatic duct) I spent ages, gravely ill in the critical care unit and suffered serious liver problems.
All sorted out eventually, then had gallbladder out.
Lighter Life did not cause my liver problems, that was down to the stones. They may have occurred anyway, due to my yo-yo dieting and bingeing on unhealthy food.
We're very lucky where I work, the Consultant Liver Physician (Professor) is also President of the Royal College of Physicians. I've spoken to him about what's been going on on this thread, so, take it from me, it's from the horses mouth (no offence Ian!)

Minsky I am sorry you seem to have had a raw deal on here. You can only go with what your doctors have told you and no two people are the same. Dont let the negative comments about your post get you down. Linda x

Minsky - I hope you are 100% again soon. Take care hun!

Re liver problems

Firstly I would like to say a really big thank you to all the people who have been really kind and sent their best wishes. I would like to advise that whilst in hospital the first thing they checked for was in fact gall stones, because this is what my own GP had thought may have been the cause of my problem. The Consultant at the hospital told me that it was definitely not my gallbladder, my problem has always been my liver, also with gall bladder i was advised by Dr's, Consultants and Nurses at the hospital that i would have been in a "lot of pain" with gall bladder problems. I was not in any pain at all. I agree my condition may sound like gall bladder trouble, but that is what they said. I was baffled too, but I can only relate what they said.


The other thing I would like to say is to Liberty Girl, most of the comments you make are quite nasty, I appreciate you are entitled to your opinions, but I don't see why you always have to be like this.

As to all the other people who are losing weight with lipotrim I wish you continued sucess with your weight loss journey. xxx