What is Xenical?
Xenical (orlistat) is a lipase inhibitor. Xenical does not enter the patient's blood stream, but works in the digestive system in the small intestine as a fat absorber. It blocks out a third of the fat in food eaten in a patient's diet, leading to steady weight loss. Research involving 11,131 woman and 4,418 men, who had been over weight for an average of 14 years, showed that 87% lost at least 5% of total body weight, half lost at least 10%, around 20% lost more than 15% body weight, and some patients lost more than 25%
How does Xenical work?
If you eat an excessive amount of fat or calories, the excess is stored as fat by the body, resulting in weight gain. When you eat fat, your body breaks it down into its simplest components so that it can be digested. Unlike other weight-loss drugs you may have heard about that act in the brain or central nervous system to suppress appetite or to speed up metabolism, Xenical works in your digestive system to block about one-third of the fat in the food you eat from being digested. Enzymes in your digestive system, called lipases, help digest (or break down) fat. When taken with meals, Xenical attaches to the lipases and blocks them from breaking down some of the fat you have eaten. The undigested fat cannot be absorbed and is eliminated in your bowel movements. By working this way, Xenical helps block about one-third of the fat in the foods you eat from being absorbed by your body.
Is Xenical for me?
Xenical is a prescription only medication and can only be prescribed to patients with a body bass index (bmi) of 27 or greater.
If I take Xenical, can I eat whatever I want?
The Xenical dietary guidelines do not place any particular food out of bounds. But you may not be able to eat a lot of a particular food if it is high in calories or, especially, if it is high in fat.
How soon after starting Xenical should I expect to notice weight loss?
Typically, people begin losing weight within 2 weeks of starting Xenical, and may continue to lose weight for 6 to 12 months, at which point weight loss usually begins to level off -- even if you’re still taking Xenical. This doesn't mean that Xenical is not working. People who continue to take Xenical are better able to maintain their weight loss. Keep your doctor informed about your progress so that he or she can make sure your diet and your level of physical activity remain appropriate to your weight-loss goals. Once you reach your initial goal, you may want to set a new goal and have your doctor re-evaluate your calorie and activity levels.
How much weight should I expect to lose?
The amount of weight you lose depends on how well you stick to a reduced-calorie diet with no more than 30% of calories from fat and an appropriate physical activity level, as well as on your compliance with the prescribed medication regime.
How can I buy Xenical online
You can buy Xenical online with or without a prescription at Medical Specialists, after completing a simple online consultation. If you prefer to order Xenical UK over the phone, just give us a call and we will be pleased to help. We are the UK’s leading supplier of weight loss medication, and Xenical for sale in the UK by a pharmacy is regulated by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain.
For full patient information, please read or print out the leaflet provided at the bottom of this page about Xenical.
This patient information leaflet is provided for information purposes only. This leaflet information should not be used in contradiction with your Doctor or Pharmacist's advice. Medical Specialists recommend that you carefully read the information leaflet provided with your medication. Medical Specialists will not accept liability for information displayed. Please refer to the leaflet provided with your medication for the latest manufacturer's information.
Possible Side Effects
Like all medicines, Xenical can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them. Tell your doctor or pharmacist as soon as possible if you do not feel well while you are taking Xenical. The majority of unwanted effects related to the use of Xenical result from its local action in your
digestive system. These symptoms are generally mild, occur at the beginning of treatment and are particularly experienced after meals containing high levels of fat. Normally, these symptoms disappear
if you continue treatment and keep to your recommended diet.
Very common side effects (affects more than 1 user in 10)
Headache, abdominal pain/discomfort, urgent or increased need to open the bowels, flatulence (wind) with discharge, oily discharge, oily or fatty stools, liquid stools, low blood sugar levels (experienced by some people with type 2 diabetes).
Common side effects (affects 1 to 10 users in 100)
Rectal pain/discomfort, soft stools, incontinence (stools), bloating (experienced by some people with type 2 diabetes), tooth/gum disorder, irregularity of menstrual cycle, tiredness. The following side effects have also been reported but their frequency cannot be estimated from the
available data: Allergic reactions. The main symptoms are itching, rash, wheals (slightly elevated, itchy skin patches that are paler or redder than surrounding skin), severe difficulty in breathing, nausea, vomiting and feeling unwell. Bleeding from the back passage (rectum). Increases in the levels of some liver enzymes may be found in blood tests, diverticulitis, gallstones, hepatitis (inflammation of the liver), pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas), skin blistering (including blisters that burst), effects on clotting with anti-coagulants.
If any of the side effects gets serious, or if you notice any side effects not listed in this leaflet, please tell your doctor or pharmacist.
Do not take Xenical
If you are allergic (hypersensitive) to orlistat or to any of the other ingredients of Xenical,
If you have chronic malabsorption syndrome (insufficient absorption of nutrients from alimentary tract),
If you have cholestasis (liver disorder)
If you have breast-feeding.
Take special care with Xenical
Weight loss may also affect the dose of medicines taken for other conditions (e.g. high cholesterol or diabetes). Be sure to discuss these and other medicines you may be taking with your doctor. Losing weight may mean you need adjustments to the dose of these medicines. To gain the maximum benefit from Xenical you should follow the nutrition program recommended to you by your doctor. As with any weight-control program, over-consumption of fat and calories may reduce any weight loss effect. This medicine can cause harmless changes in your bowel habits, such as fatty or oily stools, due to the elimination of undigested fat in your faeces. The possibility of this happening may increase if Xenical is taken with a diet high in fat. In addition your daily intake of fat should be distributed evenly over three main meals because if Xenical is taken with a meal very high in fat, the possibility of gastrointestinal effects may increase. The use of an additional contraceptive method is recommended to prevent possible failure of oral
contraception that could occur in case of severe diarrhoea. The use of orlistat may be associated with renal stones in patients suffering from chronic kidney disease. Inform your doctor whether you suffer from problems with your kidney.
Use in Children
Xenical is not intended to be used in children.
Taking other medicines
Please inform your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking or have recently taken any other medicines,
even those not prescribed.
This is important as using more than one medicine at the same time can strengthen or weaken the
effects of the medicines.
Xenical may modify the activity of
Anticoagulant drugs (e.g. warfarin). Your doctor may need to monitor your blood coagulation.
Ciclosporin. Co-administration with ciclosporin is not recommended. Your doctor may need to
monitor your ciclosporin blood levels more frequently than usual.
Iodine salts and/or levothyroxine. Cases of hypothyroidism and/or reduced control of
hypothyroidism may occur.
Amiodarone. You may ask your doctor for advice.
Xenical reduces the absorption of supplements of some fat soluble nutrients, particularly beta-carotene
and vitamin E. You should therefore follow your doctor’s advice in taking a well balanced diet rich in
fruit and vegetables and in taking. Your doctor may suggest you take a multivitamin supplement.
Orlistat may unbalance an anticonvulsivant treatment, by decreasing the absorption of antiepileptic
drugs, thus leading to convulsions. Please contact your doctor if you think that the frequency and/or
severity of the convulsions have changed when taking Xenical together with antiepileptic drugs.
Pregnancy and breast-feeding
Taking Xenical during pregnancy is not recommended.
You must not breast-feed your infant during treatment with Xenical as it is not known whether Xenical
passes into human milk.
Driving and using machines
Xenical has no known effect on your ability to drive a car or operate machinery.