Xenical is a weight
control medication for the management of
significant obesity. Xenical targets the
absorption of fat in your body rather
than suppressing your appetite. Dietary
fats are large molecules, which need to
be broken down by enzymes called lipases
before they can be absorbed into the
body. When taken with a meal, Xenical
interferes with the activity of these
enzymes. This allows about 30% of the fat
eaten in the meal to pass through the gut
undigested. Your body therefore cannot
convert these excess calories to fatty
tissue or use them as a source of energy.
This will therefore help you to reduce
your weight, maintain your lower weight
and minimise any weight regain.
Xenical is a prescription weight-control
medication useful for the long-term
treatment of significant obesity. Xenical
can also help to improve risk factors,
such as high blood pressure, high
cholesterol and high blood sugar which,
if not treated, could lead to other
diseases such as hypertension and
diabetes.Before starting treatment,
make sure your doctor knows if you are
taking other medicines (including those
not prescribed by your doctor). This is
important as using more than one medicine
at the same time can strengthen or weaken
the effects of the medicines. Xenical
does not affect most commonly prescribed
medicines. However, it increases the
effect of some lipid lowering medicines
and therefore your doctor may change your
dose of this medicine. 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.
May Xenical be taken during pregnancy or
while breast-feeding? You must tell your
doctor if you are pregnant or intend to
become pregnant. Your doctor will discuss
the risks and benefits of taking Xenical
during pregnancy. You should not
breast-feed your infant during treatment
with Xenical as it is not known whether
Xenical is secreted in human milk.
Follow
the directions for using this medicine
provided by your doctor, otherwise you
will not fully benefit from Xenical. The
recommended dose of Xenical is one 120-mg
capsule taken with each of the three main
meals per day. It can be taken during the
meal or up to one hour after the meal is
consumed. Xenical should be taken with a
well balanced, calorie controlled diet
that is rich in fruit and vegetables and
contains an average of 30% of the
calories from fat. Your daily intake of
fat, carbohydrate and protein should be
distributed over three meals. This means
you will usually take one capsule at
breakfast time, one capsule at lunchtime
and one capsule at dinnertime. To gain
optimal benefit, avoid the intake of food
containing fat between meals, such as
biscuits, chocolate and savoury snacks.
Xenical only works in the presence of
dietary fat. If you miss a main meal or
if you have a meal containing no fat, you
do not need to take that particular dose
of Xenical. Tell your doctor or
pharmacist if you have not taken your
medicine exactly as prescribed.
Otherwise, your doctor may think that it
was not effective or well tolerated and
may change your treatment unnecessarily.
Your
medicine should be swallowed with
water.When and how does treatment with
Xenical end? Xenical is suitable for
long-term treatment or as instructed by
your doctor. Weight loss normally starts
within 2 weeks and continues for 6 to 12
months on Xenical treatment. Xenical will
then help you to maintain this new lower
weight and also help prevent weight being
put on again. Losing even small amounts
of weight and keeping it off produces
additional health benefits for you
especially when you are at risk from
other diseases such as cardiovascular
disease and diabetes. The improvement in
risk factors (such as reduction in high
blood pressure, normalising blood sugar
levels and lowering cholesterol levels)
is usually noticed within one month of
starting therapy and should be maintained
during the course of Xenical treatment.
If you
forget to take your medicine at any time,
take it as soon as you remember provided
this is within one hour of your last
meal, then continue to take it at the
usual times. Do not take a double dose.
If you have missed several doses, please
inform your doctor and follow the advice
given to you. Do not change the
prescribed dose yourself unless your
doctor tells you to.
Along
with its desired effects, a medicine may
cause some unwanted effects. 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 commonly include:
urgent or increased need to open the
bowels
flatulence
(wind) with discharge,
oily
discharge and oily or fatty stools.
These symptoms are generally mild, occur
at the beginning of treatment, go away
after a short period of time 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. If you are concerned about these
you should inform your doctor or
pharmacist about it.
For more information on Xenical please
view manufacturer web site.
|
