Xenical (Orlistat) for Obesity

Overview
Xenical is a prescription drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to manage obesity in conjunction with a low-calorie diet. Xenical may be prescribed to help people lose weight, maintain weight loss, or reduce the risk for weight gain. Xenical is also referred to by its drug name, Orlistat.

Xenical is a lipase inhibitor. It is believed that Xenical works by preventing your body from absorbing calories from fat in foods.

How do I take it?
Prescribing information states that Xenical should be taken three times a day.

Xenical comes in capsule form.

Side effects
The FDA-approved label for Xenical lists common side effects including increased defecation, fecal incontinence, fecal urgency, fat or oil in the stool, fatty or oily discharge expelled with gas, and oily spotting.

Rare but serious side effects listed for Xenical include liver damage or failure, severe kidney problems, gallstones, and gastrointestinal problems.

For more details about this treatment, visit:
Xenical – Genentech
http://www.gene.com/patients/medicines/xenical