Xenical – Its mechanism of action and its other defining aspects

Xenical is a prescription anti-obesity medication, which helps people lose excess weight. Its active ingredient orlistat works as a fat blocker, which reduces the amount of fat absorbed by your body, promoting weight loss.

Xenical

Xenical, marketed by Roche, is a prescription anti-obesity medication that has as its active ingredient, orlistat, which works as an inhibitor of lipases. A doctor will only prescribe Xenical when the patient has a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or more. It can also be recommended for patients who have a BMI of 27 or more and also suffer from serious health conditions like heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. Also, before prescribing Xenical, your doctor will ask you for your reasons for wanting to use this weight loss medication. You need to give a substantial reason that will help your doctor decide whether you really are ready to take Xenical or not.

Action mechanism of Xenical

The excessive amounts of fats and calories that are consumed by a person are stored in his/her body in the form of fat. The steady accumulation of fat leads to weight gain. It’s important that the fat that you eat be broken down into its simplest form, in order for it to be digested. Lipases perform this function and help break down fat so that your body is able to digest it easily. Xenical attaches itself to these fat breaking lipases and blocks their actions. This results in one/third of the dietary fat remaining undigested. This fat is then removed from the body by way of body's natural bowel movements. Xenical needs to be taken with a reduced calorie diet, which has a maximum of 30% calories from dietary fat. As you start consuming fewer calories and absorbing less of the dietary fats, your body begins to use all the accumulated fat in your body for the production of energy.

Xenical dosage and side effects

Xenical Orlistat being a prescription medication needs to be taken in the required dosage only; it also has some associated side effects. It's recommended that you take a 120mg capsule of this medication 3 times a day with each main meal. It can also be taken up to an hour after your meals. This oral medication must preferably be taken with water.

People taking Xenical experience changes in their bowel habits. This is the result of the medication working solely in the digestive system and blocking fat absorption. Some of the side effects of this medication include, gas with oily discharge, increased urgency and frequency of bowel movements and an inability to control these bowel movements. Typically, these are just initial side effects of Xenical and go away quickly. But for some people, they can even last for as long as 6 months or more. These side effects usually occur if you consume a meal that is high in fat content. The side effects can be controlled if you get started on a healthy eating plan and remove fatty foods from your diet. If and when you take Xenical and suffer from some bothersome side effects, it's important that you contact your doctor immediately.