Xenical

How Xenical can help you lose weight 

Xenical is a regulated slimming tablet that is used to treat weight loss. It contains an active ingredient called orlistat, which attaches itself to enzymes in the digestive system (lipases) and prevents the gut from digesting some of the fat that is consumed with meals. Rather than the body absorbing this fat, the fat is removed as a waste product in your stool. 

Orlistat is the generic version of Xenical. Because it’s the non-branded version of the drug, it’s slightly cheaper, but otherwise its functionality is the same. 

Although Xenical can be an effective inhibitor, it only stops a proportion of the fat that you consume from being absorbed by the body (nearly one third). It therefore needs to be used in conjunction with regular exercise and eating more healthily in order for you to benefit from it. 

It’s recommended that you should only use Xenical if your body mass index (BMI) falls within one of two criteria: either your BMI is 30 or above, or your BMI is 28 or above and you also have a health condition that could be better managed by losing weight (for example, diabetes or high blood pressure). 

If you haven’t lost 5% of your weight in 3 months since the start of treatment with this medication, your course of treatment should be stopped. 

Your BMI is the most commonly used indicator to determine if you are a healthy weight. You can check to see if you are a healthy weight by using the NHS BMI healthy weight calculator. 

For the majority of adults, your BMI is established according to the following categories:

• 18.5-24.9 means that you are a healthy weight
• 25-29.9 means that you are overweight
• 30-39 means that you are obese
• 40 or above means that you are severely obese

It’s important to note that BMI is not used to diagnose obesity; it only provides an indication as to whether you are a healthy weight. 

Obesity is a term that’s used to describe someone who is very overweight, and who has a lot of body fat. It’s prevalent in the UK, with around 1 in 4 adults and 1 in every 5 children between the ages of 10 and 11 thought to be affected. Obesity is typically triggered by consuming more calories, especially those found in fatty and sugary foods, than you burn off during physical exercise. The body stores this excess energy as fat. 

It can result in a number of serious and life-endangering health conditions, including type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, certain forms of cancer, such as breast cancer and bowel cancer, and stroke. Obesity may also impact on your quality of life and cause psychological difficulties, including depression and low self-esteem. Given the risks involved, therefore, it’s very important to take steps to address it. 

In terms of treatment measures, eating a healthy diet and moderating your calorie intake, joining a weight loss group and activities such as fast walking, jogging, swimming and tennis for between 2.5-5 hours a week can all help you to lose weight. 

If making changes to your lifestyle does not prove to be effective, Xenical may be recommended to you by your prescribing doctor. 

If you’re looking to purchase Xenical online, fill in the questionnaire on our website and one of our registered clinicians will review your answers. If Xenical is an appropriate treatment for you, your order will be processed by our regulated pharmacy and delivered to your door within 24 hours by special courier. 

How should I take Xenical?

You should always take Xenical as prescribed by your clinician. The standard dose is one 120mg capsule taken with each of your three main meals every day. You can take it just before, during, or up to one hour after a main meal, and it should be swallowed with water. 

Taking Xenical if you are pregnant is not advisable, and it should not be used if you are breastfeeding, as whether traces of the treatment pass into breast milk is unclear. 

You should also avoid taking Xenical if you are allergic to its active ingredient, orlistat, or to any of the other ingredients in this treatment. For more information, you can consult your prescribing doctor, or locate the ingredients as detailed in the patient information leaflet that comes with your medication. 

Xenical is unsuitable for you if you have chronic malabsorption syndrome (insufficient absorption of nutrients from the digestive tract) or cholestasis (liver disorder). 

How effective is Xenical? 

Clinical studies and clinical trials have shown that Xenical is effective for some people, with a significant number of participants losing 5% or more of their baseline body weight after 12 weeks of treatment, and 10% or more of their baseline body weight after one year. It’s less effective in other cases, however, and your prescribing doctor may need to explore alternative treatments with you. 

In order to get the most benefit from Xenical, it’s important that you regulate the amount of fatty food that you eat, as consuming additional fat cancels out the effects that Xenical can have. 

In terms of frequency, you should take the treatment with each of your three main meals daily, but only where your main meals contain fat. If you miss a main meal or have a main meal that doesn’t contain any fat, you do not need to take a dosage of Xenical. 

Research indicates that obesity can increase your risk of getting cancer, including two of the most common forms of cancer: bowel cancer and breast cancer in women. Reducing your intake of fat, then, through refining your dietary habits, and using a weight loss treatment like Xenical, where required, may lessen the likelihood of cancer developing. 

You can order Xenical online on our website. Having filled in our simple questionnaire for the treatment, one of our General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) registered clinicians will review your order, and it will be dispensed from our regulated pharmacy if it is suitable for you. Your order will be delivered to your door by special courier, using our 24-hour delivery service. 

What lifestyle changes should I make when taking Xenical? 

To get the maximum benefit from Xenical, you should combine taking the treatment with reducing the number of calories in your diet, and exercise. Exercise not only allows the body to stay at a healthy weight, but it can help to prevent and manage over 20 conditions, including reducing your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by 40%. 

Chief Medical Officers advise that adults should carry out at least 150 minutes of moderate-intense physical activity every week. This can be split up into 5 sessions of 30 minutes per week, for instance.  Even a small amount of exercise is better than none at all, and as little as 10 minutes at a time can be advantageous. 

Moderate-intensity activity is any physical activity that increases the rate of your heart and breathing. Examples include brisk walking, cycling, swimming and dancing. 

The intensity of your exercise can also be increased. Rather than doing 150 minutes of moderate-intense activity, you can halve this to 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity a week, should you wish to. 

Vigorous-intensity activity consists of exercise where your breathing is very hard, your pulse is significantly elevated and you may not be able to converse with someone else. For instance, running, the majority of competitive sports and circuit training. 

Implementing a food plan can help you to get the nutrients and nutrition that your body requires to maintain good health. Xenical should be consumed as part of a controlled calorie diet that includes at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables every day. You should aim to opt for foods and drinks that are lower in fat and sugar (as well as added sugar in drinks) where you can, such as reduced fat cheese and plain, low-fat yoghurt. 

30% of the calories that you consume whilst taking Xenical should come from fat, and your fat, protein and carbohydrate intake should be spread across each of your three, daily main meals. 

If you’re looking for input on how to create a specific food plan, the NHS Eatwell Guide can help you to make adjustments to your diet.

Quitting certain habits such as smoking can also allow you to make healthy changes to your lifestyle. Smoking is one of the UK’s largest causes of death and illness, with approximately 78,000 people dying every year as a consequence of it, and many others living with serious smoking-related health conditions. 

Smoking can lead to cancer developing in many parts of the body, from the lungs to the mouth to the bowel, as well as increase other health risks, such as having a stroke, suffering a heart attack or developing coronary heart disease, peripheral vascular disease (damaged blood vessels) and cerebrovascular disease (damaged arteries that provide blood to the brain). 

What other health conditions may require treatment with Xenical?

Xenical is primarily used to treat obesity, but it’s also sometimes prescribed to people who are obese and have additional health conditions, such as type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. 

Type 2 diabetes is triggered by a lack of the hormone insulin in the body, which in turn is usually caused by being overweight. This results in blood sugar (glucose) levels in the body becoming too high, which without treatment and management through lifestyle changes can lead to serious health complications, including heart disease and stroke, nerve damage, sores and infections in the feet, loss of vision and blindness, and problems with the kidneys. 

Xenical, as a weight loss treatment, may help people to lose weight and therefore manage their blood sugar levels better. If your BMI is 28 or above and you have type 2 diabetes, Xenical may be a suitable treatment for you. However, your prescribing clinician may suggest that you try to make adjustments to your lifestyle first, such as altering your diet and exercising more, before exploring the use of weight loss treatments such as Xenical. 

High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a very common condition in the UK, with around one third of adults understood to have it. Many people may be unaware of this however, as it doesn’t often present any symptoms. The only way to determine if your blood pressure is high is to have your blood pressure checked. 

You’re more likely to develop high blood pressure if you:

• are overweight
• are over 65 years old
• are of African or Caribbean descent
• have a relative who has high blood pressure
• eat an excessive amount of salt and not enough fruit and vegetables
• do not exercise enough
• drink an excessive amount of caffeine or alcohol
• smoke
• Do not sleep enough, or if your sleep is interrupted

Making changes to your lifestyle, such as following a healthy diet, reducing your alcohol intake, and losing weight if you are overweight, can help to prevent and reduce high blood pressure. Xenical, as a weight loss treatment, may be prescribed by your doctor if you are overweight and have high blood pressure.

How to buy Xenical online 

If you would like to purchase Xenical online, you can fill in our short questionnaire and one of our GPhC-registered clinicians will review your order. If Xenical is a suitable treatment for you, your order will be dispensed by our regulated pharmacy and shipped to your door using our 24 hour delivery service. 

Xenical is usually issued at a dosage strength of 120mg on prescription. 

Our UK health prescribers recommend that you take a multivitamin supplement alongside treatment with Xenical, as this medication can restrict the absorption of supplements of certain fat soluble nutrients; in particular, beta-carotene and Vitamin E. 

Because we are a private service, UK patients aren’t eligible for reimbursement when they purchase this treatment through us. However, some people may be entitled to the treatment on an NHS prescription. Speak to your GP to find out more. 

What consequences can being overweight have? 

Physical effects

Being overweight can increase your risk of developing serious health conditions that can be a risk to life, including type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, certain cancers, such as breast cancer and bowel cancer, and stroke. 

It can also cause high blood pressure and high cholesterol, which is an excess amount of the fatty substance, cholesterol, in the blood. Too much cholesterol can obstruct your blood vessels, and increase the likelihood of heart problems or having a stroke. 

Psychological effects 

Besides the physical effects that being overweight can have, it may also have a psychological impact on people who experience it, and serve as a trigger for mental health difficulties such as depression and low mood, and low self-esteem. This can have repercussions on peoples’ relationships with friends and family, and cause feelings of isolation. It may also affect someone’s confidence.