Xenical is a prescription weight loss medication that you may have heard of if you’re thinking of losing weight with medical help.
Beginning weight management treatment can be daunting, so knowing how your medication works can make you feel more at ease and give you the confidence boost you need to start your journey off on the right foot.
With that in mind, let’s learn more about Xenical and how it can help you lose weight.
What is Xenical?
Xenical is a weight loss medication that uses an active ingredient called Orlistat, which is a fat binder.
It’s used along a lower fat diet to help reduce your calorie intake and lose weight consistently over time.
It’s designed for patients with a BMI of 30 and over or patients with a BMI of 28 and over who have an increased risk of developing weight-related medical conditions like type 2 diabetes.
If you’re prescribed Xenical, you’ll take the capsules three times a day, one with each of your main meals.
Are Xenical and Alli the same thing?
Xenical and Alli weight loss capsules contain the same active ingredient, Orlistat, so they work in the exact same way.
The main difference between the two is the strength of the medication available.
Alli is available in 60mg capsules, so while taking the standard dose of one capsule three times a day patients will take 180mg of Orlistat a day.
On the other hand, Xenical comes in 120mg capsules — double the strength of Alli — so patients will take a total of 360mg of Orlistat a day while taking it.
This difference in strength is why Xenical is a prescription-only medication while Alli is available over the counter.
How does Xenical work?
Xenical is a type of medication known as a fat binder and the clue to how it works is in the name — it binds to fat.
When you take Xenical, the Orlistat in your medication binds to a third of the fat you eat so it can’t be digested.
This undigested fat is then passed out of your system with your poo, effectively reducing your fat intake by a third.
For Xenical to work at its best you need to reduce the amount of fat you consume in your meals and aim to get around 30% of your calories from fat.
This will not only help Xenical to do its job but will also help to reduce side effects and let you get used to a lower-calorie diet that will help you to maintain your weight loss in the long run.
Is Xenical effective?
Xenical has been proven to be an effective weight management treatment, with successful patients seeing a loss of at least 5% of their starting weight within 12 weeks of treatment.
If you started your treatment weighing in at 240lbs, this means that you should have lost 12lbs by the time the 12-week mark rolls around.
If you are struggling to hit this goal while taking Orlistat when it may not be the right treatment for you and your prescriber may decide to end your treatment.
Don’t be disappointed if this happens to you, everyone’s weight loss journey is different and if Xenical isn’t the right fit for you, ending your treatment will give you the opportunity to find something that is.
Are there any side effects?
Xenical can have side effects, just like any other medication, and the most common symptoms by far are those which affect your digestive system.
Some of the most well-known side effects of Orlistat include having oily poos or experiencing oily discharge when you break wind.
This happens when you have eaten fattier foods, as the Orlistat will bind to a third of that fat so it can be passed from your body.
Eating more fat means that there’s more of it to get rid of and there’s only one exit, so naturally, it will be more noticeable in these circumstances.
The best way to avoid this is to stick to foods that contain less fat and spread out your fat intake throughout all of your daily meals, rather than eating more at one time.
Where to find Xenical in the UK
Xenical is only available on prescription, so patients who think they could benefit from taking this medication will need to speak to a prescriber.
This can be a GP, a prescribing pharmacist, or another relevant healthcare professional.
If you decide to have your consultation with us and are prescribed a suitable weight management treatment, our partner pharmacy will then send your medication out to the address you provided.
It will be sent out in discreet packaging and will include everything you need to start your weight loss journey off on the right foot.
Now we’ve learned more about Xenical and how it works for weight loss, you may be curious to learn about some of our other weight management treatments or even learn about Orlistat in more detail.
Here are some of our most popular articles about weight loss medications that can answer all of your burning questions and more besides.
