Xenical Side Effects!
Side effects of the Xenical diet pills are associated mostly with its site of action – the gut. Oily spotting, flatus with discharge, fecal urgency, fatty/oily stool, oily evacuation, increased defecation & fecal incontinence are a few gastrointestinal side effects generally associated with this drug.
These and other commonly observed adverse reactions were generally mild. Over a period of a week most people get used to Xenical and the side effects largely disappear (to read visitor comments on Alli, the low dose, over the counter version of Xenical, click here!).
One way of avoiding Xenical’s side effects is to limit the amount of fat in a meal. The gut disturbances are directly related to the fat content of a meal. Restricting fat content to 30% of total calories will decrease the side effects.
Other side effects of Xenical include a deficiency of fat-soluble vitamins like Vitamin A, D, E and K. Solution? A multi-vitamin taken two hours before Xenical can ensure that you do not become deficient.
Rare cases of hypersensitivity have been reported with the use of Xenical. Signs and symptoms of such include itching, rash, skin blebs, swelling of the lips and eyelids. In such cases, the drug needs to be stopped since repeated exposure in an allergic individual can cause shock and respiratory obstruction.
Xenical should not be taken by pregnant women and nursing mothers, as the drug may be excreted in their milk. It is not prescribed for children below the age of 12. The behavior of the drug in individuals above 65 years of age is also not clear and the drug is generally avoided in the elderly.
The drug should not be taken by people who have obesity as a result of a disease, such as hypothyroidism. Another consequence of decreased fat content (especially triglycerides), is an increased tendency to form gall-stones. Xenical is not a choice for persons with a past history of gall-stones or renal stones.
As with any weight loss agent, the potential exists for misuse of Xenical in people with eating disorders like anorexia nervosa or bulimia.
