The undigested fat can't be absorbed and is eliminated in your bowel movements. By working this way, Xenical helps block about one-third of the fat in the foods you eat from being absorbed by your body.

XENICAL may be right for you if you have a Body Mass Index of 30 or greater, or have a BMI of 27 or greater and have other risk factors, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease or diabetes.

Each time you take Xenical, your meal should contain no more than about 30% of calories from fat. You should evenly divide your daily intake of fat, carbohydrates and protein over your three main meals.

You can take Xenical during meals or up to 1 hour after a meal. If you occasionally miss a meal or have a meal without fat, you can omit your dose of XENICAL. Doses above 120-mg three times daily have not been shown to provide an additional weight-loss benefit.

They generally occur during the first weeks of treatment; however, for some people they may continue for 6 months or longer while on XENICAL. These changes may include gas with oily discharge, an increased number of bowel movements, an urgent need to have them, and an inability to control them, particularly after meals containing higher amounts of fat than are recommended.

People taking Pravastatin® should take it at night to avoid a drug interaction with Xenical®.

Xenical should be taken with a nutritionally sound reduced-calorie diet containing no more than 30% of calories from fat.

XENICAL shouldn't be taken if you are pregnant, nursing, have food absorption problems or reduced bile flow. It also reduces the absorption of vitamins, therefore, a daily multivitamin is recommended.

Xenical is currently the only drug that alters fat metabolism. Xenical's greatest advantage is that it works exactly where it is needed -- in the intestinal tract. It does not affect the heart. It does not affect the brain. Not even 1% of Xenical is absorbed by the bloodstream, which makes it by far the safest prescription diet drug on the market.

You should take a multivitamin once a day while on Xenical because it keeps you from absorbing certain essential vitamins. This vitamin should not be taken at the same time as Xenical (needs to be separated by 2 hours). The easiest way to achieve this is to take your multivitamin at bedtime.

Obesity is sometimes the result of other disease states, such as hypothyroidism. It is extremely important that you have regular yearly checkup with your primary care physician!

Do not share this medication with anyone.