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Why is this medication prescribed?
Orlistat is used with a low-calorie diet to help you lose weight and to maintain your weight after weight loss. Orlistat is used in patients with a certain weight who may also have high blood pressure
, diabetes, high cholesterol, or heart disease.
- Orlistat is in a class of drugs called lipase inhibitors. It works in your intestines, where it blocks some of the fat you eat from being abs
orbed and disgested. This undigested fat is then removed in your bowel movements (BM).
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Before Using This Medicine
Before taking orlistat,
tell your doctor and pharmacist if you are allergic to orlistat or any other drugs.
tell your doctor if you have or have ever had anorexia nervosa or bulimia, gal
lstones, thyroid disease, diabetes, kidney problems, or if you consistently have problems absorbing food (malabsorption syndrome).
tell your doctor if you are pregnant, plan to become pregnant, o
r are breast-feeding.
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Significant Interactions:
Although certain medicines should not be used together at all, in other cases two different medicines may be used together even if an interaction might occur. In these cases, your doctor may want to c
hange the dose, or other precautions may be necessary. When you are taking orlistat, it is especially important that your health care professional know if you are taking the following:
- Warf
arin¡XOrlistat may decrease the absorption of vitamin K and may change your bleeding time
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Precautions while Using this Medicine
It is very important that your doctor check your progress at regular visits to make sure that this medicine is working properly and to check for unwanted effects.
For patients with diabetes:
Weight loss may result in an improvement in your condition, and your doctor may need to change your dose of oral diabetes medicine or insulin.
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How should this medicine be used?
Orlistat comes as a capsule to take by mouth. It is usually taken three times a day with each main meal that contains fat. Each time you take orlistat, your meal should contain no more than about 30%
of calories from fat. Take orlistat during or up to 1 hour after a meal. If a meal is missed or does not have fat, you may skip your dose. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully, a
nd ask your doctor or pharmacist to explain any part you do not understand.
Orlistat is in a class of drugs called lipase inhibitors. It works in your intestines, where it blocks some of the
fat you eat from being absorbed and disgested. This undigested fat is then removed in your bowel movements (BM).
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Side Effects of This Medicine
Along with its needed effects, a medicine may cause some unwanted effects. Although not all of these side effects may occur, if they do occur they may need medical attention. Check with your doctor as
soon as possible if any of the following side effects occur:
- Bodyache; chills; cough; fever; headache; nasal congestion; runny nose; sneezing; sore throat
- Tightness in
chest; tooth or gum problems ; troubled breathing; wheezing
- Bloody or cloudy urine; change in hearing ; contagious diarrhea; difficult or painful urination; earache; frequent ur
ge to urinate; pain in ear
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