my boyfreind recently started taking xenical 120mg tablets , but i no they were not prescribed to him . anyway he is about 6ft2 and did weigh around 106killo but after taking these tablets 3 times aday now for nearly 4 weeks he has lost about 8 kilo , meaning he now weighs 98kg. the thing is he didn't really eat that much before and and iam worried that these tabelts could cause long term damage , plus is it really possable to lose 8kilo in only 4 weeks on this medication ?? or could t be some other illness ???
Hello, there!
It is possible to lose quite a bit of weight with xenical (orlistat), especially at the beginning, even though on average what people tend to lose, when combined with a diet is between 4 and 6 Kg a month, and this gradually reduces with time. Xenical does not have any known long-term detrimental effects, but can indeed cause side effects such oily rectal leakage, flatulence, faecal urgency and incontinence, abdominal distension, etc. When he weighed 106 Kg, his BMI was over 30, making him obese and this medication was certainly indicated. Now his BMI is 27, which makes him still overweight. His ideal weight is around 88Kg, with a BMI of 24. Therefore he still needs to lose another 10 Kg.
I do not think you need to worry. What he need to try to do is improve his diet and introduce regular exercise. It should be a complete lifestyle change, because otherwise he will put all the weight back on, as soon as he stops taking this medication.
Best wishes,
Jose
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