SIDE EFFECTS

What are the possible side effects of Xenical?

Along with its desired effects, a medicine may cause some unwanted effects. Tell your doctor or pharmacist as soon as possible if you do not feel well while you are taking Xenical. The majority of unwanted effects related to the use of Xenical result from its local action in your digestive system:
- urgent or increased need to open the bowels
- flatulence (wind) with discharge,
- oily discharge
- oily or fatty stools.
- increased number of bowel movements
- inability to control bowel movements.
- increased defecation and fecal incontinence

These symptoms are generally mild, occur at the beginning of treatment, go away after a short period of time and are particularly experienced after meals containing high levels of fat. Normally, these symptoms disappear if you continue treatment and keep to your recommended diet. If you are concerned about these you should inform your doctor or pharmacist about it.

Patients should be counselled as to the possibility of gastrointestinal effects occurring and how best to handle them such as reinforcing the diet, particularly the percentage of fat it contains. Consumption of a diet low in fat will decrease the likelihood of experiencing adverse gastrointestinal events and this may help patients to monitor and regulate their fat intake.

These adverse gastrointestinal reactions are generally transient.

Treatment-emergent GI-adverse events that occurred commonly among patients treated with Xenical were: abdominal pain / discomfort, flatulence, liquid stools, soft stools, rectal pain / discomfort, tooth disorder, gingival disorder.

Other events observed were: upper respiratory infection, lower respiratory infection; influenza; headache; menstrual irregularity; anxiety; fatigue; urinary tract infection.

Post-Marketing Experience

Rare cases of hypersensitivity have been reported. Main clinical symptoms are pruritus, rash, urticaria, angioedema and anaphylaxis.