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  A Patient-Education Primer The following information is tailored for patients to address commonly asked questions. Feel free to print out this information for patients or to use it for talking points when informing patients about this medication for the first time. What Is XENICAL? XENICAL is an oral prescription weight-loss medication for people who are considerably overweight (at least 30% above ideal weight or with a body mass index, or BMI, of 30 or greater). XENICAL may also be right for you if you are overweight (at least 20% above ideal weight or with a BMI of 27 or greater) and also have other risk factors, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, or diabetes. Why Losing Weight Is So Important for Your Health Excess weight has been proven to contribute to an increased risk of developing many medical problems, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, and diabetes.54 The consumption of excess fatty food and calories plays a significant role in the development of excess weight. Although fat is an important component of a balanced diet, the consumption of excess fat contributes to excess body weight, because fat provides twice the calories per gram of weight that carbohydrates and protein provide. Reduction of dietary fat intake is one potential way of losing weight. How XENICAL Works XENICAL works in your digestive system, where it blocks one third of the fat in the food you eat from being digested. This undigested fat is then eliminated in your bowel movements. XENICAL should be used together with a reduced-calorie diet and appropriate physical activity that your doctor will recommend. And unlike the other diet drugs you may have heard about, XENICAL doesn't work on the central nervous system. When you eat an excessive amount of fat or calories, the excess is stored as fat by the body, resulting in weight gain. When you eat fat, your body breaks it down into its simplest components so that it can be absorbed. Enzymes in your intestinal tract, called lipases, help digest (or break down) fat. When you take XENICAL with meals, XENICAL attaches to the lipases and blocks them from breaking down some of the fat you have eaten. The undigested fat cannot be absorbed and is eliminated in your bowel movements. By working this way, XENICAL helps block about 30% of the fat eaten in food from being absorbed by your body. Most Common Side Effects of XENICAL Because XENICAL works by blocking the absorption of dietary fat, it is likely that you will experience some changes in bowel habits. These generally occur during the first weeks of treatment; however, they may continue throughout your use of XENICAL. These changes may include oily spotting, gas with discharge, urgent need to go to the bathroom, oily or fatty stools, an oily discharge, increased number of bowel movements and inability to control bowel movements. Due to the presence of undigested fat, the oil seen in a bowel movement may be clear or have an orange or brown coloration. These bowel changes are a natural effect of blocking the fat from being absorbed and indicate that XENICAL is working. They generally occur early in treatment, particularly after meals containing higher amounts of fat than are recommended. These symptoms are often temporary and may lessen or disappear as you continue treatment and keep to your recommended diet of meals containing no more than about 30% fat. However, these side effects may occur in some individuals over a period of 6 months or longer. If you are concerned about these or any other side effects you experience while taking XENICAL, talk to your doctor or pharmacist. Who Should Not Use XENICAL Those who:
What Your Doctor Needs to Know Before Prescribing XENICAL Before beginning treatment with XENICAL, make sure your doctor knows if you are:
This information will help you and your physician decide if the expected advantages of XENICAL are greater than any possible disadvantages. Take XENICAL Plus a Multivitamin XENICAL interferes with your body's absorption of some fat-soluble vitamins. Therefore, when you use XENICAL, you should take a daily multivitamin supplement that contains vitamins D, E, and K, and beta-carotene. Take your multivitamin once a day at least 2 hours before or after taking XENICAL, such as at bedtime. Results with XENICAL Following 1 year of treatment, XENICAL in combination with diet was shown to be more effective in reducing weight than was diet alone. In most cases, weight loss was gradual. Patients treated with XENICAL and a reduced-calorie diet for 1 year lost an average of 13.4 lbs, while those on a reduced-calorie diet alone lost 5.8 lbs. What Lifestyle Changes You Should Consider When Taking XENICAL You must use XENICAL with a recommended reduced-calorie diet with no more than 30% of calories from fat. You should also follow a program of regular physical activity, such as walking. However, before you undertake any activity or exercise program, be sure to talk with your doctor or other health care professional. XENICAL and Health Insurance Reimbursement As you may know, being overweight increases a person's risk of a number of costly health conditions, including diabetes and heart disease. Losing weight can help you improve your health by reducing those weight-related health risks — which is good for you and any insurance company that may provide you with health coverage. That's also why having a weight-related illness or risk factor may increase your chances of being reimbursed for weight-loss treatments such as XENICAL. Unfortunately, some health insurance companies and policies do not provide coverage or reimbursement for such preventive measures. In fact, generally speaking, health insurance companies don't even consider the condition of being considerably overweight a disease. In most cases, health care providers can get immediate answers to questions about patient coverage and reimbursement. What It Takes to Succeed with XENICAL If you are good at sticking to a reduced-fat, reduced-calorie diet and keeping up with a regular activity program, you probably have what it takes — the willpower to persist with your weight-loss efforts. XENICAL can help you reach your goals. It's not a magic pill that takes away your responsibility; in fact, it requires your personal commitment and self-control to do its job effectively. Research shows that XENICAL in combination with diet is more effective in reducing weight than diet alone. Studies also show that maintaining routine follow-up visits with your doctor, even after desired weight loss is achieved, results in weight-loss and weight-maintenance success. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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