Weight Loss Drugs Prescription and OTC »
Taking a weight loss drug may not result in weight loss by itself. But using diet pills can help an overweight person stay on a diet because nearly all of these medications work on suppressing appetite. "Feeling full" is believed to be related to a number of biochemical processes in the body. Signals to indicate fullness come from fat cells and the gastrointestinal tract; these converge with signals in the central nervous system. Appetite suppressants target a couple of key neurotransmitters in this process: serotonin and norepinephrine. Increased levels of serotonin result in a feeling of fullness. Increasing norepinephrine levels stimulate the central nervous system, decreasing appetite. Only one drug among the weight loss medications works in a different way. Orlistat (Xenical, Alli) works in the gastrointestinal tract to prevent absorption of about a third of ingested fat.
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Single doses of 800 mg XENICAL and multiple doses of up to 400 mg three times a day for 15 days have been studied in normal weight and obese subjects without significant adverse findings.
Should a significant overdose of XENICAL occur, it is recommended that the patient be observed for 24 hours. Based on human and animal studies, systemic effects attributable to the lipase-inhibiting properties of XENICAL should be rapidly reversible.
XENICAL is contraindicated in:
Last reviewed on RxList: 2/7/2012
This monograph has been modified to include the generic and brand name in many instances.
Here is a collection of user reviews for the medication Xenical sorted by most helpful.
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