Xenical orlistat has hit the retail prescription market with a resounding thump. Since the introduction of Viagra and Celebrex, no product has generated very much excitement among the population. It was expected this new drug would rival the top two recent releases. What was expected hasn't materialized; yet!
Engineered to inhibit the absorption of dietary fats, Xenical has been touted as one of the defining drugs of the nineties but it has raised many eyebrows in the medical field. Though released in the U.S. as a prescription drug, it is readily available without one through a variety of outlets.
One company located in the Channel Islands, Direct Response Marketing, is vending the capsules via the web (internet) to virtually anyone who is capable of filling out an electronic form. According to the advertising on the company's web site, "Most weight challenged people think there is a product out there that will solve their overweight problems," much like Ehrlich's magic bullet. Well, the company shouts in big bold letters, now that product has arrived.
Currently, Federal regulations allow such marketing in most states, providing a duly licensed physician signs off for the product (writes a prescription). The concern expressed by the regulators is that the product needs close supervision. It is too soon to determine what side effects will emerge and the severity of each as it appears. Currently, the incidence of severe adverse effects has been minimal for orlistat.
Gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms are the most common of all adverse reactions noted with long term ingestion and use of Xenical. Based on a double blind test (scientific language employed to describe a type of testing that helps in developing fair, impartial results) GI disturbances occurred in approximately 5% of the placebo (drug free product) treated patients. The Xenical treated group had close to double that figure. Most symptoms were, however, mild and of short duration.
Generally, the onset of adverse events occurred within 3 months of the start of therapy, and roughly 50% of the events associated with orlistat ingestion lasted one week or less. It was recorded that 8.8% of patients treated with orlistat discontinued treatment due to adverse reactions as compared with 5% who were being treated with a placebo.
One notable problem is that Xenical tends to hamper the absorption of some fat-soluble vitamins and beta-carotene. Because of this situation, physicians are recommending the addition of a good multivitamin containing fat-soluble vitamins to ensure proper nutrition. It should be taken either two hours before, or two hours after taking Xenical.
Go To Page: 1 2
| Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: | View all related messages |
For a complete listing of article comments, questions, and other discussions related to Gerald Eisman's Natural Pharmaceuticals topic, please visit the Discussions page.