Xenical & Other Medications

A specific medication’s effectiveness, side effects and risks can be altered if it is used along with other medications. The use of different medications together could make them more or less effective at treating you than one type of medication might be on its own. They might also produce different side effects from each other, or when used together they could cause side effects which you wouldn’t experience if you were taking a single type of medication. This might be seen as either an increase or decrease in risk, and you as well as the person who is giving you Xenical might have to decide whether the possible positive changes to Xenical’s effectiveness (when used with another medication) outweigh the potential risk that harm might be done to you if your medications interact badly.

Due to the possibly that Xenical might interact with some other medications and the potential risks, it is important that you fully disclose to your prescriber or the pharmacist who you receive the Xenical from which medications you are already taking. This includes any medication which you have been prescribed by a medical practitioner, general practitioner, doctor, nurse or surgeon, as well as any medications or supplements which you might have bought without a prescription for example from a pharmacy.

Possible negative interactions

The following is a list of medicines or supplements which might interact with Xenical if you are taking both during the same period:

• Ciclosporin, an immunosuppressant drug. This medicine is used to prevent organ rejection after organ transplants, treat arthritis patients or those with associated health issues and also is being used experimentally to treat some cardiac diseases.
• Acarbose, which is used as part of the treatment for type 2 diabetes.
• Warfarin is an anticoagulant or medication which makes your blood thinner in consistency, and is used with people who are at an increased risk of getting blood clots. Warfarin can be used as a preventative method to try to reduce your risk of getting a blood clot, or it can be used to treat a blood clot if you already have one.
• Amiodarone, which is an anti-arrhythmic agent which relaxes overactive muscles in your heart. This is used to treat patients who have severe or potentially fatal ventricular arrhythmia (a condition where your heart rate is abnormal for example your heart may skip beats or have an irregular rhythm).
• Vitamin K, which aids in the healing of wounds in your body as it important to your blood’s ability to clot. It may also be linked to the strength of your bones or their development. Sources of vitamin K other than dietary supplements are vegetables such as spinach or broccoli, vegetable oils and cereals.
• Vitamin D, which regulates the amount of calcium and phosphate in your system, thereby helping to keep your bones and teeth (which benefit from these elements) in a healthy state. There are some bone problems which occur in children or adults as a result of not consuming enough vitamin D. If you wish to avoid taking supplements then other sources of this vitamin are oily fish and eggs (but we get the majority of our vitamin D intake from sunlight).
• Vitamin A, also know as retinol. This has multiple functions which include improving the ability of your immune system to fight infection, aiding your ability to see in reduced light, keeping skin healthy and improving the health of the lining of your nasal passage. This vitamin can be found in cheese, eggs, milk or yoghurt. One of the richest sources of vitamin A is animal livers (which you should not eat if you are pregnant).
• Vitamin E, which protects the membranes (similar to an outer lining) of the cells in your body. It can be found in soya oil, corn oil, olive oil, nuts and seeds.
• Valproate, which is a medication used to treat migraine headaches, seizures and some of the symptoms of bipolar disorder. Valproate (which has many different forms) has also been known to be used to treat other psychiatric conditions.
• Lamotrigine, used as a medication to treat seizures (if you have epilepsy or a similar condition), symptoms associated with bipolar disorder (such as depression, manic states or unusual moods). It works by decreasing electrical activity in the brain which is abnormal (the brain activity believed to cause seizures or ‘mood swings’).
• Iodine salts, which is a form of salt similar to table salt but which contains some (mostly small) amounts of iodine. This is used primarily to treat or prevent iodine deficiency. Iodine deficiency can cause further health problems such as decreased mental health or thyroid gland health issues.
• Levothyroxine. This is a replacement for a hormone which is produced by your thyroid gland under normal circumstances. This thyroid hormone is the hormone which regulates metabolism and energy in your body. Hypothyroidism is a medical condition in which your body has low levels of this thyroid hormone. Levothyroxine can also be used as a treatment for an enlarged thyroid gland (a condition known as goiter).

There are also some more general types or groups of medications which might interact with Xenical. These are listed as follows:

• Antidiabetics. These are medications which are designed to treat diabetes or its symptoms by changing the levels of insulin in your body.
• Oral anticoagulants such as warfarin. These medications are blood thinners, as they reduce the thickness of your bloodstream if your blood has become too thick. This is necessary as thicker blood increases the chances that you will have a blood clot which can be harmful to your health. Anticoagulants reduce your risk of getting blood clots and may also treat any blood clots which you might already have.
• Oral contraceptives, also known as birth control pills or ‘the pill’. These are taken either regularly in order to reduce the probability that you will become pregnant or are taken soon after having sexual intercourse in order to reduce the chance that you will become pregnant. These can be obtained with a prescription or over the counter in some countries.
• Antiepileptic medications, also known as anticonvulsants are a type of medicine which is used to treat epilepsy or the seizures which are associated with epilepsy.

It is important that the person who has either prescribed or sold Xenical to you is made aware of the fact that you are taking these (if you are taking any one or more of these groups of medication).

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