In deciding to use a medicine, the risks of taking the medicine
must be weighed against the good it will do. This is a decision
you and your doctor will make. For orlistat, the following should
be considered:
Allergies—Tell your doctor if you have ever
had any unusual or allergic reaction to orlistat. Also tell your
health care professional if you are allergic to any other
substances, such as foods, preservatives, or dyes.
Diet—When using orlistat, your diet should
contain no more than 30% of calories as fat. More fat in your diet
will increase the side effects of this medicine. Your diet should
be nutritionally balanced, and your daily intake of fat,
carbohydrates, and protein should be distributed over three main
meals.
Pregnancy—Orlistat has not been studied in
pregnant women. However, orlistat may decrease the amount of
certain vitamins that your body can absorb from the food you eat.
Make sure you have discussed with your doctor the use of this
medication during pregnancy.
Breast-feeding—It is not known whether
orlistat passes into breast milk. Although most medicines pass
into breast milk in small amounts, many of them may be used safely
while breast-feeding. Mothers who are taking this medicine and who
wish to breast-feed should discuss this with their doctor.
Children— Studies on this medicine have been
done only in adult patients, and there is no specific information
comparing use of orlistat in children with use in other age
groups.
Older adults—There is no specific
information comparing use of orlistat in the elderly with use in
younger adults. However, this medicine is not expected to cause
different side effects or problems in older people than it does in
younger adults.
Other medicines—Although certain medicines
should not be used together at all, in other cases two different
medicines may be used together even if an interaction might occur.
In these cases, your doctor may want to change the dose, or other
precautions may be necessary. When you are taking orlistat, it is
especially important that your health care professional know if
you are taking the following:
 | Warfarin—Orlistat may decrease the absorption of vitamin K
and may change your bleeding time |
Orlistat prevents the absorption of some of the fat you eat.
Therefore, you should take it during the meal or within 1 hour of
eating. If you occasionally miss a meal or eat a meal that
contains no fat, you should skip the dose of orlistat.
Because orlistat may decrease the amount of some vitamins that
your body can absorb from food, you will need to take a
multivitamin supplement once a day. Take the vitamin supplement at
least 2 hours before or after taking orlistat.
Dosing—
The dose of orlistat will be different for different patients. Follow
your doctor's orders or the directions on the label. The
following information includes only the average doses of orlistat.
If your dose is different, do not change it unless your
doctor tells you to do so.
| For oral dosage form (capsules):
| For treatment of obesity:
| Adults—120 milligrams (mg) three times a day with
meals containing fat.
| Children—Use and dose must be determined by your
doctor. |
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Missed dose—
If you miss a dose of orlistat after a fat-containing meal,
skip that dose. Wait until your next meal, and take the medicine
on your regular schedule. Do not double doses.
Storage—
To store this medicine:
| Keep out of the reach of children.
| Store away from heat and direct light.
| Keep the medicine from freezing. Do not refrigerate.
| Do not keep outdated medicine or medicine no longer needed.
Be sure that any discarded medicine is out of the reach of
children. |
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It is very important that your doctor check your progress
at regular visits to make sure that this medicine is working
properly and to check for unwanted effects.
For patients with diabetes: Weight loss may result in an
improvement in your condition, and your doctor may need to change
your dose of oral diabetes medicine or insulin.
