Xenical
 

Today I started Xenical as prescribed my doc. If you have insurance and a BMI over 30 there is a good chance your insurance will pick it up. I've been researching it like crazy and have a hard time finding others who have tried it so I'm posting this for people to follow that are interested. One thing that I didn't find was anyone with bad side effects, only great success stories. One woman even 50 lbs in a little over a month. It's been out for years now and has been proven to be able to use it up to two years straight if needed. It's basically a pill that blocks 1/3 of the fat that you eat from being absorbed into the body. HOWEVER, you are forced to eat a low fat diet because if you don't there is a good chance you will ruin your underwear if you know what I mean. If you eat a fatty meal the extra fat has no where to go but out. People have complained of oily discharge with gas or alot of diarreha, but I also noticed those that have complained are those that took the pill then went out and ate McDonalds. It's not a miracle pill, it's a helper pill. Many people that stayed withing 30grams of fat per meal had no adverse side effects at all. My doctor told me to start it over the weekend because it will take a couple days for my body to get used to it so I will have the runs even if I eat only lettuce and water, but so far so good today. I really love the fact that after I pop a pill, I know that I can't go eat a cupcake unless I want to be trapped in my bathroom. It's a great tool for those will little or no will power like myself. I will keep everyone updated on how I do. Also, if you are going to eat like a 0% fat yogurt for breakfast, you don't even have to waste a pill for that meal (since they are costly). You can also use them for weight maintenance and they don't have any horrible side effects like phen phen which controls the nervous system. This only works with the digestive system. DAY ONE DOWN


1-8-05 Started Xenical 143.5

Day 3 on xenical and no side effects at all! I've trapped myself in my house for the last two days afraid that I will have a bathroom attack, but haven't had any problems at all. I even took it with Toxic **** (Taco Bell) and expected the worse but still everything is okay. I know the whole Taco Bell thing is defeating the purpose, but I'm sort of sneeking and taking this pill without my hubby knowing because of the cost, and he brought Taco Bell home. I've made a pact with a friend to start Weight Watchers again tomorrow, which I tend to do great on. And I promised myself I would hit the treadmill today. So if anyone has any xenical success stories, I could really use the support since I only bought 45 pills ($80) and don't plan on refilling if they aren't working for me.

My doctor prescribed Xenical a couple of years ago and I lost about 60 lbs over a six month period. Don't worry, the side affects will kick in. If I remember right, it took 4-5 days for it to really begin working and that is when you'll have them. Of course, you only have the side effects if you consume an unreasonable amount of fat. I found that it wasn't so much the product that helped me lose weight (it doesn't block enough fat to actually make you lose weight without any other program i.e. diet and exercise). It did, however, keep me honest. Trust me, if you over do the fat and the side effects kick in you will not want to over indulge in too much fat again.
As for the cost, you might consider checking with your insurance company and see if they will cover the cost. Mine did. All it took was a few forms filled out by my doctor verifying my weight and any accompanying medical issues brought on by my weight. After that, I had to report my weight loss to them on a monthly basis. The catch was that I could not gain weight or they would cease coverage. Also, if you gained weight and the coverage stopped I would not qualify for coverage of xenical or any other weight loss supplement for something like 12 months. At any rate, at almost $2 dollars a pill it is probably worth asking.

I tried it for about a month and, believe me, the side effects will kick in and are definitely not worth it. I have a lot to lose and was very careful about what I ate but finally could no longer hack the mess and the surprise oily orange discharge which came without warning.

IMHO, it was definitely not worth the expense or the side effects which seemed to be there no matter how careful I was to avoid fat.

How much do you have to lose, Sugarholic? Weight Watchers is a good plan. I am toying with the idea of starting to go to meetings.

I have never used Xenical but I do take Meridia, it is prescribed by my doctor and I go in once a month for weight check and to go over my food journal, my pills are covered by my insurance so I only pay 20 bucks for one month. I did a lot of research on weight loss and medications before I talked to my doctor about it. I am hypothyroid so first we had to get me started on some thyroid replacement and then I was put on the meridia It does control my appetite without giving me jitters or any side effects.

IMO I wouldn't want to use Xenical because of the side effects, Meridia controls my appetite and helps me lose weight slow and steady. I have a hard time losing weight on my own even when exercising and eating right Meridia proved to be the help I needed. I don't rely on my meds for my weight loss but I do appreciate the help it gives me.

Now, I want to give my medication disclaimer to anyone thinking that these meds sound interesting and want to try them without going to their doctor.
It is very important to consult your physician when taking diet meds, there are many people out there who bypass the doctors visit and order these meds off of the internet, this can be very dangerous and even if you may think you are healthy you could suffer serious side effects if not properly monitored while taking these medications. So please if you are contemplating taking meds and ordering them off the internet, think twice because you could endanger your health. Okay I'm off my soapbox now :soap:

I need to lose about 20-25 lbs, and I was in the process of having my insurance approve the medication, however my husbands company cancelled our insurance without telling us until about a week later. He's a carpenter and if it rains they don't work, if they don't work and get their full time hours in they cancel us. It sucks because now I have a doctors bill hanging over my head thanks to the "NO WARNING" they gave me. I don't even know if it is legal to cancel and then wait a week to tell us. I would have never gone to the doctors if I didn't know that I didn't have insurance. Anyways, my doc did toy with the idea of other drugs like Meridia, however I have high anxiety because I'm currently going to school to become a nurse, so she decided that Meridia would probably make my anxiety worse. I did start Weight Watchers today with a friend. I have done it before and had excellent success. The effects of the xencial started hitting me last night and this morning, but not to bad. No stomach cramps or mad dashes to the toilet, but I did see the "orange effect." I never really have eaten a high fat diet so I don't know if I will refill my script or not. I know about how much weight I'm capable of losing on WW, so if there really isn't a significant difference with the xenical, I'll probably just stop. Once I start a diet I'm compulsive about it, especially since I'm doing it with a friend. It's when I stop the diet, I fall off the wagon like a drug addict and go crazy. That's why I opted for WW, because I can still eat the foods I crave without feeling like I fell off the wagon and then just letting everything go from there. Thanks for all the feedback!!

Day 4 on Xenical
 

Today is day 4 on xenical and day two on Weight Watchers. Oh yeah and I'm starving ha ha. I know I'll adjust in a day or two. Still no bad effects on the xenical, I definately have the orange oily stuff, but no runs or accidents or anything. I only take it with dinner because that is the only meal that I really eat any fat. Breakfast is no fat, and lunch is only about 5 grams of fat, maybe that is why my side effects are so low. I don't know if I'm getting any results from it yet because with WW I can only weigh myself once a week. I'll let you know at the end of the week if I've lost any weight.

I'm just curious what your BMI is? Your doctor must have measured it to put you on a diet med. I'm just wondering because you've got so little to lose. Some doctors just don't care and write scripts like their going out of style KWIM? Have you tried to lose weight on your own? and if so have you had your thryoid function checked? Sorry you are hungry but if you are doing flexpoints you can eat a bunch of veggies for no points!

My BMI in the doctors office was 30, I'm only 4ft 11 and according to their scale I weighed 150, but I was holding my purse, had jeans, two shirts, shoes, and a huge winter coat on. I weighed myself the next day and only weighed 143.5 without all the clothes, putting my BMI at 28, which still should be a little lower to get me out of the overweight category. I do have to admit that I think my doc was being easy on me because I didn't look when I was getting weighed, however when I saw my weight on her chart I started bawling. I am overweight, I look overweight, my knees ache, my back hurts because my boobs are huge, and I really do need to drop some weight. I'm not depending on the xenical, I did start WW again and I have done great on it in the past without diet pills. But I did already pay for them so I might as well use them. Plus I tend to crave things like Taco Bell and Burger King, as a matter of a fact I can't carry any cash at all on me, not even a dollar because I will go and get fast food. Xenical keeps me from doing that because I am scared to death of the side effects I hear about. Plus I am a nursing student and my semester starts again tomorrow, which means I tend to keep my nose in the books and grab whatever I can eat and keep on studying. The xenical will help keep me from doing that and that is another point my doc made. I do have more to lose then just the 18lbs that I have on my weight tracker. However, I find it much easier to set goals that are actually reachable to keep myself from being discouraged. In all actuality I need to be around 110 - 115 to be the weight that is considered healthy for my age and height. I figure if I can hit 125, then I'll set a new goal for 115. I have to use the one day at a time attitude or I tend to get discouraged and fall off the wagon.

It sounds like you've got a good plan going :) My beef with xenical and this is coming from a person with a history of eating disorders, Xenical seems like a laxative to me, if I were on xenical (and this is just how I would act) I would be like oh yeah lets go get some McDonalds because it won't matter cuz I'm gonna sh!t it all out later anyway. For me it would just breed more bad habits and not teach me portion control or how to eat healthy food, I know that this doesn't apply to everyone taking Xenical but it does apply to some.

I commend you for joining up with WW again that's wonderful! One thing you can make and eat a lot of to fill you up especially in these warmer months is a home made soup, I use water and chicken boullion, then I throw in carrots, onions, peas, green beans, some potatoes, corn, and cauliflower, then I bake a chicken breast and then shred it and throw it in my soup along with some brown rice or wild rice and you can eat a ton of this soup for very little calories or points. :) If you like sweets I love to make a microwave apple cobbler, I peel an apple and section it, put it in a microwave bowl, add some splenda and cinnamon and microwave for about 1 minute when you pull it out of the microwave crumble a fat free graham cracker on top and it makes a wonderful substitute for the real thing, and if you like your cobbler to have a buttery taste you can give it a spritz of i can't believe its not butter. :)

I wish you luck and let us know how you progress!

I was on Xenical a couple of years ago and hated it! I ate right and I still had all of the side effects. Every time I had to pass gas, I made sure that I went into the bathroom and sat on the toilet to do it...otherwise I was in trouble. For me, the disgusting side effects, along with that orange, oily liquid, was just not worth it!

Day 5 on Xenical
 

Today is day 5 on xenical and 3 on WW. My stomach is adjusting to the WW and I'm not feeling as hungry. Plus I forced myself to job while on the treadmill yesterday. I'm actually excited for Tuesday to hit so that I can weigh myself. One of the hardest things is not weighing myself, I'm a complusive weigher. I've asked my hubby to hide the scale a million times but he hasn't so I just fight the urge now. I still haven't had bad side effects, but then again, I do only use it for dinner and I'm a pretty low fat eater anyways. I really don't even need it because everyone else has me so scared to even fart because of all the horror stories I've been hearing. I did have a couple slices of pizza tonight within my points and popped a pill so tomorrow may be a different story, luckily I have nothing to do and no where to go. I'm going to stop my everyday postings for now unless the bad side effects do hit. Again, I started this xenical thread for those looking for info since I had such a hard time finding info. But I will be back on Tuesday with my weigh in results. Bye for now!!! :smug:

I ysed Xenical with success
 

[FONT=Arial][COLOR=DarkRed]Hello, I used Xenical 3 years ago. I was very successful, I lost 70 lbs. in 6 months. Yes there are not so pleasant side effects, the gas, the oily discharge and the smell. But, the pill itself cuts absorption of fat, so if you take to much fat at one particular meal, you will definetely fell the effects. I personally took it for 3 months, so that I could get used too eating differently. One thing I did notice is that I became more sensitive too the cold and was freezing more. It is a wonderful means to help change you eating habits and lower the amount of fat that we eat. But I would not recommend taking it for long periods of time.

I'd say that the cold sensitivity probably had more to do with losing a good deal of fat than it did with the Xenical. It's a common occurrence - happened to me too in 1990 when I started working on losing the 115-120 lbs of extra weight I was carrying around. Even though it was summer, I had to wear sweatshirts, sweaters, etc because I was constantly cold!

It's kind of like being used to wearing a heavy coat all the time, then when you lose the body fat - like whales have that layer of protective blubber - it takes a while to get used to NOT having it, but eventually you do get over that 'chilly' feeling. ;)

Done with Xenical
 

Well..........I think I'm done with xenical. Today was my weigh in and I lost 3lbs this week YEAH. But I have to give the credit to Weight Watchers and my treadmill. I never really ate fatty enough foods to take the xenical 3 times a day. And I never really experienced any of the bad side effects, even after eating pizza, Taco Bell, and Sweet and Sour Chicken with it. I did see the orange effect after these meals, but I don't really eat these kind of foods anymore anyways. I haven't even taken the pill since my "Day 5 on Xenical" log in because I'm so greedy and didn't want to eat anything fattening because it would have used up to many of my WW points and then I couldn't have a nighttime snack :lol: . So to all out there looking for info on how people did on Xenical.....would I recommend it?? Yeah if you are having a hard time cutting out fatty meals and foods, it does seem to work, you'll see that in the toilet. If you can do good on something like Weight Watchers, I recommend that. No cutting out the foods that you love and you get good results. I've been on Weight Watchers before and I know that I would have lost 3lbs this week with or without the Xenical. Good luck to all and thanks for the feedback!! ;)

I have also tried Xenical about 6 years ago ... it just wasn't worth it ... what can i say I enjoy food and I like to treat mysel every now and then ... with that pill it was not letting me do that .. my stomach was constantly upset and I made more trips to the bathroom then a pregnant lady .. unfortunately I wasn't going pee. A friend of mine just tried it as well and I think she lasted about a week and it was upsetting hr stomach to much. I guess for people it works, for others it doesn't.
I wouldn't try it again!

I can totally relate. I was on Xenical in 2000.... bad side effects kicked in at work. Let's just say offensively odored anal leakage in knit pants at a law firm in the middle of the day do not a nice afternoon make. LOL and that happened to me twice in one week!

Wow I am so glad I stumbled onto this thread!!! I was feeling really desperate and was going to get my doc to prescribe xenical...I think for the moment I will pass...I work someplace where its not always convenient to run to the toilet...LOL

I was on xenical for 2 months last summer. Two months of stomach cramps, gas, oily stools and a couple of accidents. All because I wanted to lose weight. I lost 10lbs. It promptly found me again as soon as I went off it! It was not worth the agony!!!

um....yeah..."accidents"...I was on it in 2000 and had one IN FRONT OF MY CHURCH while leading worship...how horrible...literally, you will poop your pants.

It works....
 

I have a friend who lost over a hundred pounds on xenical. I have lost thirty so far.

Yes it has some side effects but none that will kill you that I know of. YOu will get gas, bloating and diahreaa. That is what happens to me if I eat too much fatty foods. It is not meant to teach you to lose so much as to teach you to chose your foods wisely.
\
I enjoy food too but I need to lose weight and what is more important? Enjoying food or losing weight when you have health problems. I rarely get the skids when I watch what I eat. My friend got the skids twice in a year but she went from a size 24 to a ten.

I was on Xenical a few years ago and ended up wearing a sanitary pad on occasions so I wouldn't have an "embarrassing moment" in public. After taking them for a few months, I started having blood in my stools. I blamed it on the Xenical, the doctor said no so I had a colonoscopy. they didn't find anything, I stopped taking Xenical and haven't had any problems since. I still think it was the Xenical so I wouldn't recommend it.

It just seems to me that eating a diet low in fat is better and surely less expensive. I've been on a low fat diet for three weeks now, and in TOPS for the same amount of time. So far I've lost 13 pounds. I'm never hungry and feel so much better.

THAT would be enough to make me stop taking it! :dizzy:

Hi,
I used xen for several months last year and it worked great for me! I lost 50lbs over those months and felt great. The side effects really only affected me when I cheated, but I felt that was more of an incentive to remember NOT to cheat again. It really did sort of train me not to eat fatty foods and FORCED me to learn to eat healthier. My insurance picked up the cost too.

My experience was that I got to a weight where I was feeling comfortable, then the personal excuses started rolling in (I'm sick, I'm tired, It's been a long week, I'll start again tomorrow, Monday, next week). I stopped taking the pills then gained some weight back. That was through nobody's fault but my own. If I had stuck with it I would not have gained weight back.

I started SBD in Feb this year and lost 30lbs so far with that and regular exercise. I don't regret my xen experience b/c it taught me how to cook and eat lf. What I'm saying is, go for it if it works for you! Good luck and happy xening!!

I'm truly glad that this post exist. I got my Xenical on Monday and started today (Friday 4/8/05)...so let's see how it goes. I'm scared of the discharge, but I'm one of those people who generally eats healthy during the week, little fats, but may indulge on Friday or Saturday. I'm concerned as to why should I take Xenical if I hardly eat any fats... I eat salads w/ regular salad dressing and cheese, a meat, maybe fruits, a little bread, but nothing just right out greasy or fatty. But because I have over 100 lbs to lose, I'm hoping that SOME fat regardless of what type it is will come out through my stool. I feel the same way as the lady above said, that its more of a laxative than anything, but I agree it will make me more conscious of my eating habits. I also do aerobics 5 days a week. Because I way more than most of you guys and I hope to be the BIGGEST LOSER.. I will definitely post my results in the weeks to come!

http://www.3fatchicks.com/weight-tra...b/285/180/283/

Have you had your thyroid checked? Are you actually exercising? Losing weight has to be a combo of both. Correct cooking, I mean cooking with no fat also helps. I did invest in a george foreman grill too. I have lost some and have much more to go but I am an xenical user. I have lost about 35 lbs on it and have to lose about 80 more, at least or to where I feel better.

Poop your pants is deceiving...
 

My complaint about people talking about the side effects is when they say "poop your pants" because it is very deceiving. It is not BM that comes out (for those of you that don't know this) it is instead, a bright orange (and gross smelling) oil. It stains your toilet, stains your panties. It is gross, gross, gross!

I was on it for 2 months and just hated it. It just soooooooooo wasn't worth it!

Stef

It's day 4 for me on Xenical and the side effects have kicked in but to me they are not THAT bad. I mean I have access to a bathroom, so if I feel it coming, imma runnin...it's that plain and simple. Yes it smells, but doesn't all waste out of our body smell. I've never messed up my clothing b/c I wear large pantyliners for long day wear and they work wonderfully. I'm very impressed by what it has been able to do for me in such a short time. My eating habits have calm down now, at first it was my ticket to eat fatty foods, but I'm back on the healthy kick now while limiting my fat intake as the prescription recommends. If any one else has some good tips, etc. that would be great!

I started xenical this week. I've had side effects a bit, really just once...but it was after eating wings, which honestly I just wanted to see what I could and couldn't eat. Now I know!

All in all i don't mind it, I work from home so the bathroom is not an issue....not that I find myself having 'emergencies' or anything like that, the side effects for me have been generally mild.....I think it's different for everyone.

Hi. I'm new here. I just got word that my insurance has approved Xenical for me. So I will start tomorrow. I'm excited & affraid at the same time. I've lost 10#s in the last month or 2 but have 100 to go to get me satisfied. I really need to hear good things. There arent many message boards that even mention Xenical. Have ya'll found any websites that might help out or offer support/motivation? I really like 3fatchicks...just need more posts! Thanks ya'll. I'll write more later.

Missy

Hi Missy:
There was a book written about 5 years ago called the Xenical Connection or something like that, check out amazon.....

I take both Xenical and Meridia and am having s-l-o-w but steady success, (16.5 lbs. in 3 months, 30 lbs. to go)....xenical will keep you honest about how much fat you eat, but exercise is also necessary. good luck and keep me posted, we can compare notes.

so I've been on it about a week now, no more side effects, I'm staying within 30% of fat and 56 grams and 1700 cals....I need to lose 74 lbs. I have four more pills left before I weigh myself...

Hi. More about me...I'll try to make it quick. Before marriage 10 yrs ago, I was 130-135 wearing about a 10/12. I got pregnant a month later & thought I could eat 2 honey buns a day & not get fat since I was pregnant & that was my 1st downfall. After the birth & my weight evened out I was 160#s. Instead of losing it...I gained. I stayed between 170-190 for a while but after I had baby #2 & went thru depression I got to 226...then baby #3 (surprise baby#2). My weight evened out at 231 after baby #3 was born. I then went on Sugar Busters...that only lasted 2 wks but lost 10#s & gave me the motivation I needed to start Weight Watchers. I loved WW. Although I wasn't always 100%. I lost from 221 to 204 but then my weight started going back up & I felt like crap. Finally went to Dr. & found out I am Hypothyroid. That was a year ago. I would have tried Xenical sooner had I known insurance would cover it. Anyway, I got up to 240.5 :( and couldn't stand it so on Mar. 14 I started experimenting with Slim Fast Optima. I lost 10 #s but I've put 1 or 2 on cuz I've been bad :o . When I was a 10/12, I thought I was fat...wish I were that fat now!!! :lol: My daughters are now 9 yrs, 6 yrs, & 2 yrs & I'm tired of being ashamed to go out to the beach or places like that. I'm only 5'2 & every # SHOWS. I'll post more later....having to take it a little at a time since I'm babysitting my sister's baby!

Take care!
Missy
240.5/231.5/130's someday I hope(longterm goal of course)

Hi, I lost 12 lbs since starting xenical... woooo! :)

Wow! That's Great! I feel like an idiot. We decided to take a little trip to Panama City & I didn't even bother dieting those 3 days. I did weigh before leaving & was down to 229! But I'm not changing my tracker just yet. I'm so busy...just wanted to check the board. How many times a day to you take X? I take in 2x's a day. Also, I looked at the letter my insurance sent & says I'm only covered from 4/28-10/28....anyone know anything about how they decide that & if I'll be able to continue after that? Well, gotta run!

Missy

http://www.3fatchicks.com/weight-tra...135/231.5/.png

So yesterday morning I was weighing in @ 231.5...this morning I'm back to 229. So I'll let that be my weigh in. Hopefully next week it will be even lower! YAY!

Congrats!!!! add in some exercise, even if it's just 15 mins. a day and you'll do even better.

Marbleflys,

I forgot to add that I did buy the Xenical Advantage book from Amazon & rec'vd it yesterday. I've been skimming thru it. Hopefully will get a chance to read it soon. Thanks for telling me about it!

So how have ya'll been doing? Well I have been BAD! Seems like I can't get on track, but by the grace of God I lost weight. I have even been bad in the last week...not even taking the xenical. The last time I weighed I was weighing 231.5 again. I got on the scales expecting to see that much or more & nearly fell off. I got on there about 5 times. Then made 2 of my duaghters weigh....it is right. I thanked God & think I got the boost of motivation I needed.