Drug Interactions with Xenical
Drug interactions can occur if you take Xenical with diabetes medications, cyclosporine, or warfarin. When taken together, these interactions can affect the level of medication in your blood and can change the effectiveness of the medication. Tell your healthcare provider about your weight loss program so that you can avoid any drug interaction with Xenical. Your healthcare provider can adjust your dosage and monitor you closely.
Some of the medications that may interact with Xenical are listed below. Xenical (orlistat can potentially interact with a few other medications. These medicines include the following:
* Diabetes medications
* Cyclosporine (Neoral, Sandimmune, Gengraf)
* Amiodarone (Cordarone)
* Thyroid medications, which include the following:
o Levothyroxine (Unithroid, Levoxyl, Synthroid)
o Thyroid (Nature-Throid, Armour Thyroid)
o Liotrix (Thyrolar)
o Liothyronine (Cytomel)
* Warfarin (Jantoven, Coumadin)
* Vitamins
An Explanation of Xenical Interactions
Below is a detailed explanation of the potentially negative interactions that can occur if Xenical is combined with any of the drugs mentioned above.
Diabetes Medications
Some clinical studies indicate that some people who took Xenical were able to lower their dosage of diabetes medication or even discontinue it. When people with diabetes lose weight, their diabetes medications usually need to be adjusted, generally with a lower dosage. You may need to be monitored closely, so be sure to tell your healthcare provider about your plans to lose weight with Xenical. Your healthcare provider may need to lower the dosage of your diabetes medications as you lose weight.
Cyclosporine
Cyclosporine can become ineffective, and its absorption into the body can be decreased if it is taken along with Xenical. Consult with your healthcare provider before taking Xenical if you are taking cyclosporine. In order to avoid any drug interaction, your healthcare provider may recommend that you take cyclosporine two hours before or two hours after taking Xenical.
Amiodarone
Your healthcare provider may need to monitor you closely if you are taking Xenical along with Amiodarone, so talk with him or her before taking these two drugs together. Xenical interferes with the absorption of Amiodarone from your digestive tract, which may make it less effective.
Thyroid Medications
People who have taken thyroid medications along with Xenical have experienced low thyroid function, better known as hypothyroidism. You should have your healthcare provider monitor your thyroid function while you are taking Xenical, because he or she may need to adjust the dosage of your thyroid medicine.
Moreover, it is highly recommended that you take Xenical and your thyroid medication four hours apart in order to avoid any drug interaction.
Warfarin
They way in which you respond to warfarin, depends on the effect of Xenical on the level of vitamin K in your body. You may need to have your healthcare provider monitor you more closely, if you are taking Xenical and warfarin together, so that he or she can adjust the dosage of your warfarin medication as the need arises
Vitamins
Taking Xenical with other vitamins can lead to a vitamin deficiency by decreasing the absorption of certain vitamins in your diet. This interaction affects fat-soluble vitamins like beta-carotene, vitamin A, vitamin D, and vitamin E. At least two hours before or two hours after taking Xenical, it is recommended that you take a multivitamin once a day while you are taking Xenical. A good time to take your multivitamins would be at bedtime.
It is recommended that you talk with your healthcare provider about any particular drug interactions that may affect you, as not all Xenical drug interactions may have been discussed in this article.
26 Positive Reviews
1 Negative Review
