How & When to Take Xenical

When you take Xenical may have an impact upon its effectiveness. It can be taken either before, during or after a meal. It is advised that if you take Xenical after a meal, you do so up to an hour after you have eaten. However, if you do are not having a meal or have missed a meal then you should not take Xenical.

In addition, if you are taking a multivitamin then you should avoid taking it until at least two hours after taking Xenical. It is best if you have whatever multivitamin preparation you are taking in the evening, before you go to sleep.


A Xenical tablet or pill should be swallowed whole with water. It is best to put the medicine in your mouth and ingest it along with the contents of a glass of water. You should not dissolve the medicine in water before you take it unless that is the method of ingestion suggested for your specific medication.

There are often several different options available to make it easier for you to take medicine. If one way of taking your medicine is not working or hasn’t worked in the past then there may be another possible way of taking Xenical. You can discuss this with a pharmacist or doctor. Alternative preparations of the same medication may also exist, and these can be useful as well if your circumstances prevent you from swallowing Xenical whole in its pill form. Once again, speak to your doctor or pharmacist about potential alternatives which may be available to you, which do not mean that you either change the type of medication or do not take any at all.

There can be complicated effects of taking too much of some medications. For this reason the effects on individual people may be different and you may or may not be at risk of health problems if you take too much Xenical. Therefore, it is important that you stick to the recommended dose, and if you do find that you have taken too much Xenical by accident you should seek medical advice.

Some medicines may have an early effect, and you can start to feel better while you are still taking them. However, after these initial results of the medication your condition can still get worse again. Also, you may be experiencing a placebo effect where the act of taking medication is making you feel better. For these reasons, you should not stop taking your medicine until the time when you and the medical practitioner who prescribed it have decided on. It is possible that after stopping taking Xenical, you might gain weight and the progress of weight loss which you have been experiencing may be undone.

Looking after your Xenical medication

Looking after your medication can make it more effective and prevent it from being rendered useless. Some environmental factors such as temperature and moisture can affect how well Xenical pills will work. If your pills become wet in their packaging then they may dissolve, making them likely to be useless as they are not supposed to dissolve until they have entered your digestive system.

It is highly advisable that you keep your Xenical in its original container. There is often a lot of important information on these containers. You may find contact information if you have any questions or problems to do with Xenical, information about the medicine itself (e.g. how to take it, possible side effects and what it is), and instructions on how to store the medication. Xenical may be given to you either in a blister pack (flat plastic packaging with small pockets containing each pill) or a bottle (a standard pill bottle will have some form of screw-cap which makes it harder for children to open it and your pills will not be packaged individually). If your Xenical medication comes in a blister pack then it is advisable that you keep it dry (do not expose the packaging to moisture) and below 25 degrees centigrade. If it comes in a pill bottle then you should aim to keep it below 30 degrees centigrade and ensure that the cap is screwed on tightly and keep the medicine away from moisture. If the cap of the pill bottle is sealed securely then it is likely to prevent moisture from entering the bottle, however, it is better to be safe and avoid exposing the container to any moisture.

Expired Xenical medication

Your Xenical will most likely have a date printed on the packaging which will tell you when the medicine is due to expire (expiry date or expiration date). This is another reason why you ought to retain the original packaging or continue to keep your Xenical pills in their packaging. If you take your Xenical medication after the date of expiry has passed then it is likely that they will no longer work and you will not experience weight loss due to taking them. If you still have some medication after the date on which they expire has passed then you should give them to a pharmacist, as they will be able to dispose of your unused or expired pills in a safe manner.

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