That's my post. How bad are the side effects, really?

Normally, side effects disappear if you continue treatment and keep to your recommended diet. Don't be alarmed by this list of side effects. You may not experience any of them. Most patients experienced only one episode. Consult with your doctor on any side effects that are of concern to you.

I searched for u some side effects

Abdominal discomfort or pain
Anxiety
Arthritis
Back pain
Diarrhea, generally mild and goes away
Dizziness
Earache
Fatigue
Fatty or oily stools - 20% of patients
Fecal urgency or incontinence - 22.1% of patients
Flu
Gas with fecal discharge, generally mild and goes away - 23.9% of patients
Gum problems
Headache
Increased defecation
Incontinence (fecal) - 7.7% of patients
leaky stools in some patients temporarily
Menstrual problems
Muscle pain
Nausea
Rectal discomfort or pain
Respiratory tract infections
Skin rash
Sleep problems
Stomach cramps
Tooth problems
Urgency to have a bowel movement
Urinary tract infections
Vaginal inflammation
Vomiting

Those are pretty bad side effects. Most of them are probably caused by the lack of fat in your body. The body needs fat. Also, you probably get them because your body is used to getting so much fat. Perhaps, cutting down on how much fat you eat before you start Xenical will help your body prepare.

I also think that most of those side effects must be fairly rare, since no percentages are given.

Also, the manufacturers probably want to list any side effects that have been reported just to be safe. They could get in trouble if there was a side effect that they did not disclose, so anytime some people report one they probably include it. People may blame problems caused by something else on Xenical.

Yeah, but still. The thing is, people tend to assume that 'side effect' means that you will, for sure, have them. And you may not.

Perhaps we could have a poll of some sort to figure out how common (or uncommon as the case seems to be) the side effects are. OF course, I think it would be best if we made the poll anonymous.