Alli Weight Loss Injuries

Alli Weight-Loss Drug: Orlistat and the Potential for Serious Liver Damage

On August 24, 2009, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning linking the weight-loss medication Orlistat to several adverse event reports of liver injury. Orlistat, marketed as both the prescription drug Xenical and the over-the-counter drug Alli, promotes weight-loss by blocking the digestion and absorption of fat in the body. Ordinarily, the pancreas produces an enzyme called lipase in order to absorb and digest fat from foods. Orlistat blocks the action of lipase and, in doing so, prevents the breakup and digestion of fat causing undigested fat to pass out of the body.

From 1999 to 2008, the FDA received 32 reports of serious liver damage in patients taking the drug Orlistat. Of these 32 patients, 27 had to be hospitalized with 6 suffering actual liver failure. The most common symptoms of liver damage associated with the ingestion of Orlistat include:

• Yellowing of the skin or whites of the eyes, otherwise known as jaundice;
• Overall weakness or lethargy;
• Severe stomach pain;
• Fever;
• Brown or dark-colored urine
• Vomiting;
• Loss of Appetite;
• Light-colored stools; and
• Kidney Stones.

The Alli weight-loss drug attorneys at Zehl & Associates, LLP have a reputation for success in the courtroom. With years of experience successfully representing clients who have been adversely affected by dangerous pharmaceuticals, the diet drug injury attorneys at Zehl & Associates, LLP, will aggressively pursue those responsible for your injuries.

If you or someone you know has taken Orlistat, in the form of either Alli or Xenical, and has suffered serious side-effects up to and including liver failure, contact the experienced diet drug injury lawyers at Zehl & Associates, LLP by phone at our toll-free number.