Alli diet pills (orlistat): 31 side effects reported, liver damage concerns

The heavily marketed diet program Alli may be worse than not worth it. Since April the UK's regulatory agency (MHRA), has received 31 reports of side effects linked to orlistat (the active ingredient in Alli).

GlaxoSmithKline chooses to call Alli side effects "treatment effects", which include headaches, diarrhea, abdominal discomfort, depression and fatigue.

More seriously, the UK's Mail reports Alli is being investigated for causing liver damage.

Alli users on the Alli web community (allicircles) complained as far back as 2007 of elevated liver enzymes. For instance, FiolaKitty states :

My doctor still thinks it's the alli. We're gonna test my liver with me being off of it for a month. I was researching fatty liver and a possible cure is losing weight and lowering your cholesterol. Obviously Alli is helping me with that, but I've learned enough to do it without the pill.

Potential liver problems caught allicircles community member itslisa75 by surprise, having learned from the web--not GlaxoSmithKline--that her problem could be an Alli side effect:

I recently had my yearly blood work done only to have it returned telling me my liver enzymes are elevated. After going for a ultrasound and a second round of blood work, I read on the web that elevated enzymes is a possible side effect.. Holy cow! I had no clue. Has this happened to anyone else? Since this is the only thing I've been doing different sadly I am stopping Alli and will recheck my enzyme levels in four months. A big disapoinment as Alli has worked for me.

As recent as January, an Alli community moderator stated that Alli "Orlistat, the active ingredient in alli, is believed to be metabolized in the intestinal walls and will not affect the liver."

Alli users complaining of elevated liver enzymes are told to call the company to report their condition.

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