Zoom

Severe Side Effects

There are severe and life-threatening side effects associated with diet pills. Obviously, in order to be approved by the FDA and accepted for general use, most diet pills must be screened, tested, and carefully reviewed. However, because every individual is different and reacts differently to various medications, rare reactions can occur. This article is not meant to frighten you, nor to prevent you from using diet pills. Rather, it is mean to inform you about the possible serious side effects that could result from using diet pills.

You should also be aware of two issues. First, these side effects are extremely rare. Second, some of these side effects occur only after long-term use of diet pills. Nearly all doctors will warn against the dangers of prolonged usage of most diet pills.

• Seizures. The diet drug sibutramine, marketed under Reductil and Meridia is one of many appetite-suppressing drugs. However, it has been noted to cause seizures. Any occurrence of a seizure, regardless of its severity, is a potentially life-threatening situation that requires immediate medical attention.

• Heart attack. Heart attacks can come at anytime and can strike anyone, regardless of their family history or present health. Research has not been conclusive on whether or not diet pills actually cause heart attacks. However, some sketchy evidence suggests that the use of sibutramine has caused heart attacks.

• Cancer. Orlistat, which functions as fat-blocking medication has been traced to higher occurrences of breast cancer. The evidence is inconclusive and contradictory. It remains a remote possibility, however.

• Liver toxicity. Orlistat is also a possible contributor of liver toxicity. The number of occurrences is around two-dozen, so this is a rare condition that may be predated by poor nutrition habits.

Other serious side effects can occur because of diet pills. These are only some of them. Though rare and isolated, they do occur.