On May 1, 2009 the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned users of possible liver damage and even death linked to the use of the diet aid Hydroxycut. Use of the popular diet aid was linked to at least one death and dozens of serious health problems including jaundice and elevated liver enzymes, an early indicator of potential liver damage. Some patients even experienced liver failure. Some survived as a result of liver transplant, but one died. Consumers are urged to stop using this potentially dangerous diet aid manufactured by Iovate Health Sciences, Inc. and return the unused product to the place of purchase.
Those affected were healthy before they began taking Hydroxycut. The user who died was a 19-year old male. He died in 2007, but his death was not reported to the FDA as being linked to Hydroxycut until this March. After taking Hydroxycut, users began to experience symptoms of liver damage, including:
- Jaundice
- Brown urine
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Pale stools
- Fatigue, weakness
- Stomach pain and loss of appetite
If you are or were a Hydroxycut user and have experienced these symptoms, you should consult your doctor about possible liver damage. The FDA does not yet know what ingredients may be responsible for the liver damage.
Diet aids are not well regulated by the FDA. Unlike prescription medications, diet aids and nutrition supplements are not approved by the FDA before they are marketed. Manufacturers of diet aids like Hydroxycut do not have to approve that their products are effective or even safe. This means that there is no way to stop this type of possible defective product from hitting the market. It is only after reports of injury begin that the FDA has any regulatory power, and even then it can rarely force a product recall. In this case Iovate Health Sciences, Inc. has said it is going along with the voluntary recall “out of an abundance of caution.”
If you live in Virginia or North Carolina and have suffered liver damage as a result of using any of the recalled Hydroxycut diet aids, contact Kalfus & Nachman, Attorneys at Law today to talk to a lawyer about your dangerous drug injury.