EDIT by SUZANNE: I have merged several of our FDA warning posts into this thread to keep them together.

Please, please, please check this list before taking anything. This isn't just "they don't work", it's downright dangerous. These are now considered illegal, since they have unprescribed prescription drugs/controlled substances.

http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2008/NEW01933.html

I posted this in Weight Loss Support also, but I thought it could be here as well.

FDA says Hydroxycut is implicated in liver damage and at least one death.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30518843/

Jay

Hi everyone!
I recently emailed consumerist.com, and I have been googling
this site at work, so I felt compelled to let you know!
Here is a copy of my email, please excuse my poor grammar
as I'm a bit angry
-------------

My name is Jimmy and I work for an inbound call-centre in Toronto, Ontario.
We have several clients that we work for be it real estate companies,
doctors offices,and lawyers' offices.
Our most prominent client is Slimforce7.
We handle all of their phone orders and customer service calls.

I've grown nearly fed up with "working" for Slimforce 7.

This product is advertised as a natural fat burning pill
to be taken once a day at breakfast.
It is advertised that you do not need to change your diet,
nor do you necessarily have to exercise.
The company recently ran strong campaigns through
TVGuide magazine, US Weekly, First Magazine and American Profile.
In about a day's work I probably get at least 25 orders of the product,
after sneaking a look at our report, in June alone they shipped out
about 6240 orders. The most popular product is the Maximum Strength treatment, for $109.

What's the problem?
The problem is our faulty advertising and complete disregard for customers.
Slimforce7 is said to be a natural product however it contains maltodextrin,
which is an additive in the similar vein to MSG.
Also it contains bitter orange (Citrus aurantium)
which has been linked to increasing risk of stroke, and agina.
It's said that all the ingredients are given GRAS status by the FDA,
but I really feel like that's not even true.
On the website it states that the product should not be taken by anyone
who is treated for high blood pressure, diabetes, depression,
thyroid or heart conditions, anyone under 18 or the elderly.
We have no protocol on asking these questions during our phone calls whatsoever,
even though majority of our callers are overweight
with probably blood pressure conditions,
and a large percentage of our callers are in fact seniors.
Most do not have access to the internet, and aren't aware of these conditions,
and unfortunately I'm one of the few order operators who check.

The company offers two methods of shipping,
normal shipping $6.00, and expedited for $11.00.
How long is shipping? ... I'm actually not too sure. None of us are.
It's changed from 1-2 weeks expedited/3-4 weeks normal,
to 4-5 weeks/6-7 weeks. Whatever you feel sounds best.
We have people who call in who have ordered from
February and have yet received the product.
Today a woman called me who only received 7 pills in her bottle
(you're supposed to receive 30).

Our refund process is that you have a full-money back guarantee,
but unfortunately (and we don't say this) this does not include the shipping.
If you look at the amount of people who buy this
(and pretty much everyone goes for the $11.00 shipping),
that's a lot of change going into Slimforce7's pockets.
And a lot of people just don't call back asking for their money.
I'm not sure why, perhaps they feel embarrassed that they've been swindled
once again by a product claiming to give them a great body.
The company takes their sweet time with refunds,
they stretch it out to months upon months of not giving money back.
And the sad part is that we're now sold out of product!

I feel really awful at the end of the night for the people that buy this,
I try my best to persuade them out of it,
either asking them to call their doctor first to ask if it's okay,
to trying to persuade them to try out the low-cost treatment first.
It's come to the point that I just hang up on the call when it comes,
and hope that my next call is for a real estate office.
At the call centre we're getting the crummy end of it,
because we deal with everyone who's irate,
we don't know where the money is going (as our company isn't paid much by Slimforce7),
and we don't know what to say to the customers most of the time.

I would greatly appreciate it if you would spread this to anyone you know.
There are a lot of people out there who do want to lose weight,
but really the best way is to seriously reflect on your diet
and get the right amount of exercise.
Please tell anyone you know who's considering Slimforce7 or has already
purchased the product to reconsider and demand a refund.

Thanks,

Jimmy

The Food and Drug Administration announced today that regulators are assessing at least 32 reports of liver problems between 1999 and 2008 in patients taking the weight-loss drug orlistat, sold as a prescription drug Xenical and more recently, as an over-the-counter medication called Alli.

Of the 32 reports of liver problems the FDA has in hand, 27 patients were hospitalized and six suffered liver failure. In an "early communication" of a drug safety review, the FDA said it will also review additional data on "suspected cases of liver injury" submitted by drug firms that make and market orlistat in its branded and generic forms. Orlistat was originally marketed, and still is, by Roche Pharmaceuticals as Xenical, a prescription drug. The medication, which blocks the absorption of fat through the digestive tract, gained approval as an over-the-counter drug in 2007, and is marketed as Alli by GlaxoSmithKline. Orlistat has been approved for use in 100 countries.

The rest of the article is located at:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/boos...-orlistat.html

Jimmy, I applaud you for your truthfulness. Way to go guy!! I can't begin to imagine how frustrated you must be to have to push merchandise you know to be harmful but everyone has to have a job, especially these days you can't just go out and get another. Again congrats for speaking your mind.

I just recently started taking mega-t green tea with acai berry antioxidants. anyone know anything about this? seems to be ok to me. my mother is an RN and she hasn't said anything to me about me taking it.

How about 17 Day Diet program and IP?

These are for diet pills. Please understand that diet supplements are not regulated one bit. The FDA will intervene if they see a pattern of serious side effects emerge from dietary supplements. The sad thing is that it takes serious side effects for anything to happen. People could die or permanently damaged organs before anything can be done.

In addition to liver problems, this drug is associated with causing gallstones. There are a number of sites citing it (I cannot post links just yet) including WorstPills.org

I believe this was the cause of my gallstones following two months of taking Alli. Plus, and incidentally I have liver problems which were identified at that time although I cannot say when they started.

Thank you very much for sharing this list here. This could save many lives.

Guess trying to stay away from diet supplements is probably smarter.

Thanks for this

Wow

Therefor i often say people to not use any drug without proper prescription by a doctor.

Thank you for the list, it is highly appreciated.