Hattiesburg American - Be skeptical about drug claims, reactions: Dr. Beaman

[Guest guest]

What an uninformed, pompous ass!

Terry

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Be skeptical about drug claims, reactions

Dr. Beaman

Q. I have read your column since high school but never written until today. My

doctor put me on Xenical about 15 years ago when I began having a problem

keeping my weight under control.

Later, he added Welchol to help with the diarrhea (he said he read about it in

your column) and that has worked fine.

I switched to over-the-counter Alli when it became available and now take two

after any meal that has significant fat. It has worked great and I intend to

keep taking it but I saw the enclosed article in USA Today saying Xenical and

Alli could cause severe liver damage.

I told my wife I would see if Dr. Beaman thinks they are safe.

A. An estimated 40 million people have taken Xenical or Alli and a grand total

of 13 have reported liver damage. There were also several cases of flat feet.

Apparently the drug caused both problems.

Sorry but I'm seriously skeptical. In any population as large as this, there are

going to be a few people with any of a range of medical problems including liver

disease (and, for that matter, flat feet) but it would be ridiculous to

attribute those problems to a completely benign medicine they just happened to

be taking.

Unless, that is, you were trolling for patients to include in a class-action

lawsuit.

Xenical and Alli never get into the bloodstream. They just bind with one of the

substances in the bowel that breaks down fats so they can be absorbed.

The fat passes right on through. The effect on your body is exactly the same as

if you put yourself on a low-fat diet. I've never heard of anybody's liver being

damaged by limiting fat intake and I've never had a single patient that had any

problem with these drugs except orange underwear.

This reminds me of the recent claims by some law firms that antidepressants

cause suicide.

If you had to pick a group that was susceptible to suicide risk, it would be the

seriously depressed and the more depressed they are the more likely they are to

be on antidepressants.

Some brilliant litigator ran the numbers and found that people who took

antidepressants were more likely to commit suicide and a light bulb went on over

his head.

First thing you know, there's a full-page add saying " HAVE YOU HAD A FAMILY

MEMBER COMMIT SUICIDE WHILE ON AN ANTIDEPRESSANT? ... WE CAN GET YOU MONEY! "

That's like saying insulin caused diabetes.

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