I'm ignoring the bathing suit in the bottom drawer of my dresser.

Nope. Not there. And it's certainly not early-July and the pool parties and beach outings that come with those hot summer days.

Like many people, I put on a little "hibernation" weight during the winter. And like many people, I'm wishing I had just a little bit more time to shed it before bathing suit season.

So what will I do now that it's down to the wire? Drive to the drugstore and grab a box of Alli? Ask my doctor for a prescription for Xenical (both containing orlistat)?

Not likely, considering what I already knew about the stuff. And certainly not after reading the consumer update the FDA just quietly released.

Almost a year ago, the FDA announced it was looking into possible connections between orlistat and liver injury. (Meanwhile, of course, people just kept taking it -- why rock the Big Pharma boat?)

There hadn't been any instances of significant liver damage in preclinical or clinical trials. Is that really surprising? All of these trials are just long enough to get the results the drug companies are looking for, but never long enough to reveal anything that would keep them from getting precious FDA approval.

After it was on the market... well, that's a different story. Orlistat was linked to 13 cases of severe liver injury. Some patients died or needed a liver transplant.

The FDA says they can't establish a causal relationship yet, but I'm not holding my breath for them to.

In the meantime, they're just going to cover themselves by sending out a consumer update and by adding warnings to the boxes. Knowing full well that lots of desperate people out there are going to keep seeking it out.

If you're one of those people who might still be tempted by orlistat's promises of weight loss -- especially with Alli so readily available over the counter -- don't lose heart.

To ring in the New Year, I wrote about Dr. Wright's very own gym-free weight loss secret (and a little bit about the dangers -- and one very gross side effect -- of orlistat, if you still need convincing). What better time than the beginning of summer to revisit the story?

You can read that e-Tip here. In the meantime, the mainstream can keep their dangerous weight loss concoctions.

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