Rezulin, a prescription type 2 diabetes drug has been withdrawn from the market by the FDA. New drugs have come out which offer the benefits that Rezulin provides but without such damaging side effects. Rezulin caused extreme damage to the liver that often resulted in liver failure. Liver failure was so widespread amongst Rezulin users that there has been progressively increasing encouragement for these people to have frequent liver function tests to monitor liver damage. In fact, Rezulin users are 1200 times more likely to have liver failure than non-users of the drug.

Symptoms of liver damage that Rezulin users may experience are jaundice, fatigue, abdominal pain, weight loss, nausea and vomiting, loss of appetite, back pain and dark urine.

Prior to the development and release of less damaging diabetes 2 drugs, the FDA rushed to approve and lowered the safety standards for Rezulin. The FDA and Warner-Lambert, Rezulins manufacturer, knew back in 1993 that Rezulin caused dangerous side effects including heart and liver damage or failure.

Due to the severe, damaging and sometimes lethal side effects of Rezulin, many have filed lawsuits against Pfizer, a drug manufacturing company, which just purchased Warner-Lambert, the drug manufacturing company responsible for the production of Rezulin. One woman was awarded $2 million in her Rezulin lawsuit. An Illinois class action suit won a $60 million settlement for compensation for medical treatment etc. that resulted from Rezulin side effects.