Dexfenfluramine is an appetite suppressant similar to fenfluramine which, combined with the diet drug phentermine, became the most popular anti-obesity treatment known as Fen Phen. In 1996 it was declared that the total number of prescriptions for dexfenfluramine or fenfluramine and phentermine in the United States exceeded 18 million. On July 8, 1997, 24 cases of valvular heart disease in women who had been treated with fenfluramine and phentermine were publicly reported. (MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 1997 Nov 14:46 (45): 1061-6)

I interviewed a woman one Saturday morning at 9:00 am at a breakfast/coffee shop in downtown Morgan Hill. The individual that I choose to interview was a co-worker of my best friend. I asked her quite a few questions, like; I hear that you’ve taken diet pills in the past? Yes, I have taken several different types. (Smith) Can you tell me which ones you’ve taken

This society that we live in today has made us so self conscious of how we look that we will try just about anything. An for some women and men unfortunately has cost them their lives and their health. With the Redux, Pondomin and Fen Phen off the market, and with all the new diet pills still coming on strong has the FDA gotten any smarter to test them with more diligence. Unfortunately, we will never know until we hear about the deaths or health problems that it has caused and it will be too late for many.

In September 1997, Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories announced the formation of an Expert Panel selected for its experience in heart disease, epidemiology, cardiovascular pathology, and echocardiography. The panel is chaired by Dr. Arthur Weyman, Professor of Medicine and Director of the Cardiac Ultrasound Laboratory at Harvard Medical School. The panel is providing advice about medical and scientific issues surrounding Redux and Pondimin. (Petkus, Doug; Press Release http://home.comcast.net/~bkrentzman/meds/Phen.Fen/Wyath-Ayerst.PR.html)

I asked Janice my interviewee why did she switch from one drug to another and for how long did she take each type? The Fen Phen/Pondemin that I took for 1 year it was taken off the market, actually only ½ of the prescription was taken off the market and that was Pondemin. I didn’t like Xenical, especially the effects of the drug, plus I had a friend that was taking it longer than me and she mentioned that she has ruined so much of her clothes. I then started on Meridia, but didn’t really lose any weight. At last, Adipex it was like the Fen Phen that I originally took and I started to lose weight again. I took the Fen Phen and Pondemin for about 1 year, you had to take both pills together, because one countered the

Some topics in this essay:
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