Posts Tagged ‘ Fen-Phen ’

Herbal Fen-Phen (Ephedra) Study on Adverse Effects

July 9th, 2009. By AbiK

There’s an interesting study on Ephedra—aka herbal fen-phen—called “The Relative Safety of Ephedra Compared with Other Herbal Products” by S. Bent, TN Tiedt, MC Odden and MG Shlipak. It was published in the Annals of Internal Medicine (3/18/03, volume 138, pp. 468-471). 

In the study, the researchers looked at the number of adverse effects reported to US poison control centers during 2001. Keep in mind, the study is now a few years old as Ephedra has been banned since 2004. But the study was conducted during the time in which Ephedra was still riding high in popularity as a diet supplement.

The results of the study showed:

Products containing ephedra accounted for 64% of all reported adverse effects from herbs even though they represented less than 1% of total herbal product sales. The risk for an adverse effect from ephedra compared with other commonly used herbal products was very high. For example, relative risks for adverse effects from ephedra were 100 times greater than from kava and as much as 700 times greater than from Ginkgo biloba. Types and severity of adverse effects were not described. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Ephedra, Fen-Phen, herbal fen-phen, PPH
Posted in Defective Products, Personal Injury | No Comments »

Whoever thought Herbal Fen-Phen was a Good Idea?

June 29th, 2009. By AbiK

Over 10 years after the Fen-Phen diet fad, those who either took Fen-Phen or switched to its “All-Natural!” counterpart, Ephedra (aka herbal Fen-Phen), are questioning whether it was a good idea to get on that diet supplement bandwagon. I’m questioning who the heck thought it was a good idea in the first place. Read on for some interesting tidbits about Ephedra…

Ephedra is known as “Kiddie Meth”.

At least according to urbandictionary.com it is. Yes, sugar is too—but in a “gee, isn’t little Johnny so rambunctious after that cupcake” way. With Ephedra, you need to factor in that it’s been associated with the production of methamphetamine. Keep in mind that the plant from which Ephedra hails—Ephedra sinica—contains the alkaloids ephedrine and pseudoephedrine—and pseudoephedrine is the former OTC allergy relief medicine ingredient that now has its sales monitored by your pharmacist—seems it was a favorite ingredient for illegal meth production. (Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005, signed as part of the Patriot Act in 2006).

Ephedra (ma huang) has had some other cute nicknames.

Some of these are Whorehouse tea, Natural Ecstasy, Miscarriage Tea. Typically, things have a nickname for a reason, no?

Ephedra has had some other interesting uses. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Ephedra, Fen-Phen, PPH
Posted in Emerging Issues | No Comments »

Fen-Phen case: JD and MD aren’t interchangeable – you need both

June 22nd, 2009. By AbiK

It’s the whole oil and vinegar thing. They make a beautiful dressing, but they don’t mix. They respect each other’s turf. So it is with lawyers and doctors—normally. Here’s the story… 

Imagine you’ve been taking a supplement—like Fen-Phen—to lose weight. Now imagine you’ve heard that Fen-Phen diet supplement you’ve been taking has been linked to a serious condition, namely PPH (Primary Pulmonary Hypertension). You’ve started to notice some PPH symptoms yourself and you reach out to a Fen-Phen lawyer for help. 

Trouble is, you didn’t reach out through LawyersandSettlements.com (ok, ok, a little bit of self-love there) and this particular lawyer is apparently a schmuck. That’s basically the story (alleged, of course) the Louisville Courier-Journal.com is reporting today. Seems Patricia Fulkerson was part of a national Fen-Phen class action suit back in 2002, and she’s claiming that the law firm, Florida-based Wasserman, Riley & Associates, “exaggerated her heart injuries—and those of other clients—so it could collect higher fees.”

How so you ask? Doesn’t the doctor’s report show the extent of any injury? Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Fen-Phen, PPH, Primary Pulmonary Hypertension
Posted in Defective Products | No Comments »

Fen-Phen hangover?

June 19th, 2009. By AbiK

Mention Fen-Phen or Ephedra to someone and they’ll most likely give you that “oh yeah—I remember that” kind of response. Fen-Phen had pretty much reached that place in nostalgia that’s typically relegated to rather-not-remember fads (hello, acid wash jeans). However, Fen-Phen—and herbal Fen-Phen (aka the mix of Ephedra and St. John’s Wort)—are back in the forefront due to what I call their “delayed hangover” effect. Namely, PPH or Primary Pulmonary Hypertension.

Ever notice with a hangover, everything starts out quite nicely. You drink, you feel that buzz. Then there’s that period when you sleep and it seems like nothing’s happening, simply because you’re not aware of it. Then morning comes. Well, some folks who took Fen-Phen as a weight loss supplement have woken up to find themselves with what appears to be PPH symptoms—years after taking the drug and years after the FDA issued its public health advisory in 1997 announcing its withdrawal.

Ephedra, or should I say herbal Fen-Phen which sounds much more benign, was also yanked from shelves by the FDA in 2004. A look at the Ephedra entry on WebMD shows the effects of Ephedra can be similar to some of the symptoms of PPH. WebMd also mentions that Ephedra…

Tags: Ephedra, Fen-Phen, PAH, PPH
Posted in Drugs/Medical | No Comments »