Austin, TXWhen Maxine was 57, she had to take early retirement from a nursing career she loved because in 1997 she took Pondamin, a component of the diet drug Fen-phen. "I stopped taking Pondamin after six months because it was making me 'hyper'," says Maxine. But six months was long enough to cause primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH), and irreparable damage.
(Pondimin is the brand name for fenfluramine. Fen phen, which was withdrawn from the market in 1997, is a combination of fenfluramine and phentermin.)
"This diet drug was making me so hyper it was driving me out of my mind," adds Maxine. "Less than a year after I stopped taking it, I began to have a feeling of pressure on my chest, like someone was standing on me, and I had difficulty breathing. I had an echocardiogram and my pulmonary pressure was way over the top. I'd never had problems like this before. Although I did have a little hypertension it was well managed with my meds.
A cardiologist changed my medicine and I got somewhat better but I had to retire from nursing. I couldn't walk from my bedroom to my bathroom without getting exhausted. Back in the 1990s no one ever talked about Fen-phen side effects—I had no idea—until Fen-phen and Redux lawsuits hit the news.
I had another echocardiogram and that's when my doctor retired me. Then I started to put two and two together. I was very angry with the drug company and disappointed with myself. I dedicated my life to nursing and expected everyone working in the health care field to have a high level of ethics, but this wasn't the case with the makers of Fen-phen and Redux.
I registered my Fen-phen complaint against American Home Products, the manufacturer, and I received $90 from the Fen-phen class action for drug reimbursement, only for taking the medication. When I joined the class, I did have health problems but I wasn't represented by a lawyer. Angry is not the word for getting such an amount—it was an insult. I later discovered that my friend got $500 and another got $5,000: neither of them have health problems, to this day. I am suffering from serious Fen-phen side effects, and I got a slap in the face.
About a month ago my pulmonologist noticed on my medical record that I also took Redux. He actually reminded me. 'Let's do a left heart catheterization because of your shortness of breath,' he advised. I got the results back and my pulmonary pressure is 18-20; normal is about 12. I was diagnosed with Primary Pulmonary Hypertension--PPH.
And it's getting worse. I'm in my 60s but I feel like 85. Longevity runs in my family but having PPH is like living day-to-day and I don't take anything for granted. I just hope I can be around to see my grandsons graduate from college.
This time I have a lawyer helping me. He first wanted to know if I have a record of taking Redux and Pondamin. In fact I just picked up all my medical records this morning and my lawyer believes I have a case."