Fen-phen User's Cause of Death: PPH

Chicago, ILChris (name withheld) says his mother, a Fen-phen user, passed away in Sept 2007 of PPH. She was part of the American Home Products (now Wyeth) class action settlement and received $1 per day for however long she used it—a total of $132. "She spent most of her last years in pain and discomfort," says Chris. "Nobody knew what she had—PPH was a really hard disease to diagnose—but in September 2006 she was finally diagnosed with PPH at Brigham and Women's Hospital."

"My mother wasn't able to work because she constantly had breathing problems and heart issues. She ended up on disability and was in and out of hospitals and nursing homes for years before she almost died; that is when then they put a lot of time into her diagnosis, including a heart catheterization, but the doctors were nervous that she might not live through the process.

She was born in 1948-- my mum was only 59 when she died--but she didn't have a normal live since taking those diet drugs. And she had no other diseases or health issues before she took Fen-phen. Finally she was referred to a PPH specialist and he was really amazing, even though there wasn't much they could do at that point. Frankly, if she had been diagnosed years sooner, she may be alive today.

She couldn't take care of herself and could have lived longer but she had a miserable existence. She decided to stop taking her meds and shortly afterward passed away.

I went through her paperwork recently—it was too traumatic to do so earlier. None of us kids (there are 4 of us) wanted to deal with this but now I want to seek legal help. Her medical report states cause of death was pulmonary hypertension and respiratory failure due to PPH.

She received a check on January 22, 2003 for $132 from American Home Products (AHP), the makers of Fen-phen. She received this payment after having an echocardiogram and according to the AHP doctors, it showed up negative. But just two years later, she had difficulty breathing and couldn't walk far. By 2006 she couldn't get her walker in and out of the car so she was house-bound. She started fainting from lack of oxygen and that summer she gained 34 pounds and sold her car.

Unfortunately she didn't contact a lawyer when she was diagnosed with PPH. My family is seeking legal help now but I don't know if there is a statute of limitations. In hindsight, we should have acted sooner, however I know that many lawsuits have been filed on behalf of PPH victims and their families…"