"I'm Worried that Phentermine is Linked to PPH"

Odessa, FLCindy wanted to lose weight and her doctor recommended she try phentermine, but Cindy didn't know that Phentermine is the "Phen" in Fen Phen. However, Cindy now knows about Fen Phen side effects and worries that she might develop Primary Pulmonary Hypertension (PPH).

"I took Phentermine about five years ago," says Cindy. "I knew that Fen Phen had been pulled from the market and had never used it. I even asked my doctor if Phentermine was related to the diet drug 'cocktail' and she said no, it is safe. Had I known it was part of Fen Phen…

Anyway, I was excited about Phentermine's potential to shed pounds and it worked. I stayed on the diet drug for two and-a-half years; I took 37.5 mg every day and I lost about 20 pounds—that I kept off. And I would have kept taking it but I developed a terrible skin outbreak on my face. No one could diagnose or determine what was causing it. I thought it might have been the low-dose estrogen I was taking or some kind of food allergy; I changed my diet but to no avail.

When I say sores, I mean abscesses, ulcers. They start as a bump the size of a pin head with a slight amount of water. But once I scratch they itch and burn and get bigger and bigger. It drove me crazy. I had to sleep with socks on my hands and bandages on my face. If I didn't keep the bandages completely moist my face would itch and sting. Even water stung.

And it has caused emotional problems. Who wants to go to bed with someone covered in bandages? When I take the bandages off, who wants to see someone with huge bright red sores all over their face? Why would my husband want to kiss me? (He does, but I would think twice about kissing someone with all these sores.)

My dermatologist put me on a med that didn't work. Finally I stopped Phentermine and within two months the sores on my face cleared up.

About 18 months later I went back to my doctor who prescribed Phentermine and asked if I could take it again because I lost so much weight, and I was thinking maybe Phentermine wasn't to blame for my skin condition.

So I took it for another two months and my face broke out again; the sores came back with a vengeance.

I stopped it about one month ago and my skin is beginning to clear up again but I have scars on my forehead, eyebrows and especially my lower jaw and neck. I know they will be permanent. I was so frustrated with my dermatologist; he couldn't help me at all.

Finally in frustration I went online to find someone with similar symptoms and I found LawyersandSettlements. I was furious with the manufacturer but also relieved to find an answer—now I know this horrific rash was the Phentermine. But I also found out about PPH and I am really concerned.

Should I get tested for PPH? Obviously I had a severe allergic reaction but I wonder if it has caused further damage. My blood pressure has been higher than my normal range for the past few check-ups. It used to be 116/80 now it reads 126/106. What's up with that? Phentermine's link to PPH is cause for concern."