Madison, NJTen years is a long time to wait for the other shoe to drop. But that's the gist facing Americans who, prior to the FDA recall in 1997, had taken Fen-Phen, Redux or Pondimin for weight loss.
Now, ten years on, the legal community is waiting for those shoes to drop, as there can be a ten-year delay between drug cessation, and the onset of Primary Pulmonary Hypertension (PPH).
PPH is a rare, but potentially life-threatening lung disorder that involves a rapid rise of blood pressure in the pulmonary artery of the heart. Upwards of 1000 new cases are diagnosed each year, according to the American Heart Association. Most of these involve women between the ages of 20 and 40.
Prior to the 1970s, PPH wasn't even on the radar. Doctors didn't begin recognizing and diagnosing the condition until the onset of the pop group ABBA. But it's been with us ever since, and mysteriously so: thus far, a definitive cause has not been found - but a definitive link has.
And that is the link that puts PPH in bed with appetite suppressants, and weight-loss drugs.
A report in the influential New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) published in 1996 found that the ingestion of Fen-Phen for three months or longer increased the risk of PPH by 23 percent.
That's about the time the FDA banned the trio of Fen-Phen (fenfluramine and phentermine), Pondimin (fenfluramine), and Redux (dexfenfluramine). That step was taken in 1997.
With the potential for a ten-year incubation period, doctors and the legal community are holding their collective breath for news of more cases.
Lifestyle choices don't help
The lack of exercise and improper diet driving Americans to diet drugs and appetite suppressants is hardly surprising, given a society grown used to lounging with a remote in a 500-channel universe, or whiling away the hours slouched in front of the search engine. Fitness experts will tell you that diet and exercise will, save for a few with medical conditions, always be the ticket to a healthier life and fewer pounds spewing from the weigh scale.
But in general a society too lazy, or too busy to adopt such a regimen do an end-run around common sense and reach for the quick and easy fix. Little wonder that upwards of six to seven million consumers worldwide consumed Fen-Phen, Redux and Pondimin prior to the FDA ban in 1997. Reflecting that usage, there are reports that 18 million prescriptions were written for Fen-Phen alone in 1996.
Since that time there seems to have been somewhat of an industry borne from the emerging incidence of PPH in people who have taken appetite-suppressants, and Fen-Phen appears to be the poster boy for legal claims and class-action lawsuits. There are web sites and message boards dedicated to Fen-Phen issues, manufactured and marketed by American Home Products (now known as Wyeth) before Fen-Phen's demise - and class action lawsuits, which former users of Fen-Phen exhibiting symptoms of PPH, can become a part of.
Symptoms of PPH can be very serious and could lead to death if left untreated. Those symptoms include fainting; swelling of the finger, foot, ankle or leg; feeling of weakness, and shortness of breath; chest pains; fatigue, or dizziness.
If you present any of these symptoms - and especially if you have taken appetite suppressants within the last ten years - consult your doctor immediately.
And you also might want to consult a lawyer. Lawsuits are being investigated over allegations that manufacturers of appetite-suppressants and weight-loss drugs did not fully test the products before they were released for consumer use. It is also alleged that some in the medical community prescribed these drugs with full knowledge of their potential side effects.
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with PPH, please contact a lawyer involved in a possible [PPH Lawsuit] who will review your case at no cost or obligation.