Seattle, WA"I took Fen-phen and Redux for weight loss in the early 1990s because my doctor told me it was safe," says Linda M. "To make a long story short, I developed PPH because of these diet drugs - now I am in a wheelchair and housebound."
"I took both diet drugs for about 18 months but instead of losing weight I gained," Linda says. "I was tired all the time and then I began to get heart flutters and my heart would be racing. I was only 42 years old and never had any heart problems. On one occasion it got so bad my heart stopped. I went to ER and had another EKG. (I had an EKG before I took Fen-Phen or Redux, just to make sure they would be safe.) The attending physician told me that my heart was having 'fluctuations' and that I should 'calm down.' What a typical BS line to give to a woman.
"So I went home but my heart problems just got worse. After more tests it was determined that I had an echo and an aortic valve regurgitation - a condition that occurs when your heart's aortic valve doesn't close tightly. (Aortic valve regurgitation allows blood that was just pumped out of your heart to leak back into it.) I was told that this condition can develop suddenly or it can build up over years and it usually requires surgery to replace the aortic valve. This explained why I was feeling so tired and short of breath.
As soon as I got the test results back I stopped taking the diet pills and chucked them in the garbage - I was very angry. I was too mad to go back to the doctor who told me they were safe; I wanted to punch him in the nose.
In 1998 I had an aortic endarectomy - I was diagnosed with a blocked artery running down my leg and I had to have surgery or lose my leg. I am pretty sure this was all because of the diet pills. I certainly don't want to have surgery on my heart valves but by all indications, that's what's coming next.
I have been housebound since1996. My husband left in 1994 when I started to get sick, so now I live by myself. Luckily my daughter helps me a lot and she drops by every day. I can't breathe very well and consequently I am housebound - to this day I can't walk more than a few steps and I barely make it to the bathroom. I can't walk and breathe at the same time and if I get excited I can't get my breath. I live in my wheelchair and to tell the truth, I am scared to take even an aspirin.
I think these drug companies killed a lot of people that probably don't even know it.
Some people just took Fen-phen or Redux for a few months and they are in bad shape, It didn't seem to matter if it was one or many doses. The drug makers had to know the side effects - there was no way they couldn't know. What happened in the so-called clinical trials? I think they worried about their pocket books before people. If the almighty dollar is so important, I just pray it doesn't happen to them because I was taught to forgive my enemies.
One thing I do know is that, If I hadn't have gone to ER, I would have died that night; these drugs have ruined my life.
If you or a loved one took Fen-Phen and now suffer from PPH, please send your story to a [PPH] lawyer who will review your claim at no charge or obligation.