In the world, many people are quite worried about their weight and want to lose weight. The loss of weight in a person is a very big issue for obese people as it leads to an increase in their health problems. Often obese people are ignorant of the fact that obesity not only makes them feel overweight but also adds a lot of unnecessary health risks. The most common among them is high blood pressure and high cholesterol which if not dangerous now can lead to other diseases like acardiovascular disease in the future. In this context, people have heard about the Fen-Phen which is a popular combinatorial drug composed of fenfluramine and phentermine. This drug was taken off the market due to the various negative impact on a person’s health by FDA recommendation due to these reasons.
The nickname Fen-Phen
Fenfluramine and Phentermine is a combination of two drugs which has been nicknamed as Fen- Phen. This combination of thedrug has been used effectively to decrease weight in an individual. It has been mainly used by people who have a body mass index (BMI) of more than 30. Both of the drug fenfluramine andphentermine belongs to the group of appetite suppressant drug also known as anorexiants. But it has been a subject of controversy for many years.It has been associated many health risks which prompted the FDA to remove it from the prescribed market in 1997. The use of the fenfluramine or dexfenfluramine in combination with phenterminecan cause heart valve problems. It is due to these reasons that it is better to avoid using Fen-Phen. On the other hand, the Phentermineis still in use in many weight loss programs and is also being prescribed by the doctors.
Effects of Fen-Phen
People had used the combination fen-phen for the effective weight loss. But it had been discontinued due to the FDA recommendation. In spite of this many people used the drug to lose weight but this is not good in the long run. It was observed that the users often suffered from heart valve problems in the long run. This is a very serious issue and the reason for the discontinuation of the combination drug from the prescription drug market. Indeed this was not an FDA approved the drug and the use of it in weight loss was an off –label effect.
Availability of Fen-Phen
You would not find Fen-Phen in the drug market after its discontinuation. About 24 cases of heart valve dysfunction had been found by the Mayo Clinic and Mayo Foundation in users using this drug. Similar reports were also found in 9 another cases. This observation was the basis for the discontinuation of the drug in the market by FDA. People are recommendedto avoid using Fen-Phen as it might cause loss of weight,but the long-term heart problems is a serious issue. It is due to this reason that people should not buy this drug even from the online markets where it might be available to prevent long-term health problems. Careful assessment by a user needs to be done before use of any drug to prevent ill-effects to theusers’ body.
