LOCAL DOCTOR, OTHERS WARN ABOUT FEN-PHEN

Local health experts said although the controversial diet drug Fen-phen may help some lose weight, it may also cause pulmonary hypertension in some dieters.

The drugs fenfluramine and phentermine, or their generic equivalents pondimin and fastin, have helped many shed unwanted pounds because the upset stomach brought on by the drugs means they don't feel like eating.

Both drugs are obtained through prescription only. They have been approved separately by the FDA but are not approved as a drug combination. Physicians may prescribe the two drugs as they desire.

Cape Girardeau physician Dr. Tom Sparkman said the drugs can cause serious valvular heart damage through pulmonary hypertension in some people. Pulmonary hypertension causes blood vessels in the lungs to become blocked. The damage is permanent.

Fen-phen can also cause brain damage. "In some patients there is permanent brain damage. It may change a person's ability to make logical and reasonable decisions," Sparkman said.

Sparkman said the two drugs combined act like the street drug speed on the body, causing a rapid heart beat and speeding up the body's metabolism.

Sparkman became aware two years ago that the drugs may have serious side effects. "Initial reports about the drugs were bad," he said. "I have refused to give a prescription for the drugs. As a professional I can't understand how it got through the FDA in the first place."

Sparkman said there are no permanent benefits from the diet medication.

"Fat stores come back," he said. "You can't use the drug forever. It is only supposed to be a drug for short-term use."

Sparkman said some people may need to take the drug but only under strict physician supervision.

"Any individual who may want to take the drug should discuss it with their physician," he said. "But dieting requires re-educating oneself on good eating habits in order to retain long term benefits of the diet."

Registered nurse Debbie Leoni, director of Main Street Fitness in Jackson, said she is not surprised to find people are having a lot of side effects from the medication. "People want an easy quick fix for what you've done wrong to your body for 40 years," she said. "People just need to exercise and eat good food."

Anita Smith, a registered dietitian at Southeast Missouri Hospital, said people may use the drug because they believe diet and exercise are too slow and boring. "Many may have attempted a diet they saw in the latest trade magazine and never had an individualized follow-up," she said.