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Pondimin (also known as fenfluramine), and Redux
(also known as dexfenfluramine), are prescription diet drugs that were
distributed through doctors and weight loss clinics. When Pondimin
and/or Redux were taken in combination with Phentermine, it was
popularly referred to as Fen-Phen. Fenfluramine [fen] and Phentermine [phen],
were separately on the market since the 1970s.
Physicians became interested
in combining
the
medications following the 1992 publication of a University of Rochester
study conducted by Dr. Michael Weintraub wherein he described long-term
successful weight loss results when combining the two medications. Soon
after that, millions of people were presecribed the Phen-Fen
combination.
The “Fen" (fenfluramine) had always been known to have an
appetite suppressing effect, but had the undesirable side effect of
making people sleepy. The gist of combining the drugs was to
counterbalance this sleepiness by adding “Phen" (phentermine), a mild
stimulant. The drugs were then marketed under the catch phrase "fen-phen".
Fen-phen refers to the combination of fenfluramine and
phentermine. Phentermine has also been used in combination with
dexfenfluramine (dexfen-phen). Fenfluramine (fen) and phentermine (phen)
are prescription medications that have been approved by the FDA for many
years as appetite suppressants for the short-term (a few weeks)
management of obesity.
The two drugs were around a long time before they were used
together. Phentermine was approved in 1959 and fenfluramine in 1973.
Dexfenfluramine (Redux) was approved in 1996 for use as an appetite
suppressant in the management of obesity.
Recently, some physicians have prescribed fenfluramine or
dexfenfluramine in combination with phentermine, often for extended
periods of time, for use in weight loss programs. Use of drugs in ways
other than described in the FDA-approved label is called "off-label
use." In the case of Fen-Phen and dexfen-phen, no studies were presented
to the FDA to demonstrate either the effectiveness or safety of the
drugs taken in combination. (Source: FDA)
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