In the early nineties, Redux was the original miracle diet pill. A predecessor to fenphen, Redux was just the fen, fenfluramine in the form dexfenfluramine. The drug increased the production of seratonin, which gave the brain feelings of satiety, or fullness. Overweight people felt a great responsibility lifted from their shoulders. In Redux, the drug industry promised a thin, healthy body without painful exercise or unpleasant diet restrictions! Within three months, doctors were writing 85,000 prescriptions for Redux every week.

We now know how this story ends. Like most miracle drugs, Redux was too good to be true. The increase of seratonin caused people using Redux to be moody and disconsolate. Soon the fenfluramine cocktail drug fenphen replaced Redux on the shelves. This is not the end of the story, however. Soon after thousands of Americans had swallowed fenphen pills, the mortality reports began coming in.

Redux and fenphen work the same way, by flooding the brain with chemicals that trigger that full feeling. Because the patient feels full, they do not feel the need to eat. The drug imparts a comfortable form of anorexia. While this is unhealthy in and of itself, denying the patient essential nutrients, it was not the worst aspect of the drug. The drug did not simply elevate seratonin levels in the brain, it flooded the whole blood stream with seratonin. When this chemical reached the heart it weakened the heart valves, causing massive heart valve disease in people using either fenfluramine drug, Redux or fenphen.

When this deadly side effect became known the drugs were immediately recalled, but the damage was already done. Thousands of people developed heart disease, underwent surgery, or died as a result of their exposure to the chemical. Those patients who did not change their habits to include healthy lifestyle choices like exercise and diet restrictions gained the weight back. Nothing very good came of Americas brief affair with fenfluramine.

People are still suffering from heart disease as a result of this drug. If you or someone you know is a victim, contact a lawyer and discuss your circumstances. The drug companies should repay you for your pain and medical costs. Hopefully America will not simply forget this brief affair with fenfluramine and be more careful about the pills we swallow so carelessly.