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what damage the diet pills did to my system at that time. So lets fast forward many years to 1996. A new discovery has been made, Phen-Fen. The miracle diet drug that is going to wipe out obesity. Yeah right! While many were running to get these diet drugs from their doctors, I wasn't. I pulled out a medical dictionary I had purchased in 1979 and found that neither drug was new by any means, they had been around for years.

I had recently been diagnosed with hypothyroidism and the effects of that, had brought me to the attention of my supervisors at work. When I went for my annual physical, I was red flagged, for special "evaluation". I won't bore you with all the details but I was forced to go to my doctor and get this new wonder drug. Needless to say I was angry. I had abused diet pills in my youth, why would I benefit from being made to use them now? Of course I couldn't exactly tell my employer that! My job was being threatened so I got on the program.

I forked out the money each week, I took the pills and I lost some weight. I spent over 500 dollars over the course of six months or so and lost about 35-40 pounds. Then the news hit! People were dying from Phen-Fen. Others were suffering PPH. I was able to stop the program. I regained the weight, no surprise there, and gained a bit more, also to be expected. I had to worry about what damage the drugs had done to me and I had nothing to show for it but an empty wallet.

Several months after stopping the drugs, I began to experience extreme shortness of breath on exertion. I couldn't walk ten steps without stopping to catch my breath. By this time the doctors had circled their wagons and no doctor was going to admit that my symptoms were related to Phen-Fen. I was diagnosed as having "allergies". Only the inhalers didn't help my allergies and they didn't go away. I spent the next few years wondering if this was going to kill me. Yes there was legal action taken over Phen-Fen but I was unable to get any satisfaction because I was too big. They couldn't get a readable echo cardiogram on me.

This is, I'm sure, when I was suppose to just crawl off somewhere and die. I almost did, I couldn't breath if I moved and so I was very limited. I lost all hope. My sons weren't saying it but I knew they were expecting me to die and trying to prepare themselves. Only I didn't die, somehow I kept living. I got sick of being sick. Since I wasn't getting any help from doctors I had to find my own cure.

Now I can not claim that diet pills were totally to blame for where I was but I certainly believe that Phen-Fen (a diet pill) set the stage for what happened to me. I suspect it weakened my system and lungs, making me more sensitive to other medications I was being given. Those medications had rare side effects of difficulty breathing. Since I was receiving three medications with this rare side effect my likelihood of experiencing it was increased. This combined with whatever damage the diet drug had caused left me gasping for air, unable to breath if I moved.

I feel quite lucky that I was able to discover what was going on and take steps to resolve the problems I was having. I have to wonder though how many others have similar problems and haven't found their answers? I am fully aware that obesity causes many health issues, but why do we, as a society find it acceptable to risk death in order to be thin. It is not just the obese who take diet pills. What is even more amazing to me is that with each failure, the drug companies just return to their labs. Play with the chemicals until they discover the next miracle diet pill that they can sell at very high profits, to a public that is so desperate and gullible, they will buy their pills regardless of the risk.

Learn more about this author, Carol Wise.
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