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Articles
featuring
Vivienne Matalon M.D.
Of TLC Healthcare
"Area doctors, druggists urging caution with fen-phen"...July
10, 1997
Area
doctors, druggists urging caution with fen-phen
Area
pharmacists and doctors received few calls Wednesday about "fen-phen",
a diet-drug combination linked to serious heart and lung damage.
A doctor called the drugs--named fenfluramine and phentermine--dangerous,
a day after the May Clinic linked heart valve problems to the drugs.
The Food and Drug Administration has urged patients and doctors to
be "very careful" about taking the drugs, which are prescribed for
significant weight loss. The drugs have been available since the late
1980's, but have not received FDA approval to be taken together.
Doctors wrote more than 18 million prescriptions nationwide last year.
Fen-phen costs between $55 and $80 for a month's supply.
Although pharmacist Ralph Alfors said late Wednesday morning he hadn't
recieved any calls from customers about fen-phen, he supports the
increased awareness.
"I think they're erring on the side of safety and that's right", said
Alfors, who's owned Alfors Pharmacy in Tabernacle for 17 years.
"Some people have gotten miraculous results, but at what costs, no
one knows. They should know what they're up against," said Alfors,
who called the drug popular but "It's not like it's flying out the
door."
Woodbury pharmacist Steve Isaccson said he hadn't gotten any calls
about fen-phen either. He said he doesn't dispense as much fen-phen
at the Evergreen Pharmacy as he did last year.
Part of that is due to the nature of the medications--it's not meant
to be taken more than three months inn a row.
"Once they get down to their optimum weight they stop using it...The
people that have been on it loved it, absolutely love it. (Fen-phen)
took away all their desire for food," he said.
The problem, said pharmacist Bob Fusco, is that people convince their
physicians to extend the prescription.
"They've gone past the three-month period and have lost 20 to 30 pounds
but still have 20 to 30 pounds to go," said Fusco, owner of Cherry
Hill Pharmacy.
"Most people on this are overweight and they probably have some underlying
heart problems. The physicians have to weigh the risk versus the benefit.
Sometimes the risk is worth the benefit to the patient's overall health,"
he said.
Obesity places a person at greater risk for diabetes melllitus, coronary
heart disease, stroke, and osteoarthritis. A person is considered
obese if he weighs at least 20 percent more that the maximum desirable
weight for his height.
Vivienne Matalon, M.D., was disappointed with how quickly the FDA
introduced fenfluramine and phentermine to the public and called for
more long-term study.
"These drugs were interpreted as a safe, quick fix. These drugs are
neither quick nor safe....The drugs are dangerous. They shouldn't
be administered," said Matalon, a physician at Our Lady of Lourdes
Medical Center in Camden whose practice focuses on diabetes and weight
management.
Matalon estimates she prescribed fen-phen to less than 15 patients.
She said some patients experienced fatigue, feelings of agitation
and headaches. Psychosis was reported in one patient.
"I stopped prescribing fen-phen many, many months ago after seeing
a report on the death of an otherwise healthy 30-year old woman who
died after taking fen-phen," said Matalon.
She urges patients to change their behavior if they want to achieve
and maintain a certain weight.
"A change in diet makes the difference. People are using the pills
as a crutch and as a substitute to changing their diets and exercising,"
said Matalon.
Despite the concers about fen-phen, "People still ask for it. People
want the quick fix," said Matalon.
Philadelphia-based Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories, make of fenfluramine,
said it is working with the Mayo Clinic to develop a clinical study
on the drug. Previous reports have linked fenfluramine to primary
pulmonary hypertension, a potentionally fatal lung condition. |
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