Phentermine Use and Pulmonary Hypertension

Phentermine, a highly effective diet drug available by prescription only, it should not be used alongside some other types of medication. Like other prescription drugs, it does have its side effects and its conflicts with other prescription and over-the-counter medications. Some medications, such as fenfluramine or dexfenfluramine, for example, or in more rare cases, MAO inhibitors, can cause a rare lung disorder that can often be fatal, called pulmonary hypertension when combined with Phentermine use.

Combining phentermine use with other prescription medications, such as fenfluramine, can cause pulmonary hypertension.

For this important reason alone, it is exceptionally important that you discuss any medications that you are taking or intend to take – whether they be prescription, non-prescription, or even dietary supplements – with a doctor before you receive a prescription for Phentermine.

In the New England Journal of Medicine (August 29, 1996 issue), a study was published by a research group called the International Primary Pulmonary Hypertension Study Group from the University of McGill and several American and European institutions, showed that there can be a danger if Phentermine use is combined with the use of some other obesity treatment drugs and – on rarer occasions – the antidepressants of the monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors type – can lead to instances of pulmonary hypertension.

Since obesity can be effectively treated through the use of drugs such as Phentermine that contain appetite suppressing ingredients, they are being prescribed much more frequently in order to help the millions of people across the nation in their attempts to bring their body mass index (BMI) into its healthy range. This being said, the phentermine chemical is one that is related to amphetamines, therefore also having the possibility for people to experience some unpleasant side effects related to amphetamines such as dependence and the worsening of pre-existing cardiovascular issues.

Neither fenfluramine nor dexfenfluramine are like amphetamines, though they have been connected with some rare instances of pulmonary hypertension. With this risk already present, combining those drugs with Phentermine only makes the risk of this lung condition even higher, and the potential for fatality greater.

All this considered, Phentermine is a drug that is considered safe to use for the majority of people, and it has achieved FDA approval for use as an obesity treatment drug. However, combining Phentermine with other prescription medications has not been approved by the FDA. Should your doctor prescribe Phentermine to you, as long as you have divulged all of your health conditions and anything you are already taking, you should be able to decide together whether or not Phentermine is safe for you and the right drug to meet your needs.