Thank you for stopping by Westernunderground.

The information presented is for reference only and not to be substituted for the advice of qualified physicians and dieticians. 

The link at the bottom of the page is an 'EBook' at the NHLBI. It is very informative and worth reading.  The links page has been updated. A website called "Ultimate Fatburner" was pointed out to me. I went and checked it out, this site is pretty cool, go read check it out for yourself!

Thank you Natalie from Seattle!

The diet pill manufacturers just keep on a coming and enjoy picking the wallets of unsuspecting consumers. Don't become an unsuspecting consumer!  Check the claims made out thoroughly! If it sounds too good to be true? Then maybe it is!

And now for something that's been on the back burner for a few months. While driving through Montana, I was listening to an old and very favorite radio news show called, "Paul Harvery News". I grew up listening to him as a kid and working on ranches in S/W Montana sorta like the millions and millions of other listeners around the US.

It was May 17, 2004 and he reported this story:

"The family of a woman (Cynthia Cappell-Coffey) from Beaumont Texas has been awarded a settlement of one billion dollars...".

(This got my attention and yours now I hope)

"She had been diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension, the plaintiffs claim it was brought on by the prescription drug, Pondimin.....".

(It was made & marketed by American Home Products, known now as Wyeth Health)

"One billion dollars, thats right. One billion dollars America. The defendants (Wyeth Health) claim that her (Cynthia Cappell-Coffey) condition was pre-existing and not caused by the use of their dietary drug Pondimin that has long since been off the market". 

"Wyeth has appealed the awarded amount stating that they have already established a settlement fund of 16 billion dollars to cover cost of treatment, ect. Why on earth would anyone sue for one billion dollars when the defendant (Wyeth Health)has set aside this money?".

True, they have! How many of these people are left out of that settlement? How many of these people do not have the health insurance coverage or transportation needed to go get a check up?

Just how many are in rural area's where the nearest healthcare facility is an hours drive or better at best? Many, many more simply don't have the extra money to get a check up and are scared to death about these pills to boot? I do know personally of a couple rural ( economically challenged to be PC) areas in which this is the case.

And to top it all off, they (Wyeth) are actively seeking reductions in the pay outs to the victims that used these so called prescribed "dietary aids"? Them and their litigators are right now tryin to negotiate away as much of the larger settlement as they can in an effort to make smaller, faster payments. (More than one bottom line involved here).

In the end, it's the victims and their families that are gonna be paying the ultimate price. No amount of money can repair the damage caused by the actions of any unscrupulous company. No amount!

Any company that manufactures a pill, willfully markets that pill in a well groomed ad campaign and tell the public in sleek glaring ads that it is "clinically proven" , is a "new break through" , "thoroughly tested and safe" or as "a just discovered" or new "hidden secret to losing that unwanted weight" is full of it.

When push comes to shove, they can't back up when, where or what clinic it was that did the study....IE, UCLA Medical Center, University of Utah Medical Center, Baylor Unversity, Harvard School of Medicine, University of Washington or any other School of Medicine.

They will never produce  a 'clinical trial' thats been conducted at or by any renowned University or Medical School unless they hold the reins to the money bag so that they can yank it at any time because the researchers will not lie on the data.

They instead claim its research was done in a private clinic, one of theirs. Huh...nice thing about having your very own private clinic. If you don't like the data, you can always fudge the figures. Fancy that.....

He finished the story, then launches into an ad for the sponsor of this day's broadcast...... "Wyeth Animal Health". 

Uh yea right....go figure....and now; for the Rest of The Story!

An open letter to Paul Harvey, Sr. "Paul Harvey News"

Mr Harvey sir;

I beg to differ with your broadcast on May 17 2004. In case your not aware Wyeth Health has used yours, "The most known voice in America" to deliver a low down, backhanded slap to a court of law.

You sir, have unwittingly helped them to exert 'undue influence' on any future jurys that will have to sit and hear these cases as they come up anywhere around the US. It seemed rather clear to me, that was the purpose and intent of the story.

I've listened to your radio program faithfully on and off for many many years. I can not believe that you were 'duped' . You told us way back during Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Vietnam the whole story. Not the lesser part of it, you informed us.

You reported many a time on budgetary problems, the arguing within Congress and the huge number of career politicions(sp) that have been in Washington DC far too long and the special interest groups that help keep them there.

Never failing, if it needs reporting you do just that. No bullshit involved. 

You've done it for so long in fact, that your show is a noon time tradition in millions of households all over the US. At noon I for one always parked my truck waiting patiently eating a sandwich while you launched into the news. No matter what I was doing at that time, working cows, haying or repairing fences.

Your show as you know from the market research and ratings is broadcast in the very rural areas Paul.....that Pondimin, Redux & Fen Phen were targeted AT.

The diet industry targeted those markets because news travels slow in the boondocks. Many, many women wanted to look and feel better about themselves. Men are involved too. Not too many rural hospitals or doctors offices had the luxury of a T1 internet connection back then to be able to at the least, research some of this on the Internet. Some probably don't have that kind of internet access as of this very day.

And for every man, woman and child that is dealing with severe obesity, obesity or generally just wants to lose a few pounds or gain just enough weight to 'bulk up' to look good and feel better about themselves are an extremely easy "target" for these drug companies like Wyeth and their "dietary suppliments".

Wyeth used you pal! Plain and simple. They handed your staff a very nicely prepared piece of paper or two er "press release" they knew would be done by you as a well written and orated story. In exchange they've paid you major bucks for a "Wyeth Animal Health" products commerical at the end of that very story....hm!. 

They've sorta kinda left you with a big ol black eye in my opinion. Make that two big ol black eyes for the man from Tulsa,Ok er Chicago. Please understand; I am not upset with you, Mr Paul Harvey. By no means....

I am *highly ticked off* that your sponsor used you in this manner and you never suspected as much. It was delivered in your usual well written, well spoken and widely trusted mannerism. You sir, deliver the news like no other news person can.

It makes me wonder just how many rural doctors and pharmacists were handed these pills and NEVER told of the associated side effects by a fast talking sales rep from any one of the drug companys.

"Well, we don't have that information as of yet but we'll make it available to you as soon as we have it", is most likely how the conversations went. (This is just a S.W.A.G. on my part. I know what I told customers when I didn't have the correct info on hand)

It boils right down to the bottom lines of these companies and one of them was intelligent enough to have upped your bottom line a bit in an effort, a very public one and try to favorably influence any future jury awards that might be brought against them.

For a copy of the news articles concerning the Beaumont, Texas case and others from around the United States, go to the links on the links page, thanks!

I sincerely hope that I am now being "The Bur under the Saddle of American Conciousness". 

Good Day!

the email addy is: michaelbdeford@yahoo.com

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This website and article are of my editorial opinion. Free Servers, Mega Web Services and United Online not  responsible nor liable for, the expression of my views and/or exercision of free speech.

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"Objects in rear view mirror are closer than they appear"

Primary, or unexplained, pulmonary hypertension (PPH) is a rare lung disorder in which the blood pressure in the pulmonary artery rises far above normal levels for no apparent reason.

The pulmonary artery is the blood vessel carrying oxygen-poor blood from the right ventricle, one of the pumping chambers of the heart, to the lungs. In the lungs, the blood picks up oxygen and then flows to the left side of the heart, where it is pumped by the left ventricle to the rest of the body through the aorta.

Hypertension is the medical term for an abnormally high blood pressure. Normal mean pulmonary-artery pressure is approximately 14 mm Hg at rest. In the PPH patient, the mean blood pressure in the pulmonary artery is greater than 25 mm Hg at rest and 30 mm Hg during exercise.

This abnormally high pressure (pulmonary hypertension) is associated with changes in the small blood vessels in the lungs, resulting in an increased resistance to blood flowing through the vessels.

This increased resistance, in turn, places a strain on the right ventricle, which now has to work harder than usual against the resistance to move adequate amounts of blood through the lungs.

The true incidence of PPH is unknown. The first reported case occurred in 1891, when E. Romberg, a German doctor, published a description of a patient who, at autopsy, showed thickening of the pulmonary artery but no heart or lung disease that might have caused the condition.

In 1951, when 39 cases were reported by Dr. D.T. Dresdale in the United States, the illness received its name. Between 1967 and 1973, a 10-fold increase in unexplained pulmonary hypertension was reported in central Europe.

The rise was subsequently traced to aminorex fumarate, an amphetamine-like drug introduced in Europe in 1965 to control appetite. Only about 1 in 1,000 people who took the drug developed PPH.

When they stopped taking the drug, some improved considerably; in others, the disease kept getting worse. Once aminorex was removed from the market, the incidence of PPH went down to normal levels.

More recently, in the United States and France, several cases of PPH have been associated with the appetite suppressants, fenfluramine and dexfenfluramine.

In the United States it has been estimated that 300 new cases of PPH are diagnosed each year; the greatest number are reported in women between the ages of 21 and 40.

Indeed, at one time the disease was thought to occur among young women almost exclusively. We now know, however, that men and women in all age ranges, from very young children to elderly people, can develop PPH.

Apparently it also affects people of all racial and ethnic origins equally.

Cause

There may be one or more causes of PPH; however, all remain unknown. The low incidence makes learning more about the disease extremely difficult. Studies of PPH also have been difficult because a good animal model of the disease has not been available.

Researchers think that in most people who develop PPH the blood vessels are particularly sensitive to certain internal or external factors and constrict, or narrow, when exposed to these factors.

For example, people with Raynaud's disease seem more likely than others to develop PPH; Raynaud's disease is a condition in which the fingers and toes turn blue when cold because the blood vessels in the fingers and toes are particularly sensitive to cold.

Diet suppressants, cocaine, HIV, and pregnancy are some of the factors that are thought to trigger constriction, or narrowing, in the pulmonary artery.

In about 6 to 10 percent of cases, PPH is familial; that is, it is inherited from other family members. The familial form of PPH is similar to the more common form of the disease, sometimes referred to as "sporadic" PPH.

Symtoms

In general, researchers find there is no correlation between the time PPH is thought to have started, the age at which it is diagnosed, and the severity of symptoms.

In some patients, especially children, the disease progresses fairly rapidly.The first symptom is frequently tiredness, with many patients thinking they tire easily because they are simply out of shape.

Difficulty in breathing (dyspnea), dizziness, and even fainting spells (syncope) are also typical early symptoms. Swelling in the ankles or legs (edema), bluish lips and skin (cyanosis), and chest pain (angina) are among other symptoms of the disease.

Patients with PPH may also complain of a racing pulse; many feel they have trouble getting enough air. Palpitations, a strong throbbing sensation brought on by the increased rate of the heartbeat, can also cause discomfort.

Some people with PPH do not seek medical advice until they can no longer go about their daily routine. The more severe the symptoms, the more advanced the disease. In these more advanced stages, the patient is able to perform only minimal activity and has symptoms even when resting.

The disease may worsen to the point where the patient is completely bedridden.

With the cause of primary pulmonary hypertension still unknown, there is at present no known way to prevent or cure this disease.

However, many patients report that by changing some parts of their lifestyle, they can go about many of their daily tasks. For example, they do relaxation exercises, try to reduce stress, and adopt a positive mental attitude.

People with PPH go to school, work at home or outside the home part-time or full-time, and raise their children. Indeed, many patients with PPH do not look sick, and some feel perfectly well much of the time as long as they do not strain themselves physically.

Walking is good exercise for many patients. Some patients with advanced PPH carry portable oxygen when they go out; patients who find walking too exhausting may use a wheelchair or motorized scooter. Others stay busy with activities that are not of a physical nature.

For the patient who lives at a high altitude, a move to a lower altitude--where the air is not so thin, and thus the amount of oxygen is higher--can be helpful. Medical care is important, preferably by a doctor who is a pulmonary vascular specialist.

These specialists are usually located at major research centers. PPH patients can also help themselves by following the same sensible health measures that everyone should observe.

These include eating a healthy diet, not smoking, and getting plenty of rest.

Pregnancy is not advised because it puts an extra load on the heart. Oral contraceptives are not recommended, and other methods of birth control should be used. Most doctors and patients agree that it is important for both patient and family to be as informed as possible about PPH.

In this way everyone can understand the illness and apply that information to what is happening.

In addition to family and close friends, support groups can help the PPH patient.