Diet Part Three
In the spring of 1996, I got a call from my Dad. Perhaps the first call I’d EVER gotten from my Dad. “Your Mother is having a stroke and we’re on our way to Pascack Valley Hospital” he said without greeting. I replied, “I’m meet you there.” And hung up. We are a family of few words.
When I arrived, my Mom was still in the Emergency Room. She was in a bed, eyes closed. My Dad was next to her. I stood next to my Dad and watched my Mom have a stroke right before my eyes. Bells and sirens went off and 2 nurses ran in asking us to step aside. They fussed and my Mom convulsed and shook. I was thinking what better place to have a stroke then a Hospital when a nurse turned and said, ”This is not good;” she looked at my father and said, ”your wife needs a Neurologist immediately and her current Primary Care Doctor is a local Dietician”. I asked what we needed to do and was handed a “Physician Release Form” to be completed by Mom’s current doctor.
I said to Dad, “I’ll do this”, mostly because its what Mom would have asked me to do. I got her Doctor’s name and address from the nurses’ station. It wasn’t far. On the way there I practiced opening remarks etc. He must have known I was coming because his receptionist got up and brought the form into another room; came out with a signature and I was gone. No yelling, no hitting. Back at the Hospital the Floor Nurse breathed a sigh of relief and made a call. Within 15 minutes I met Mom’s new Neurologist who advised my Dad, me and my brother (he had arrived during my absence) they would put Mom through a battery of tests yada yada yada.
Mom survived (kinda). The stroke was caused by a Brain Tumor. Surgery was tried but not completely successful. Mom was ok; she could walk and talk but she sometimes slowed down verbally and had trouble finding the right words. She stopped driving which was sad because she enjoyed her adventures with my Son one day a week when she would give my Lovely wife a few hours off. When I asked why she was going to a Diet Doctor sha said she had been taking the weight loss drug Fen-Phen. Again, why, I asked. And the answer was: “To be thin for your father.” Mom lived pleasantly with the Brain Tumor for 4 years and died in 2000.
Phen-fen is not a GLP-1 drug. It was a combination of two drugs, fenfluramine and phentermine, that were used as an appetite suppressant for weight loss under the Brand names: Pondimin or Redux. It was developed by American Home Products (AHP) and was taken off the Market in late 1997 due to its association with serious heart and lung problems. Some 4000 individual lawsuits, along with a number of class action lawsuits, are still pending.
Everyone has a reason to lose weight. Within the last 12 months, it has gotten VERY EASY to lose weight. Stab yourself once a week with a drug that tells your Brain your stomach is full. The fight is on for who will have access to this “Miracle Drug”. Oprah got it. The November issue of Men’s Health” has a swelt Tyler Perry down 30 pounds. At $1000 per month, most of Hollywood will be lining up. If you don’t have a Doctor, not to worry. Companies like RO have announced they have online doctors and can ship you not only the Branded weight-loss drugs, but they have a “Special Compound” that’s cheaper. Yes, Ro is about to become the Walmart of Weight-Loss drugs.
Meanwhile, Insurance companies are scrambling to figure out who should be covered, why and how much. Until then – the marketplace will dictate prices and you know what that means. Someone is going to make a lot of money. And rich people are going to start to get thinner than ever. And then (history tells us) the shit will hit the fan.
kongoboken 