For a while, fen-phen was the talk of the weight-loss world

For a while in the mid-1990s, overweight Americans seemed to be going crazy over fen-phen.

Fen-phen, actually a combination of the drugs fenfluramine and phentermine, exploded into national popularity with a promise of quick and effective weight loss. One drug suppressed appetite, the other prevented drowsiness, and the pounds melted away.

People began rushing to buy fen-phen, particularly in Kentucky where relatively liberal prescription rules made the drug combination easy to get. New weight-loss clinics prescribing fen-phen began appearing almost overnight. Four opened in Lexington within a few months along a short stretch of Richmond Road.

Weight-conscious residents from surrounding states, where fen-phen was unavailable, flocked to Kentucky to stock up on the drugs. Even stars from the Grand Ole Opry became regular Kentucky fen-phen customers.

Health experts warned from the beginning that fen-phen was only for the seriously obese, not those who only wanted to lose a few pounds. But everybody wanted the drug cocktail.

All that came to a crashing halt when scientific evidence surfaced showing that fen-phen caused serious heart-valve damage in some patients. The FDA pulled the drug combo off the market in 1997.

Shortly afterward, lawyers around the country began lining up former fen-phen users for clas-action suits against American Home Products, the maker of fen-phen.