ANOTHER LOOK AT DIET PILLS.

Byline: Vivian Taylor Fresno Bee

The newspaper ads are tempting.

Get yourself into a slender, normal-sized body. Summer is coming soon. Try the new PhenFen program of appetite suppressive medications, shown to produce rapid and sustainable weight loss, without hunger. So what is PhenFen? Some new miracle drug?

Phentermine and fenfluramine are two prescription medications that have been around for years. But chemical appetite diet suppressants fell out of favor during the past decade, and so did these pills. Now they're back and fast becoming the most popular treatment for weight loss. The two drugs are administered in tandem, hence the name ``PhenFen.''

Between 1992 and 1995, prescriptions for fenfluramine rose from 60,000 to about 1.1 million, with phentermine following a similar trend, the Kansas City Star reported recently.

Two respondents to our diet survey said they are currently on PhenFen programs - with very different stories to tell.

Alicia Zupko-Strom of Fresno, Calif., said that 10 years ago, just out of high school, she weighed 226 pounds at 5 feet 8 inches tall. Since then, her weight has swung up and down dramatically while she tried cabbage soup, Slim Fast and other quick-loss diets. She resorted to refraining from all food after 1 p.m., which resulted in a loss of 80 pounds.

``My life changed for the better, but I did develop some minor health problems due to my diet,'' she said.

She started the PhenFen program when she weighed 156 pounds. In two weeks, she's lost 10 pounds and feels fine.

She said the program recommends 900-1,200 calories a day with vitamin supplements. She exercises four times a week at a gym, which she said ``is very important.''

Melissa Wisehart of Fresno has not had a positive experience on her PhenFen program. She, too, had tried numerous fad diets. ``I was always so hungry!'' she said about all of them.

She described herself as about 25 pounds overweight, an average 40-year-old with no health problems.

``I would not recommend this diet, though it works very well,'' she said. ``I have not been hungry in a month. I often forget to eat. The portions I eat are very small.

``The first week I lost 6 pounds, but boy how did I ever pay for that first week.''

Wisehart said she was dizzy, couldn't concentrate, talked ``goofy'' and had a dry mouth, nose and throat and an erratic heartbeat. She had bouts of feeling euphoric, then long periods of depression. She slept poorly and felt faint.

When she checked on the possible side effects for the drugs, she found all of her reactions listed.

``I kept going anyway, hoping my body would adjust and the symptoms would disappear,'' she said.

However, after four weeks that hasn't happened, and she's decided to end the program. And she said she's learned an important lesson.

``The best thing I ever did to keep the weight off was walking two miles a day and eating good, healthful food in small portions,'' she said. ``My mind and body were functioning at their optimum, and I looked fabulous. I'm dusting off those walking shoes as we speak!''

Zupko-Strom said Dr. Eugene Childers prescribed her pills and is supervising her progress. He heads the Dr. E. Childers Diet Group in Fresno and spent many years in family practice, he said. He screens patients carefully before starting them on PhenFen, he said.

``People with high blood pressure, glaucoma, heart problems or who have a history of psychosis are not good candidates,'' he said.

He said he starts patients with just a week's supply and monitors their progress closely.

``Patients need lots of encouragement,'' he said. ``Just giving them a diet and sending them home to follow it seldom works. Behavior modification is necessary. They must change their eating habits, but we help them determine what needs to be changed and help them make up their own diet plan.''

He gives patients a 10-minute motivational tape to listen to repeatedly emphasizing visual imaging and relaxation.

``Most overeating is caused by stress and feeling bad about ourselves. TV is a big problem; it promotes bad eating habits when we're trying to relax and are especially susceptible. I tell them turn off the TV and watch the tape instead to relax.

``Exercise is important, but you don't have to do a lot. Just a little makes you feel better.''