DEAR DR. ROACH: I’m a 71-year-old healthy female who has struggled with my weight all my life. In the ’90s, I thought I had finally found the solution in fen-phen. It was like a miracle! It took all the nagging thoughts of food out of my brain.

My question is, with all the drug ads on TV every day blithely showing the many side effects leading up to — and including — death, why can’t we use fen-phen? I worked in a hospital where a very large number of employees were taking it with great results. I never heard a hint of anything that could affect someone’s health.

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Dr. Roach regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but will incorporate them in the column whenever possible. Readers may email questions to ToYourGoodHealth@med.cornell.edu or send mail to 628 Virginia Dr., Orlando, FL 32803.

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