hi 2bskinny,

Unfortunately, Fen-phen use is associated with developing mitral regurg, usually due to some damage to the mitral valve.

The mitral valve lies between the left atrium (collects oxygenated blood returning from the lungs) and the left ventricle (pumping chamber .. pumps blood out to the rest of the body). With mitral regurg. what happens is .. when the left ventricle contracts to squirt the blood out into the aorta and the body .. a little bit of blood backflows into the left atrium through the weak valve. In many cases, there are no symptoms, and the person lives happily ever after with a "heart murmur". When the person starts having symptoms, then the drs consider more aggressive treatment .. starting with medications to strengthen the heartbeat, and diuretics to help relieve any fluid retention that might be occuring. If symptoms start to interfere with a person's day to day function (short of breath, fatigued etc) then surgery can be done to replace the mitral valve. Surgery basically cures the problem

You can read more about mitral regurgitation at Medline Plus.

If it's been diagnosed as "mild" chances are you're not having symptoms, and the condition was picked up when the dr heard a "murmur" when listening to your chest? At this point, there's not much to do, except don't take stimulants like ephedra. You might want to cut back on caffeine too. Cutting back on salt and salty foods will help to prevent fluid retention.

Take care to avoid infections ... and tell your dentist before you have dental work done .. she or he may want to give you some antibiotics just in case. Don't get a tattoo, or anything like that

I'm sorry this has happened, and I hope you're one of the lucky ones who never has any symptoms.

Doreen