(CNN) -- Dr. David Edelson, a weight-loss specialist in Manhasset, New York, hears the stories of dozens of patients each day -- most of them grappling with serious weight problems, after a lifetime of obesity.
Along with coaching on diet and exercise, Edelson gives about half of these patients a pair of prescriptions. One for phentermine, an amphetamine that made up the "Phen" half of "Fen-Phen," the ill-fated diet drug that was pulled from the market in 1997 after some users developed heart-valve problems. Another, for topiramate, an antiseizure medication.
While Edelson creates his own combination, a company called Vivus has developed the phentermine/topiramate combination into a new anti-obesity drug: Qnexa (pronounced kyoo-NEX'-uh).
