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Biotech / Medical : PFE (Pfizer) How high will it go? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ann Corrigan who wrote (5769)	10/2/1998 4:03:00 PM
From: BigKNY3	Respond to of 9523

VIAGRA GIVES RISE TO MARRIAGE FOR LIFELONG BACHELOR By GERSH KUNTZMAN NY Post 10/02/98 You've heard of Viagra love affairs and Viagra divorces. Now there's finally a Viagra marriage. Viagra user Roger Katz, who became a poster boy for the Pfizer Riser during the height of the love-drug craze earlier this year, has tied the knot with his girlfriend, Faith Nitz Ballenger. He credits the diamond-shaped miracle drug for getting him to the altar. Without it, I never would've had the confidence to be in a relationship again, said Katz, 56. It's the first marriage for Katz - and it's a blessed event he never thought he'd see. Three years ago - he remembers the date, July 5, 1995, like other men remember birthdays - surgery to remove a cancerous prostate robbed Katz of his sexual identity. The man who described himself as an inveterate skirt-chaser (and an amazingly successful skirt-catcher) was suddenly impotent. Worse than the physical toll of the surgery was the psychological impact of losing his sexual prowess. Katz withdrew from friends and, more important, the opposite sex, no longer going through the motions of flirting for fear that it would lead down a road on which he could no longer drive. Katz's sister noticed the change immediately. My brother was a guy whose entire ego was invested in his sexuality and social skills, and suddenly that was taken from him, said Alayne Skylar. He wasn't his old self. He pulled back. It was during this period that Katz met Ballenger. They were in an aerobics class at the New York Sports Club, but Katz wasn't feeling friendly. I tried to chat him up, but he kind of ignored me, she said. But then Katz became part of the original Viagra trials - and soon found himself ready for relationships again. The couple started as friends, but a Viagra-fueled romance soon followed. Ballenger said the relationship was not just a chemical attraction: Viagra gave him the confidence to first ask me out. But our marriage is based on our friendship. The couple got married last Saturday in Central Park, 100 friends surrounding them on blankets. Viagra was not mentioned, but the drug is definitely a part of the marriage. My relationship with Faith is due to who she is as a person, not the Viagra, Katz said. But we do have a good sexual relationship, thanks to the Viagra. No one from Pfizer was invited to the wedding, but the company is nonetheless pleased. We think it's terrific, said company spokesman Andy McCormick. Impotence can cause depression and anxiety, so one of the side benefits to getting it treated is curing the other problems. We wish them well. nypost.com