Something Endocrinologists Don't Want You To Know
Why are endocrinologists so opposed to bio-identical hormone compounding, and supporting drugmaker Wyeth's efforts to get compounded drugs banned? Big money donations from Wyeth to endocrinology groups like the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, and the Endocrine Society, may explain it.The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) and the Endocrine Society have fully supported the ongoing campaign by Wyeth -- the maker of controversial hormone replacement drugs Premarin and Prempro -- to restrict women's access to compounded, bio-identical hormones. And in January of 2008, the support and lobbying paid off for the company: the FDA announced that it would restrict a form of estrogen -- estriol -- as part of compounded hormone preparations.
This move by the FDA represented a major success for Wyeth, which, suffering from declining market share for its hormone replacement drugs after concerns about their safety were demonstrated, has been looking to tamp down competition by eliminating compounded hormone replacement alternatives.
AACE and the Endocrine Society are just two of a number of supposedly independent organizations that have come out alongside Wyeth in opposing compounding hormones, while receiving financial support from the drug company. Both AACE and the Endocrine Society have a long history of corporate partnerships with Wyeth, and have accepted substantial financial support for a variety of organizational activities.
Would endocrinologists rather you take drugs manufactured by their big donor, Wyeth, rather than bio-identical compounded hormones? Does it have anything to do with the money Wyeth pumps into their organizations? Is there a reason these groups never disclose their financial connection to Wyeth when they issue press releases supporting the FDA's crackdown on bio-identical compounding? All questions that deserves answers...
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Comments
SO WHAT DO WE DO TO STOP THIS FROM HAPPENING
IT IS CLEARLY UNFAIR TO JEOPARDIZE OUR RIGHT FOR SAFE NATURAL ALTERNATIVES TO HARMFUL DRUGS
I MUST take bio-identical hormones because I have horrible reactions to Premarin. I break out in hives, swell up, and have extreme breast tenderness. On the other hand, using bio-identical hormones give me none of the above negative symptoms, and relieve the symptoms for which they are prescribed (i.e., hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness). I had to have a full hysterectomy @ the age of 45 and, for the first few years, took Premarin. Since I am also hypothyroid, for some reason it worked against my immune system and I started with hives–which also became chronic shingles (I also found I couldn’t eat food containing soy or foods that are high in the amino acid “argnine” [which activates the herpes virus]. I did discover that taking lysine helps control the activity of the virus (another story . . . ). Anyway, having bio-identical hormones available to me is critical to my health. I participated in a ballot-signing effort to the FDA (emanating from Dr. Susan Lark) several years ago. She has just recently sent out a call again to have people participate in
So, I wonder if this means my compounding pharmacy will no longer be able to provide Armour for me?
I just got started a month ago, and I’m feeling great, so I don’t want to switch back to synthetics. I have had a total thyroidectomy and don’t like playing around with this! I am totally dependent on replacement thyroid so now, are we to worry again?
I totally agree - Bio-identical hormones are FAR BETTER than premarin and the like. never liked the idea of taking something made from the urine of pregnant mares.Poor horses!! shame on wyeth trying to take away our freedom of choice!!
It is appalling that the government is allowing this type of pressure (who ever has the most money to throw away…er bribe) from drug manufacturers. So many people are helped by the compounding drugs. We can’t find out how many it really is because Wyeth and other companies have scared our physicians into believing they only harm us. Wake up America…fight back!!
These are the thoughts going through my mind about this ‘nasty’ situation, the root or foundational motivations behind IT’S CONCEPTION probably being: the LOVE of MONEY and what it can do for them, the love of having POWER over LIFE & DEATH of human beings (for their own benefit) & ‘dead’ consciences due to choices made to benefit themselves ONLY, not caring whether those choices resulted in doing wrong! These folk seem to be members of the “It’s All About ME” club! — There are too many of us PAYING patients with a Thyroid Patient Advocate on our side and it’s probably NOT going to happen! Fear not but do take a stand for our rights!!! I’m in the same boat with you all, hypothyroid, postmenopausal, yada-yada. Keep your Faith active and keep going after what you need! I’m right in here too!
It all boils down to money. The drug companies wants it - all of it. Concern for individuals and their needs are not even a consideration. We have to stand up to them at some point, if not we might as well just throw in the towel and let the corporations have this country.
This has everything to do with money and nothing to do with faith. It requires ACTION. Let’s learn and do all we can to keep greedy corporations and Big Pharm from having all the say in our health decisions!
The politicians keep saying we have the best health care system in the world & no one challenges them on it. Its time someone did. This is another example of how our “health care” system is only about money–not about our health!
Should we start an online petition (names only–or name and state) to be sent to the current presidential candidates . . . and also sent to our members of Congress? Mary, you could write this for us and we can also email or snail mail copies to all our friends and relatives and ask them to go online and sign, too. And since our husbands and fathers and brothers and all of the other men in our lives love us…why not have them sign, too? We sell ourselves short. There’s just nothing more powerful than the VOTE.
Want to bet Wyeth will develop a subscription HRT drug based on bio-identical hormones after they have eliminated the competition and claim theirs is safer and “different”? It’s all about money… damn our health.
Fight back!! This is how, contact: http://projectfans.org/
Whatever happened to that part of the Hippocratic Oath, “First do no Harm?. It reminds me of what one cynical friend of mine remarked about cancer. “It will never be cured in our lifetime” she said, “too many people are making money off it”. So it goes for drugs and the FDA in general, it is all about money. The patient doesn’t come into the picture at all.
There actually IS something that all of us can do:
The rapidly-growing, third-major endocrine society in the world, the IHS (International Hormone Society; see http://intlhormonesociety.org/), co-founded by Dr. Thierry Hertoghe from Belgium, who treats patients from all over the world in his practice located in Brussels, and who is, among other things (cf. http://www.antiageingconference.com/aacl2004/hertoghe.htm, http://www.imbooks.info/), the president of the World Society of Anti-Ageing Medicine, actually fights FOR us all; for labwork not based only on the TSH and on misleading reference ranges, but at least as much on symptoms and clinical signs, and therapies that do not treat us with synthetic T4 only, which keeps most of us ill and fat, but with natural hormones (like Armour), and by also taking into account other hormonal and nutritional deficiencies, and toxins.
The more people join (it’s free), the more weight our demands for this kind of much more adequate treatment will have.
The more people join, the better the chances are also to fend off legal attacks against doctors who try to help us, like the one recently against Dr. Skinner in the UK (see http://www.tpa-uk.org.uk/skinner_hearing_transcripts.php), and like the one (unfortunately successful) against Dr. Peatfield, also from the UK, who BTW authored the book “Your Thyroid and How to Keep It Healthy: The Great Thyroid Scandal and How to Survive It”. Quod erat demonstrandum.
Because if we let the medical establishment (including the pharmaceutical companies) have their way, other doctors who might be inclined to help us will be scared off to do so, because they risk their license to practice and therefor their only means for earning their lives.
Thanks to Dr. Hertoghe (main witness of defense), the testimony of Dr. Skinner’s patients and the weight of the IHS behind them, Dr. Skinner was allowed to continue practicing, despite him not following the generally accepted guidelines for treating hypothyroidism in the UK (only with a TSH > 10!).
So please make your voice heard and vote for your treatment of choice by joining the IHS!
The IHS is not funded by any pharmaceutical group, and I’m also not financially involved in it in any way.
I am just a patient of Dr. Hertoghe like many of us.
And I have to testify that after 10 years of being left untreated, being treated according to a wrong diagnosis, being undertreated and refused treatment, Dr. Hertoghe ended my misery and gave me back my life.
So please help yourself and all your fellow patients, so that more doctors like Dr. Hertoghe become the majority, not the exception, available to all, be they insured privately, publicly or not at all (Dr. Hertoghe has been training some 700 physicians in his own practice during the last years, and gives seminars etc. to about 1000 physicians a year).
Let’s make a difference!
Drug makers aren’t necessarily doctors, so they don’t have to worry about the Hippocratic Oath. They only have to worry about money.
Has anyone seen the movie “Side Effects” starring Katherine Heigl? Scary. Excellent.
I think that I am going to refuse any medication made by Wyeth from now on. Can’t take premarin anyway. Breast cancer in my immediate family.
Surely (I hope) Armour isn’t included under this effort to ban compounded bio-identicals?
Is it true that Sen. Ted Kennedy is involved with this ridiculous move??