Get the Most Recent information you can for You and Your Family's Health

Enter Your Email Address

Name
Email

Drug Companies Latest Attempt to Limit Your Right to Choose

Wyeth Pharmaceuticals has petitioned the FDA to prohibit companies from providing natural, bio-identical hormones. The companies that provide them are called Compounding pharmacies and are controlled by state laws. They produce custom specific hormones.

Wyeth’s bogus claim is that these pharmacies are "trying to dupe" unsuspecting patients, and that bio-identical hormones "endanger public health." These charges are groundless.

First, compounding pharmacies only dispense hormones with a doctor's prescription. So how is the pharmacy trying to "dupe" the public by filling a doctor's order? Also, when prescribed properly, bio-identical hormones are highly effective and have a low incidence of adverse effects.

So what else might be behind this blatent attack on natural health products? Here's a clue: Bio-identical hormones compete with the synthetic hormones manufactured by Wyeth. And the evidence suggests that it is Wyeth's drugs that "endanger public health."

In 2002, the Women's Health Initiative (WHI), a long-term national study, demonstrated that Wyeth's fake hormones (Premarin and Prempro)cause significant increases in breast cancer, blood clots, heart attack, and stroke.

Since then, sales of these products have declined by 68%, equating to over a billion dollars in lost revenue. To stem their losses, Wyeth has petitioned the FDA to restrict access to natural alternatives, thus eliminating the competition. And if their petition is successful, women may lose the right to choose between a safe natural therapy and a proven synthetic menace.

If you are a doctor or a woman who has experience with bio-identical hormones, you can submit your opinion on this matter directly to the FDA up until April 4, 2006.

Wyeth Pharmaceuticals is pushing the FDA to restrict your access to safe, natural hormonal replacement therapy (HRT). They're doing this because the natural alternatives are so far superior that they've cut into Wyeth's sales by more than a billion dollars.

So, what's the difference between the natural and synthetic versions of HRT?

Bio-identical hormones are derived from plant compounds. As the name implies, they are identical to the hormones produced in the body. Unfortunately (for the drug companies), these hormones cannot be patented. On the other hand, the synthetic versions (which are derived from the urine of pregnant mares) are altered in the lab to produce a patentable - and profitable - product.

Women by the thousands are choosing bio-identical hormones to avoid the side effects of synthetic hormones. For example, the following was posted in the Health Sciences Institute (HSI) Forum.

"I have been on a variety of hormone replacement options over the years. Regardless of what I tried, I had many unwanted side effects (acne, sweating, fluid retention, etc.). After reading up on bio-identical estrogen, I asked to be switched to a bio-identical tri-estrogen compound. All side effects I experienced with other therapies went away almost immediately. I have been very happy with the results, whereas I had been miserable for years with other therapies."

There is still time to protect your right to choose. If you are a doctor or a woman who you can submit your opinion on this matter directly to the FDA up until April 4, 2006.