..... hormone story

February 23, 2007:-  Attention! There's news (sort of) in the always-contentious debate about synthetic-versus-natural Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). I can't believe I didn't hear about this when it happened over a year ago...

Actually, I can.

After all, anything that happens which could have any kind of adverse effect on Big Pharma is carefully hush-hushed by the Feds - and swept under the rug by the drug-addled mainstream media. So it's no wonder I never heard about it. You didn't either, no doubt. Here's the story:

In October of 2005, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, manufacturers of synthetic HRT drugs Prempro and Premarin, filed a complaint with the FDA against the sale of ANY KIND of natural or bio-identical hormones increasingly being used by menopausal women across America for safe and effective hormone replacement...

Why are women using these natural hormones more lately? Because in 2002, the enormous Women's Health Initiative Study revealed that both Prempro and Premarin significantly increased women's risks of heart attack, breast cancer and dementia!

Yes, you read that right: The maker of two killer HRT drugs is petitioning the FDA to block your access to the only safer alternatives available...

They're doing this despite the facts that:

* Natural, bio-identical HRT has been used in the U.S. for almost 25 years without a single related death - or even complaint - that I can find report of

* Unlike synthetic HRT drugs (usually made from horse urine), bio-identical hormone therapy uses the three main hormones your own body synthesizes

* Unlike prescription drugs, natural HRT can be custom-tailored to individual patients in any compounding pharmacy (they're in every state)

* Compounding pharmacies are fully co-educated in standard pharmacy schools AND licensed and regulated by all 50 states

* By law, natural HRT STILL requires a prescription and the supervision of a doctor to use

There can be only one way to add all this up:

Wyeth cares more about protecting the now-miniscule market-share of a line of dismally failing drugs than it does for WOMEN'S LIVES. Here's what I mean:

In 2001, sales of both Premarin and Prempro topped $2 billion. But as a result of the study's findings about increased health risks for women, revenues from these implicated HRT drugs plummeted to less than $1 million per year ($880,000 to be exact) by 2004. That's a reduction of 99.96% in sales and profits.

Put another way: Wyeth is calling for the FDA to outlaw the natural HRT alternatives that are safer, more effective, and cheaper than their drugs in order to preserve less than ONE HALF OF ONE THOUSANDTH the amount of money they used to make on these killers...

See how much (or how little) our lives are worth to Big Pharma?

Whether they're worth any more than this to the FDA depends on how they rule - or ruled - on this complaint (it may have already happened). Of course, I'll feed you more of the story when (if) I learn it.

William Campbell Douglass II, M.D.
Editor,  The Douglass Report