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Don't Look Back

Don’t Look Back

Say you have a health problem you’ve tried to address with dietary supplements, but you’ve had little success. This isn’t uncommon, of course. There’s no drug that works for every patient, and that’s true of supplements as well.

So you decide to try a drug to take care of the problem, but another problem arises: The drug contains an inactive ingredient that prompts an allergic reaction. Now what do you do?

You find a doctor who can write a prescription for a compounded formula, tailored to your specific needs. Then a compounding pharmacy fills your prescription, minus the offending ingredient, and you’re all set – no allergic reaction.

This is just one of the ways that we’re free to make our own health care choices without fear of government meddling.

What? You have the feeling another shoe is about to drop? Then you’ll probably be just as angry as I am to know that a great deal of corporate money is being pumped into Washington lobbying efforts that would take this health care freedom away.

Price of persistence

For many centuries, all pharmacies were compounding pharmacies. Then the 20th Century came along with mass-produced drugs, mass media, and mass marketing – all of which slowly diminished the numbers of pharmacists who prepared drugs according to specific formulas.

Now, here in the 21st Century, drug company executives would be very happy to make pharmacy compounding of drugs a relic of history.

The good news: Their most recent effort failed.

In the e-Alert “Access Restricted” (3/21/07), I told you about The Safe Drug Compounding Act of 2007, which would have been more accurately named The Drug Compounding Restriction Act. Fortunately, that legislative drive didn’t make it through Congress and is now dead and buried. For the moment.

Now the bad news: According to a report in the Worcester Business Journal, compounding pharmacists believe this issue will come up again and again in the halls of Congress and the FDA because drug company executives are intent on abolishing compounding. They look at compounding pharmacies and see competition. And they clearly believe this competition can be eliminated with if they patiently keep after it with all the influence that money can buy.

Women vs. the corporation

Here are two key reasons why compounding pharmacies don’t require regulation.

Reason 1: They’re already regulated
Compounding pharmacists are licensed, educated professionals. They cannot dispense ANY medications without a doctor’s prescription. All the ingredients used by compounding pharmacists are approved by the U.S. Pharmaceutical Convention.

Reason 2: Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy
Last year, in the e-Alert “Where’s the Shame?” (2/7/06), I told you about a petition submitted to the FDA by representatives for Wyeth Pharmaceuticals. The petition called for the agency to impose broad restrictions on the availability of bioidentical hormones.

As the name implies, bioidentical hormones (derived from estrogen-like plant compounds) are identical to natural hormones in the body. The chemical makeup of synthetic HRT (which just happens to be manufactured by Wyeth) is not identical.

In response to the 2006 petition, thousands of women submitted comments to the FDA, sharing their personal success stories about bioidentical hormone use. Here are three of those comments that appeared in the e-Alert “Not So Fast” (4/24/06).

“I have been taking bioidentical hormones for approximately 6 monthsmy quality of life is much better on the BHRT than the previous 10+ years that I was on conventional HRT.”

“I have been taking bio-identical hormones for over 12 years. They have been a tremendous comfort to me as they help to eliminate my hot flashes, and assist with the hormone balance that is so critical in keeping flare-ups from occurring with my CFS and FMS Syndromes. I took Premarin for over ten years. I experienced excessive weight gain and bloating and mood swings.”

“I have been using bio-identical hormones for two years now. I am extremely grateful to these doctors and pharmacists for their knowledge, understanding, guidance and perseverance in helping me to overcome endometrial hyperplasia in a safe, healthy and natural treatment.”

Happily, the Wyeth petition ended up doing exactly what it WASN’T intended to d It showcased the safety and effectiveness of compounded bioidential hormone replacement therapy. More importantly, it underlined just how significant this therapy is for thousands of women. The Wyeth petition was eventually shelved.

You can find more information about bioidentical hormones (along with comments from HSI members who have used the therapy) in “This Week in the HSI Forum” (12/3/04) at this link: http://www.hsionline.com/ealerts/ea200412/ea20041203.html

Source:
“Sepracor, Drug Cos. Fight Against Medicine Mixing” Matthew L. Brown, Worcester Business Journal, 10/29/07, wbjournal.com

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