Nickname: Bruce Orsmond

Review: Sara Sellers, I am also a pharmacist who has worked in the industry. I no longer work there!!! Trust me that Big Pharm does not have peoples well being as their primary focus. Their major drive is for huge profits and and satisfy their shareholders. If you think their products are so great, why do we have so many drugs recalled each year? How safe are the manufacturing practices of contracted companies these Pharma companies use in India and China? These foreign are not controlled by the FDA or by any state board of pharmacy. At least the pharmacist who is compounding, is required by state and federal laws to comply with good manufacturing practices, and you know that your medication is being made by a qualified individual. If you do not believe me read the book by Marcia Angell "the truth about the drug companies" She was the former editor in chief of the New England Journal of Medicine. In there you will see that the Chairman of Wyeth made in 2001 $40,521,011 exclusive of his $40,629,459 in stock options...still want to tell everyone it is not about money?

Date reviewed: Feb 18, 2009 5:21 AM

Nickname: happy compounding woman

Review: From a woman who has used compounded hormones for over 3 years, I couldn't be happier. Of course there are hundreds of cosmetics (not regulated), food products (very poorly regulated), even our water (new bad news about that every day) that also has the potential to harm us. Why focus on this one very specific area of "public safety" - could it be . . . PROFIT?? Wyeth, get real. We know what your issue is and although I feel badly that your product was discovered to be harmful to your customers, shame on you for holding onto the hope that you can control the government and population by continuing to place we women in harms way in favor of your quarterly shareholder returns. OK - perhaps we don't have the compounded medications entirely regulated, but could it be any worse than your product? Isn't it OUR choice what risk we choose to take? I know how I feel with your product and the alternative, and I choose to take the risk any day to choose what I feel is a more natural and comfortable alternative. Sounds to me like another way to control women and make big business control educated consumers' choice. Lay off the campaign and sleep better at night!

Date reviewed: Apr 17, 2008 4:43 AM

Nickname: a bio-identical user

Review: Wyeth is accusing the bio-identicals of their drug results, they cause cancer. Many court cases have popped up suing Wyeth, and they are winning. The big billion dollar pharma has no right to a monopoly - that's illegal. WE do have the RIGHT to use alternatives. It's NOT only the bio-identicals that are under fire, they seek to rid themselves of ANY alternatives that compete with their business. They have to alter, or add other molecules to be able to patent a drug - they can't patent a natural molecule. If they could they would be very very pro bio-identical hormones. See Dr John Lee's books on natural hormones, they've known about natural hormones since the 1950's but opted for the synthetic ones which could be patented and make billions of dollars, which cause cancer. We should send BOXES of Dr John Lee's books to the FDA, the research has already been done!!!! www.johnleemd.com

Date reviewed: Apr 14, 2007 1:43 PM

Nickname: Sam

Review: I'd like to respond to the issue of mare urine being "far removed from the horse." Women need to know that the by-product of Wyeth's Premarin and Prempro production is tens of thousands of unwanted foals, many of whom go straight to slaughter. The mares who spend their days strapped to a bucket are all but forgotten. Although this is not the focus of the current debate, those of us who do not wish to see this practice continue, should be able to choose alternatives.

Date reviewed: Aug 17, 2006 3:04 PM

Nickname: janet

Review: I too am using doctor-prescribed bioidentical hormones with good results. My OB-GYN doc has researched this issue and concluded they are a good thing. So has my family doctor. As a nurse, I strongly believe that we should have the freedom of choice to do what we believe is safest for our own health.

Date reviewed: Aug 3, 2006 6:55 AM

Nickname: Sarah Sellers PharmD MPH

Review: On August 2, 2006, Public Citizen's award-winning publication "Worst Pills, Best Pills" deemed compounded hormones unsafe, noting: "Proponents of BHRT, those benefiting economically from their sale, maintain that the right of women and their doctors to choose must be protected. This is a perversion of consumerism often put forward by producers of shoddy products. There is a more fundamental right that is being violated by compounding pharmacies: the right to a marketplace free of potentially dangerous untested products promoted for unsubstantiated uses." Public Citizen recommends against using BHRT concoctions because they have not been tested and approved for safety and efficacy. Public Citizen's full statement, available online at www.citizen.org, highlights serious safety concerns with both FDA-approved and pharmacy compounded products.

Date reviewed: Aug 2, 2006 4:00 PM

Nickname: Sarah Sellers PharmD MPH

Review: If you read my comments carefully, you will recognize they do not benefit drug companies that manufacture hormones. Make informed decisions regarding your health and safety. Consider reading the Material Data Safety Sheets for the steroid hormone chemicals mixed into your medicines. Inquire as to the source of chemicals used in your products. Where were they made? Were the powders manufactured for non-pharmaceutical uses such as agriculture? Finally, consider the health warnings and disclosures made to pharmacists and technicians who are exposed to hormone powders during compounding -- what warnings have you received as a consumer? I have no affiliation with hormone manufacturers -- drug companies typically shudder when they see I am involved in a drug safety issue.

Date reviewed: May 24, 2006 1:46 PM

Nickname: a real pharmacist

Review: I wonder who is writing Sara Sellars' comments. Is she affiliated with the pharmaceutical companies? I am a compounding pharmacist that knows a good PR campaign when I see one. I wonder if Sellars would honestly disclose all of her affiliations?

Date reviewed: May 11, 2006 8:41 PM

Nickname: feelinbetter

Review: My Gosh, what ever happened to freedom? Are we so at the mercy of Wyeth and the FDA to tell us what we can do with our bodies? They raised this issue not becaue they "care", rather the dollars are not coming in like they used to. I personally am boycotting all Wyeth products - just go to their website for a list.

Date reviewed: May 10, 2006 4:12 PM

Nickname: Sarah Sellers PharmD MPH

Review: If over 40,000 patients are demanding access to unapproved drugs, there is a major gap (chasm) in our federal system for drug safety oversight. It's also a perfect example of how pharmacy compounding undermines the federal Food Drug and Cosmetics Act.

Date reviewed: Apr 28, 2006 10:02 PM