January 14, 2008
In a shocking and blatant attack on women, the FDA has declared estriol illegal. This move is designed to stop compounding pharmacies from making bio-identical hormone creams and will also stop over-the-counter estriol-containing creams from being sold to women. The FDA has no report of any problem from these creams. It is acting on a complaint from Wyeth (the makers of estrogen-containing horse urine extract and Centrum vitamins). Millions of women are adversely affected.
Estriol is the friendly estrogen, widely studied and used in Europe. It is a potent brain antioxidant, needed for circulatory health, as well as being the main estrogen that helps vaginal dryness and urinary tract thinning after menopause. Unlike estradiol that is needed to run menstrual cycles and whose levels fluctuate during the month, estriol production is consistent (about 2 mg a day) over the course of a woman’s life. The only exception is pregnancy, when the levels quadruple to protect the developing nervous system of the baby. Even after menopause the ovaries keep making estriol and the decline in their ability to do so speeds the aging process. It is very difficult to ever have a calm mood when there is a lack of estriol, ask any woman who has had a complete hysterectomy (doctors never bother replacing estriol).
No drug company is interested in a patent estriol as it comes from a natural source. Drug companies only want horse urine extract on the market, a drug with many kinds of horse-estrogens that are not found in the human body at all! The FDA somehow thinks this is good for women.This is part of an overall FDA campaign to go after natural hormones derived from natural substances. DHEA is next on the FDA hit list. After that numerous other dietary supplements will follow. Maybe the wrath of women can put an end to FDA tyranny.
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The FDA, on their web site, make themselves look like heroes by protecting the public from products that are unsupported by medical evidence (compounded estriol). It is obvious whos interest the FDA is really protecting. Big pharma (with the help of the FDA) has once again taken a safe and life saving product off the market.
I am shocked and dismayed by this blatant misuse of power. It is obviously a ploy made by the pharmaceutical industry and it is ALL ABOUT MONEY!!!! I have used estriol cream since entering menopause one year ago and I was miserable before I started using it. It does nothing but good, and there is no good reason for the FDA to ban this wonderful and safe product. In no event will I use synthetic HRT, so if that is what Wyeth is attempting to do, they can count me out. This is a TOTAL OUTRAGE. I can't believe it.