It is critical that we as horse advocates step up immediately and inform doctors about Duavee.
Duavee (formerly called Aprela) is the recently FDA approved and newest member of the Premarin family of drugs for the treatment of menopausal symptoms. It is set to enter the market at the beginning of 2014.
We are already receiving reports that doctors have begun to mention and recommend Duavee to their patients.
Some of these patients have completed menopause, or are not experiencing hot flashes and other symptoms typically associated with it. In those instances, the doctors are marketing the osteoporosis treating properties of the drug.
Duavee, like the rest of the Premarin family of drugs, is produced with the estrogen rich urine of pregnant mares. For those of you new or unclear what this means to the horses and foals (referred to as PMU horses), please see our Fact Sheets and Reports.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Jane Allin has revised and updated our Dear Physician letter, to include Duavee.
Help us get this letter into the hands of the people who can make a difference for horses and women by convincing them to refuse to prescribe these drugs.
We ask that you make a list of doctors in your area who may prescribe this drug, and send them our Dear Physician letter.
It doesn’t matter if a physician gets more than one from different people. This will increase the impact.
TAKE ACTION
It is very simple.
Print the Dear Physician letter. Address an envelope, put a stamp on it. Put the letter in the envelope, seal it and mail it.
IT WORKS
It’s easy. It works. It saves lives.
DOCUMENT (3 pp, pdf)
DEAR PHYSICIAN LETTER
RELATED READING
— Big Pharma wins again: FDA approves Aprela under new name; by Jane Allin; Nov. 8, 2013
— Downright cruel says breast cancer sufferer about Prempro, Pfizer; by Vivian Farrell; Sep. 12, 2013
— Pfizer consigns PMU horses to killing fields of Asia; by Jane Allin; Mar. 31, 2013
— Pfizer pharms and Premarin generics: who’s tapping whose PMUs?; by Jane Allin; Jun. 7, 2012
Tuesday's Horse 
I agree with you and to expand the letter writing idea I suggest that ALL animal rights organizations get this info and urge their members to write letters and spread the word that their are BETTER alternatives for menopausal symptoms!
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This is an excellent idea. So many women think a drug will cure everything regardless of where it comes from.
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Reblogged this on " OUR WORLD".
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It amazes me that supposedly well-educated (traditional, western medicine or “allopathic”) physicians still seem to believe that their patients are too stupid or misinformed to understand that their doctors are less interested in appropriate mid-life health management than shilling for big pharma! Especially when there is SO much information easily available regarding herbal, vitamin/mineral, naturopathic and homeopathic pre-menopausal, menopausal and post-menopausal support.
There’s even a terrific book (paperback, I think it’s in its 12th printing!) called “What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause” which is chock full of sane advice for transitioning through mid-life – including current sources for recommended support protocols.
It wasn’t so long ago that (mostly male) physicians were strongly recommending hysterectomies and it wasn’t until women self-educated about this issue and learned that these surgeries were pretty much considered “cash cows” by doctors that women started standing up to these medicos who had less at heart for patients’ welfare than their own already bulging wallets!
I have a now-grown-up PMU foal whose mum was one of the vast numbers brought out of Canada’s then-failing PMU industry; most of these babies were draft crosses, and the temperaments, trainability, calm intelligence and – yes – sense of humor that seems to come along with the draftie side make them really wonderful equine companions. I go one better than the letter – every time I talk with mid-life women and any physician who practices family medicine I speak up and speak out.
The women are always interested in approaches to mid-life health management that does not involve potentially fatal side effects, whether those side effects are theirs, mares/foals or both; doctors tend to push back – but once in the ear….gets them hopefully thinking about it!
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