Side effects of raising awareness about the Premarin family of drugs and PMU horses

There have been significant side effects to the work we are doing on behalf of the horses affected by the making of the Premarin family of drugs — Premarin (cream and tablet), Prempro, Premphase and Duavee.

BILLBOARD

Remember our billboard campaign? It’s a simple one. It says, “Warning: Premarin Contains Horse Urine”.

We placed these warning billboards near women’s hospitals. Horse lovers leafleted and talked to thousands of women and medical staff about the making of Premarin and how it impacts the lives of the pregnant mares it uses and what happens to so many of their foals.

Staff from these medical centers began telling our volunteers how Premarin is used in ways other than for the treatment of menopausal symptoms. It is a long list but here are two such examples:

Premarin is given to patients prior to and post hysterectomy surgery. Another example is using Premarin in conjunction with surgical procedures for patients who are deemed at risk of hemorrhaging — Premarin clots the blood.

There are many more. We will cover that soon in a separate post. If you have encountered any please let us know.

Social media advocates contributed too. You helped by sharing our post about our billboard. It reached well beyond the 10K+ notification for Facebook alone.

See https://tuesdayshorse.wordpress.com/2014/03/06/reach-thousands-save-thousands-with-premarin-billboards/

Image from PMU farm in Manitoba showing the collection bag used to collect the urine from pregnant mares used in the making of the Premarin family of drugs.

DEAR DOCTOR LETTER

Our Dear Doctor Letter has done more than just alert the medical personnel we sent it to. It has helped in all sorts of unforeseen ways.

For instance, we had physicians and even their family members contacting us telling us we were giving out misinformation concerning Premarin. They said that Premarin contained conjugated estrogens that were not dangerous. We stated that Premarin is made with conjugated equine estrogens – which are listed by the World Health Organization as known carcinogens – and the FDA allowed the producers of the Premarin family of drugs to omit the word “equine” some years ago.

A number of these doctors (or their relatives who called us to defend them) flat out refused to believe us, or so they said. Surely it’s not a big leap to see where the makers of these drugs got the name Premarin (Pregnant Mare’s Urine).

One doctor who at last acknowledged that the Premarin family of drugs are made with conjugated equine estrogens with the use of pregnant mare’s urine blurted out at the moment of awareness, “that means contain carcinogens and we shouldn’t be prescribing them”. He then concluded for himsef that in his mind at least there is no doubt to why these drugs no longer have the word equine in the labeling.

So what do we do with this information? We lobby the FDA to change the labeling to accurately reflect the drugs’ true nature. That is the plan. It is a steep mountain to climb but we are willing to climb it. But we may not be alone and will have some very important help. More on that later.

To those of who have sent this letter and to all the volunteers who printed and sent thousands more, we thank you.

Please continue to send this letter to your doctors particularly OB/GYNs. Print and mail or email as an attachment.

Click to access dear_physician_ltr_cee_drugs_jan_2016.pdf

TELEVISION AND PRINT ADS

Thanks to your reporting, we have contacted television stations across the country for more than a year regarding the airing of Premarin cream commercials. They have, except in a few stubborn cases, either removed them and/or refused to renew them. We have also had a major impact regarding magazine and newspaper ads — print and online — via Twitter and Facebook.

This campaign, like so many, relies on the help of horse lovers like you. Congratulations on a job well done. Please continue to let us know when you see any type of ad for these products. We have a contact form here on Tuesday’s Horse specifically for this purpose. It’s in the dropdown box under Contact Us entitled Report Premarin Ads.

Rescued Premarin Foals. Image Vivian Grant Farrell.

OUR MISSION CONTINUES

Our mission to help Premarin – or PMU – horses continues. The impact of the work we do is sometimes not immediately seen, difficult to sum up or give exact figures for. But what we are doing is having an effect.

Our campaigns have been so innovative and effective other groups and individuals have followed in our footsteps. The horses need us all.

We must continue our efforts for without us these horses have no hope, no voice and will continue to be subjected to the cruelties and death associated with the making of the Premarin family of drugs.

QUOTE

“Nothing has been, or ever will be, appealing or beneficial about the PMU industry and the Premarin family of drugs; they are clearly harbingers of death from both sides of the equation”.
– JANE ALLIN

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RELATED READING

• Premarin — The Drugs, the Women, the Horses
• Alternatives
• Reports