Non-FDA Approved Products

Dr. Rassman,

I realize as a doctor you must take the given data to insure your patients are given the “right” treatment for their condition. I do however, wonder how you can comment on products you yourself admit to know very little about. I do not know much about the product either, but a friend has used it and has had very real results with it within 12 months. I am not here to blast your opinion, but as a doctor you are compelled to research things/products that may very well put some doctors out of business. Heart disease for expample, may be a thing of the past in a decade. There are great prescriptions for heart-related conditions, but there are also great things such as diet and herbs that greatly reduce the risk of heart disease. My father was a surgeon who always put the patient first even if it was not the most lucrative choice for him. I am a bioligist with a very firm understanding of biochemistry as well. I agree that nothing is side-effect free, especially if it has any real efficacy, but check closer on some things to make sure you are not missing something out there. Something that may have potential. I am sure I don’t have to remind you that your patients are always first. You know your science works, but remember the light bulb was ignored at first also. oh yes, as far as the FDA works, I have no real comment on that. They have their own job and I am not certain how they work. They do real good things, and it has also been proven that they do real crooked things also.

This sounds more like a statement than a question. Your points are well taken. In my formal capacity, I do not recommend medications/herbs/potions/lotions that I do not know to work. You are correct in that not every medication is good and safe (just look at Vioxx), but the tradeoff between benefits and risks just need proper informed consent for each person using it. I know that Vioxx helped many people handle the pain of crippling arthritis, but some of them paid for that benefit. The issue really is, did they know what the risks were? We all know that the drug Thalamide caused babies with no arms or legs when their mothers took the medications while pregnant, but did you know that this drug was a miracle drug for many problems today in the non-pregnant female? The drug was taken off the market, so some people with particular types of bone cancer go through hoops and loops to get some to help them. It is now being considered for people with advanced HIV infection and body wasting, yet to pass FDA safety and effectiveness clearance. The drug has many uses in the third world.

I believe that we all have the right to know and balance (1) the benefits and (2) the rewards of taking a medication or herbal remedy that is heavily promoting its products. There are two sides of that equation. I do not know if some of these products are safe or effective, so I read the material supplied by many of these companies. When I see poor photographic representations, or scalp coloring agents used to promote benefits which are only created by a ‘can of spray paint’ on the scalp below the miracle new hair (or something similar), then I can not endorse these products. They may be great products, but they burned their bridges with me as a product endorser.