Dozens of women joined in the audience and on webcams for part two of the BHRT debate on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” Suzanne Somers, a long-time advocate for bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT), shared her story with the “Oprah” audience.
Robin McGraw, Dr. Phil’s wife and a BHRT patient, and Dr. Christiane Northrup, renowned author and speaker, started the conversation a couple weeks earlier when they joined Oprah to talk about BHRT. Women across the country wrote in to “The Oprah Show” wanting more information on how to take control of their menopause symptoms.
Somers shared her experience being treated by her physician with BHRT to alleviate her menopause symptoms. She also demonstrated her daily regimen of compounded medications and dietary supplements. “By replacing my hormones with bioidentical hormones, I got my life back. I got my health back, I got my figure back, I got my happiness back,” Somers said.
Oprah stressed that women “have the right to demand a better quality of life” and they should all do their research.
However, positive praise of BHRT was also met with harsh criticism when Dr. Lauren Streicher, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University and a practicing ob-gyn at Chicago’s Northwestern Memorial Hospital, expressed her dislike for compounding pharmacies.
To be certain, Dr. Streicher’s commentary was the most grievous offense contained in the episode on compounding pharmacies. She mis-stated facts and presented a distorted picture of pharmacy compounding and how the profession is regulated. Today IACP sent a formal letter to the producers of “The Oprah Show” to dispel the untruths presented by Dr. Streicher.
Hoping to clear up the confusion about compounding pharmacies, Dr. Mehmet Oz visited Central Pharmacy in Santa Monica, Calif., where he interviewed Sharon Steen, owner of the compounding pharmacy. Steen estimated that 90 percent of the medications her pharmacy compounds are BHRT. A pharmacist and technician demonstrated how a hormone cream is prepared.
At the end of the show, a taped segment featured a woman who shared her struggles with menopause on part one of the BHRT debate that aired Jan. 15. Robin McGraw escorted the woman to have her hormone levels checked. It was determine that she needed BHRT, and only nine days later she was noticing the difference. “The side effect from the bioidentical hormones is a big dose of joy. It’s fantastic,” she told Oprah via webcam.
To view segments and read about what was discussed on the show, click here.
IACP Responds to Oprah
The International Academy of Compounding Pharmacists (IACP) responded to “The Oprah Winfrey Show” with a formal letter correcting the misstatements made by Dr. Lauren Streicher on the show.
Click here to read IACP’s letter to Oprah Winfrey and her show producers.
We will keep you updated on further developments.
Sincerely,
P2C2