That drug? Yeah… it comes from horse urine.

Dr. Mattingly, D.C. is pleased to continue to be able to provide you with the insightful blogs of local author, Carolyn Carter.  She is a self-described guinea pig when it comes to discovering natural methods of menopause relief, and we felt that it was important to be able to provide you with her observations.

Occasionally, I’ll be watching HGTV and they’ll show me some fancy schmancy home where a highly-excited homeowner boasts, “Beneath my feet are rare bloodwood floors from the hardwood forests of Alakazam!” And my brain goes, “Whoa. Seriously?” Because what I hear when they use the word “rare” is, “We don’t have many left.” Yet, for some reason, that crazy homeowner is proud to stomp all over the last of the bloodwood forests! It makes me wonder why we, as consumers, don’t stop and ask ourselves more often—

Where does that come from?

It’s horse urine.

With that in mind that I bring to your attention Premarin, a type of hormone replacement therapy. Manufactured by Wyeth-Ayerst, Premarin comes from Pregnant Mare Urine (PMU). Wait. Did your brain just skid to a halt? The origin of Premarin is becoming more commonly known, but there are still a lot of folks who don’t know this. Prempac, Prempro, and Premphase also are in the Wyeth family and are made from estrogens obtained from pregnant mares.

Given that Wyeth is not in the business of raising horses (merely collecting urine), you can probably guess what happens to the foals born on these PMU farms. According to HorseAid, “A filly has less than a 1 in 10 chance of not going to the slaughterhouse, a colt, less than 1 in 50.” Also, the mares are kept in a near-constant state of pregnancy (they get off production for six months of the year to nurse their foals) and then are impregnated again so they can get back to producing urine.

If you’d care to read more about the production of PMU, or see photos of how the horses are kept in a state of restricted movement, you can easily look online. If you decide to venture there, you will see that Wyeth denies that the mares are mistreated. But all I have to do is ask one pregnant woman how she would feel about having a rubber apparatus attached to her lower half, and then be strapped in place (in front and back) for six months of her pregnancy to know all that I need to know. While humans aren’t horses, the sad fact is that collecting PMU is both unnatural and unnecessary. In 2002, a major federal study found that synthetic (as opposed to Bioidentical) Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) may be a contributing factor in causing breast cancer, heart attack and stroke.

What’s a girl to do? First, talk to people about the source of their Hormone Replacement Therapy. Is it safe? What are the negatives—not only to you but also to the environment? Do your research. Be your own advocate, and help others at the same time. If that sounds contrary to the way you were raised, a good M.D. will welcome a little healthy skepticism, follow through on your concerns, and listen to your preferences. Today, we have many options available to help us through menopause. You might be interested in the book, “Natural Progesterone And What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause,” by Dr. John Lee, M.D. He has been using natural progesterone for almost forty years to help women with hormonal imbalances.

And the next time you don’t know the origin of something, remember to ask yourself, “Where does that come from?” Knowledge is a beautiful thing. Your body, our little planet, and our equine friends will thank you for asking.

Dr. Mattingly, D.C. is proud to provide several alternatives to the medical model of menopause relief.  Please contact him for a free consultation.