Guest guest Posted September 2, 2004 Report Share Posted September 2, 2004 > GMW:_THE_FIGHT_TO_'SAVE'_MY_LIFE > " GM_WATCH " <info > Wed, 1 Sep 2004 15:25:59 +0100 > > GM WATCH daily > http://www.gmwatch.org > --- IMPORTANT PART HERE****** > The first article below, while excellent in other > ways, does not make clear that the problematic > ('human') insulin is genetically engineered. > > The second article mostly repeats what's in the > first but is of interest for its reference to a > hidden " agenda " in the disappearance of animal > insulin. No one says what it is, but could it be the > fostering of the miserably unsuccessful medical GE > industry? > > More info on the often severe problems arising from > GE insulin: > Bellagio report on human insulin commissioned by > Rockefeller Foundation > http://members.tripod.com/diabetics_world/Bellagio_report_Animal.htm > Also see > http://www.gene-watch.org/genewatch/articles/16-6romano.html > http://www.btinternet.com/~clairejr/Insulin/insul_1.html > --- > THE FIGHT TO 'SAVE' MY LIFE > Exeter Express & Echo > 10:23 - 27 August 2004 > http://www.thisisexeter.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=137015 & command=displayConte\ nt & sourceNode=136999 & contentPK=10845676 > > A city diabetic fears her quality of life will be > devastated because the insulin she uses may not be > available for much longer. > > Shelley Cox thought she was going to die when she > had an adverse reaction to a human form of the > medication. In less than a year of taking the drug > she went from an active, outgoing woman to a virtual > bedridden recluse. > > She could not tolerate bright lights, struggled with > her concentration and memory, and had no energy. > Mrs Cox, from Alphington, felt so ill she was > convinced she would never feel well again. But then > she saw an advert in the Echo promoting animal > insulin and realised there was a choice of > medication. > > Feeling she had nothing to lose she asked to be > switched to it - and within 12 hours of taking her > first injection she felt she had got her life back. > But now she fears the life-changing animal insulin > will soon not be available. > > One of the two companies which supplies the drug to > the UK market has recently sent a letter saying it > is in the process of deciding whether to withdraw > it. > > Danish-based Novo Nordisk sent the letter to a > diabetic in Sussex, after he wrote asking about > their future plans. The company, which currently > supplies about 15,000 of the 30,000 diabetics on > animal insulin, said the final decision would not be > made until next summer, and if the decision is to > withdraw, it will not take place until 2007. The > company has already stopped production for America, > Canada and some parts of Europe. > > Although the other company, CP Pharmaceuticals, > which supplies the remaining UK diabetics, said it > had no plans to discontinue its supply - it cannot > produce enough for all the Novo Nordisk users. > Mrs Cox and her husband, Peter, the Conservative > parliamentary candidate for Exeter, are calling on > the Government to help safeguard the supply of > animal insulin. And they are backed by the shadow > health minister, Tim Loughton. > > Mrs Cox, who was diagnosed with type one diabetes in > January 2003, said she could not face going back on > the crippling human insulin, or having to try out > one of the new breeds of analogue insulin, produced > by genetic engineering. > > " Even if going back on human insulin keeps me alive, > given the quality of life for me, I would rather not > be alive, " she said. > > The effect was also traumatic for her husband. Mr > Cox said: " I was terrified. I thought she was dying. > > " I was watching my wife and my world slowly > disintegrate and there was nothing I could do about > it, except be there for Shelley and put on a brave > face. Total despair is the only way to describe it. > Anyone who has lived through the illness of a loved > one will understand what I mean. The feeling of > helplessness was the worst part. Nobody seemed able > to shed any light on what was wrong, that is until I > saw the advert for the animal insulin and my despair > turned to intense relief, then anger. " > > He added: " Having gone from the pits of despair to > relief, to being on top of the world, we are now > finding out that the animal insulin might not be > available. It's almost worse than it was before. " > > The couple's nightmare began in September last year, > when, just nine months after being diagnosed, Mrs > Cox began to feel constantly tired and lethargic. > > Over the next six months her condition steadily > worsened. She developed a strong dislike of bright > lights, and had to wear sun glasses or keep the > curtains shut at home. > > She gave up driving because of her poor > concentration - which was so bad she would forget > what she was saying mid sentence. > > She was too ill to work and underwent tests for > everything from rheumatoid arthritis, to ME. > Eventually she was virtually bedridden. > > Getting out of bed and getting dressed left her > feeling as though she had just run a half-marathon, > she said. > > " I just fell so ill all the time, " she said. " I had > never felt so ill. I couldn't think, everything was > cloudy. I genuinely thought I had cancer or a > tumour. It was the worst nightmare I have ever been > through. And not knowing what was causing it just > made it worse. " > > She said she was so relieved when she found out it > was her reaction to the insulin which caused her all > the problems. > > " I thought 'Thank God I am not going mad.' " she > said. > > Mrs Cox was put on animal insulin in April and, > within 12 hours felt more energetic than she had for > months. Mr Cox said: " Her first injection was in the > evening, and the very next morning we went to the > garden centre - something we had not done for > months. The day after that we took the dogs to the > beach and on the third day we rode our horses > together. > > " The change was remarkable and almost immediate. " > Mrs Cox added: " I felt so much better. I felt as if > I had got my life back. " > > The couple have since reported their experiences to > the diabetic clinic at the RD & E, and asked staff to > log her reaction. > > Jenny Hirst, from the Insulin Dependent Diabetes > Trust, which actively promotes animal insulin as an > alternative to the human form, said: " It's bad > enough having diabetes, but to live in fear that you > may not have the medicine to keep you feeling > alright, I think is beyond reason. " > > Like many new diabetics, Mrs Cox was not told about > the animal insulin and put straight on the human > form. However, she had no problem accessing it at > the diabetic clinic when she asked to try it. > > Only three out of about 800 people treated at the > clinic are on animal insulin, and Mrs Cox's reaction > is regarded as highly unusual. > > But she would like all new diabetics to be told > there is a choice of insulin to take - and to have > that, a continued supply of the animal insulin needs > to be guaranteed. > > The medical director at Novo Nordisk, Dr Alan > McDougall, told the Echo that they hadn't yet taken > any decision on supplies that would affect the UK. > But he added: " We can never given any guarantee. We > are aware that there are many people in the UK that > use Novo Nordisk animal products. " > > He said when the company makes a decision it will > make sure that everyone has at least 18 months' > notice. He added: " We will make sure there is a > solution for everybody. It may be the new analogue > insulin. " > > Mr McDougall refused to comment on how much it cost > his company to manufacture animal insulin as > compared with human insulin, saying that was > 'commercially sensitive.' > > He did say, however, that in the UK, it works out > cheaper to supply animal insulin than human insulin. > A spokeswoman for the Department of Health said they > were not aware of any problems with the supply of > animal insulin. > > " There are two companies supplying it in the United > Kingdom, " she said. > > " We are in regular contact with these companies and > both have confirmed that they will continue to > supply animal insulin for the foreseeable future. " > She pointed to the Government's committee on safety > of medicines (CMS), which has concluded that > although some patients experienced problems on > transferring to human insulin and were better suited > to animal-derived insulin, there was no evidence of > a safety concern specific to human insulin. > > And she said they had no powers to force a company > to continue to market a product if, for any reason, > it is unable to do so. > --- > LIFE-SAVING INSULIN TO BE WITHDRAWN > Exeter Express and Echo > 12:00 - 28 August 2004 > http://www.thisisexeter.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=137015 & command=displayConte\ nt & sourceNode=136999 & contentPK=10851169 > > A leading politician is taking up the case of a > Devon diabetic who fears her life is as good as over > if the type of insulin she needs is withdrawn. > > As the Echo reported yesterday, Shelley Cox thought > she was going to die when she had an severe adverse > reaction to a human form of the medication. > > Within a year of first taking the drug she went from > an active, outgoing woman to a virtually bedridden > recluse. But within 12 hours of switching to animal > insulin she was back to her old self again. > > But now she is concerned that the life-changing > insulin will soon be unavailable after hearing one > of the companies which supplies it, is considering > stopping. > > Mrs Cox, whose husband Peter is the Tory > parliamentary candidate for Exeter, is calling on > the Government to help safeguard future supplies of > the insulin for the 30,000 diabetics across the UK. > And she is being backed by shadow health minister > Tim Loughton, who has promised to take up her case > with health minister Rosie Winterton. > > When Mrs Cox's health deteriorated she had no idea > it was because of a severe reaction to the human > insulin she was using. > > She had been diagnosed as diabetic in January 2003 > and at that time was not aware there were different > types of insulin. > > It was only after seeing an advert in the Echo by > the Insulin Dependent Diabetes Trust (IDDT) that she > found out about the animal insulin. > > The charity works to promote animal insulin and also > lobbies to safeguard its future. > > Mrs Cox was able to change over to this insulin > easily at Exeter's diabetic clinic, which is based > at the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital - and the > improvement in her health was immediate. > > But now she has discovered that the Danish > company Novo Nordisk, one of two drug companies > which supplies animal insulin in the UK, has said it > may stop producing it. It has already stopped > production in the US, Canada and parts of Europe. > > The final decision is due to be made next year, and > production could stop in 2007. If it does, it could > leave around 15,000 people across the UK without > their preferred medication. Although the other > company, CP Pharmaceuticals, said it had no plans to > discontinue production it cannot produce enough for > all the Novo Nordisk users. > > Mr and Mrs Cox, along with the chairman of the IDDT, > Jenny Hirst, met with Mr Loughton in London to > discuss their fears. He had already been contacted > by the charity and other diabetics, and, on their > behalf, had contacted the Department of Health. > > He was told then that they were not aware of a > problem with the supply of animal insulin. Officers > were in regular contact with the two companies that > supply the insulin to the UK and both had confirmed > they would be supplying it 'for the foreseeable > future'. > > But after hearing the full details of what happened > to Mrs Cox, and just how crippling an adverse > reaction to the human insulin can be, Mr Loughton is > set to take her case to the health minister. > He has letters from her husband highlighting just > how bad her condition got. Mr Cox told him how she > was so tired and in so much pain that she could not > get out of bed. > > " I was terrified - I thought she was dying, " he > said. " I was watching my wife and my world slowly > disintegrate and there was nothing I could do about > it. Total despair is the only way to describe it. " > > And Mrs Cox said she had felt so bad on the human > insulin, that she could not contemplate going back > on it. > > " Even if going back on human insulin keeps me alive, > given the quality of life for me on human insulin, I > would rather not be alive, " she added. > > Mr Loughton will present Mrs Cox's case and ask the > health minister for details of the safeguards the > Government has put in place to ensure animal insulin > continues to be made available to everyone who > demands it. > > He has also backed Mrs Cox's call for better > education for diabetics so they can choose from the > full range of insulin products. > > This is especially important as the numbers of > people expected to be diagnosed with the disease > across the world over the next three years is set to > increase from two to three million. > > Mr Loughton said the Government could not tell a > company what drugs it should produce. However, there > were things it could do to ensure the production of > animal insulin. > > He pointed to the Government's decision in 2002 to > buy an American blood plasma supply company for > about GBP50m, to prevent the threat of variant > Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD), a brain-wasting > disease, being spread through blood products. Mr > Loughton is also trying to find out why Novo Nordisk > is now considering stopping its supply. > > The company's medical director, Dr Alan McDougall, > has already said that in the UK, it works out > cheaper to supply animal insulin than human insulin. > > " If it was a cost factor that animal insulin cost > five times more than human insulin, we could see why > they might want to do it, " said Mr Loughton. > > " But there's no reason why. It's bizarre. There's > some other agenda there which I don't fully > understand, " he added. > > The national charity Diabetes UK has its own opinion > as to why the company is currently reconsidering its > supply. > > A spokeswoman said: " A decline in usage is likely to > be the reason Novo Nordisk will be looking at the > possibility of withdrawing its animal insulin > range. " > > The human insulin has only been introduced in the > last few decades and it is the one most new > diabetics are prescribed. > > Diabetes UK believes more could be done to make > doctors and patients aware of the other insulin > available. > > " If people with diabetes are struggling to control > their condition with one particular insulin they > should be aware of the range of options available to > them, including animal insulin, " said the spokesman. > > " We'd much rather Novo Nordisk continued to produce > animal insulin and this is the position we continue > to put to them. The more choice for people with > diabetes the better. " > > But Mr Cox believes the company is taking advantage > of the fact many patients do not know about the > choice of animal insulin. He said: " The time will > come when demand for animal insulin has gone down > and the company can say that it's not commercially > viable. " > > This is a view shared by the IDDT, which is also > concerned that the vast majority of diabetics are > only offered human insulin and are not told about > the animal variety. By not offering an alternative, > fewer patients will request animal insulin, the > demand for it will fall, and the company can then > justify its withdrawal, it says. > > Dr Mark Daly, a leading expert in the condition, > based at Exeter's diabetic clinic, said there was no > particular advantage to animal insulin. > > " But there are patients who report that they feel > better on animal insulin and if they feel they would > like to try animal insulin, I feel they should have > that choice, " he said. A number of former animal > insulin users had successfully switched to human > insulin, he added. > > Patients, he confirmed, were not given the choice of > going on animal insulin, when first diagnosed. > However, they were given animal insulin if they > subsequently asked for it. > > Dr Daly added: " It's a worry and distressing for > people to change insulin. If they trust and have > faith in an insulin and have to change it, it can be > very distressing. " > > He said only three out of 800 people at the clinic > are on animal insulin and that a reaction as bad as > Mrs Cox's to human insulin is highly unusual. The > choice of insulin can also be governed by which type > of injection pen the patient prefers as some > versions of the drug are only compatible with a > certain type of pen. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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