TRT My opinions and options that may be available.

[clysmaniac (imported)]

Here is an article that sheds some light on what the FDA and Customs will do with smaller, personal shipments as opposed to what the law technically says.

Customs to stop seizing low-cost prescription drugs imported from overseas

By Bob LaMendola | South Florida Sun-Sentinel Health Writer

October 4th, 2006

In a move that cheered buyers of overseas medications, U.S. customs officials told members of Congress they will no longer seize prescription drugs that individuals import from other countries.

The new policy, disclosed Tuesday by U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., ends a controversial practice begun last fall in which the government confiscated or delayed about 40,000 individual medication packages at postal facilities for international mail, including one in Miami serving South Florida.

U.S. law forbids importing drugs from other countries, but the government had looked the other way for years. Then on Nov. 17 2005 , agents began intercepting drugs from Canada.

Budget-conscious seniors, who can save half or more on drug prices by buying from outside the country, protested loudly.

Customs officials told members of Congress in an e-mail that as of Monday, agents would no longer handle illegal shipments but would instead pass on information to the Food and Drug Administration.

A customs spokeswoman told the Orlando Sentinel that the Bush administration still believes drugs from outside the country pose a higher risk of being counterfeit or adulterated, and about 10 percent of those seized overall have proven to be.

The new policy is an internal change, spokeswoman Lynn Hollinger said.

"We just decided to focus our resources differently. We are still very committed to protecting the American public from these medications," Hollinger said.

South Florida pill buyers said they were relieved the government changed course.

"That's great news," said Diane Cohen, an office manager from Boca Raton, who had a shipment of the breast-cancer drug Tamoxifen from Canada seized in February.

"We were being denied the right to purchase medication at a price we can afford."

An estimated 1.8 million Americans save money by buying drugs from other countries, especially Canada, which sets price limits as part of its national health system.

The customs drug seizures began Nov. 17 2005, two days after the start of enrollment for Medicare's new prescription drug program.

Federal officials said the two were not related, but Democrats in Congress and many seniors suspected the effort aimed to scare them into signing up for coverage.

Nelson and other lawmakers pushed legislation that would halt the enforcement, but it became snarled in election-year debate.

During the summer, Republican leaders in Congress struck a compromise, saying customs agents would stop seizing drugs that individuals carried back from Canada, but did not address mail-order shipments.

The language was written into a budget bill that the House and Senate passed last month.

Nelson said he believed the new policy on mailed drugs, coming a month before election day, was a response to pressure from him and others.

Charlotte Kammer, owner of CanAm RX Discount Drugs in Sunrise, said the seizures seemed to peak in February, then slowed.

Even so, she said a number of storefronts closed this year, partly because of the seizures and partly because seniors switched to the Medicare drug plan.

"Some people got scared and stopped ordering. About 5 percent, I'd say," Kammer said.

"Now there's no problem. That's the best news I've heard in a long time."

A consumer group that sponsored drug-buying train trips to Canada said the new policy falls short and called on the Bush administration to control drug prices, as Canada does.

"The U.S. should be importing Canadian drug policy, not Canadian drugs, so seniors don't have to cross the border or rely on fly-by-night Internet pharmacies to buy their prescription drugs," said Jerry Flanagan of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights.

SOURCE:

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/he ... ews-health

[Testman (imported)]

I got my Andromen in the mail a few days ago. It is interesting about the receptors being in the scrotum and such,. I was just thinking about that when I read this post. But what I noticed, is when I use the Amdromen on my stomach area, it gives me a greater "kick" in the gym. In fact, I lot greater. Even though the dose I use there is 1 gram (50mg) and this raises internal testosterone to probably less than a pack of androgel. And if I use it on the scrotum, of course I use 1/4th the dose, as it absorbs at 5 times the rate, but the effects are different! My sex drive seems to fluctuate when applied there. And also, I don't get the androgenic kick in the gym. Interesting huh? I think we're onto something, because think about it, there are testosterone receptors in the nerves. If this stuff is applied to the skin closer to your brain and Central Nervous System, the nerves would be getting a very high level of testosterone, therefore making it "kick" more. In fact, I have even used the full dose on the scrotum, which would put my internal testosterone to the very top of normal, yet I don't get the energy increase as when I apply small amounts to the skin of the stomach. BTW, Andromen was at first used on the stomach, but when the Australian government tested it on 30 men, they found dramatically different absorption rates. One guy got by with only 50mg, most needed 100mg, and one guy even needed 150mg to get the same blood levels. However, 22 out of the 30 men asked if they could just continue using Andromen, even after the study finished. So it must have worked for them on the stomach. What would have been interesting, is if they later got the men to try it on the scrotum to see if they said anything different about the effects. Personally, I like it better on the stomach, even though it takes more.

Androgel would be a good product if they increased the concentration of testosterone. See, it's the actual gel that makes it expensive, Ironically, not the active ingredient. So to get a decent testosterone level, one must use like 10 grams per day. If they made it 2% testosterone, instead of 1%, and then told people to use 5 grams per day, that would give someone plenty of testosterone and would not really increase the cost noticeably.

[Testman (imported)]

BTW, from reading about Andromen, it appears the US government is honoring the Australian version of the FDA, so one should be able to get a doctor to write a script for Andromen, fax this script to Lawley pharmaceuticals, and they will send a copy of it with the package. However, customs can, amazingly enough, still confiscate it if they want to. Even though there is specifically a law in place to protect citizens from their meds getting stolen. Anyway, technically it would be perfectly legal with a script. And the makers of Andromen will resend it if this happens anyway.

[Testman (imported)]

Found this. Makes for some interesting reading. I didn't know trans-dermal testosterone had been around for so many decades! Anyway, it talks about obsorbtiopn rates and different skin types.

http://www.testosteronecream.biz/Transd ... uthers.pdf

[dancinggizmos (imported)]

That is a good link.

Some very helpful information you found indded.

Your contributions of information around here are well respected and apriciated.

I wish I had more time to share my knowledge however it looks like information is in fact progressing.

Found this. Makes for some interesting reading. I didn't know trans-dermal testosterone had been around for so many decades! Anyway, it talks about obsorbtiopn rates and different skin types.

http://www.testosteronecream.biz/Transd ... uthers.pdf