SURVIVING HEALTHCARE

I now do about a podcast a day, and this is an example I did in October 2021. This young podcaster did a great job of interviewing me. It is a broad-ranging discussion about hormones, medical corruption,  COVID, vaccine frauds, and the therapies that are witheld. Support the show

If you already know a lot and want to cut to the chase, see HERE.Butchered by “Healthcare,” my book about healthcare corruption, took me three years to research and write. Even with this background, it was September 2021 before I understood Covid, the vaccine frauds, and why therapies were being hidden. So I am not critical of people who don’t get it yet. My mission is to explain the scene for those who do not have my training.  The following is well understood in hospitals, even by janitors:1)    Kids should NOT get the vaccine because it kills far more of them than covid (over 100 x more). 2)   Pregnant women should NOT get the shot. Some studies show that it kills 80 percent of their babies.3)   There have been 128 studies that have concluded that once you get C19 you can’t get it again, even the new variants (and about half US citizens have already been infected.) The vax confers no immunity and many vaccinated still die from covid. 4)   Of those in the hospitals with C19, 60% in the US, 80% in the UK, 90% in Israel have already been vaxed.FOR THE FULL NOTES, CLICK HERE: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GYAA5bAEwgl1We6K8A9A7wDBK4ocD_34fXVpMhar5nE/edit?usp=sharingSupport the show

Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket.Eric HofferUrology’s approach to this disease has undergone an embarrassing outing. The specialty traditionally recommends that the surgeon draw blood for prostate-specific antigen (PSA). The urologists also insert their finger into the patient's rectum to feel for prostate lumps.If the blood test is high, or the surgeon feels nodules, they stick a large needle repeatedly through the rectum into the prostate to get tissue samples. If the biopsy shows cancer, urologists recommend perilous surgeries or other alarming therapies. This system has been discredited because it never improved survival rates for early disease.  The cancer is present but inactive in most men over 50. Only about twelve percent of men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lives, and their five-year relative survival rate for this cancer after it is diagnosed (the percent with the disease who are alive compared to matched controls) is 97.8 percent. Ignoring it in the early stages produces the same results as treatment, but without the horrific surgical complications. The commonly performed operation, a radical prostatectomy, causes death in 1/200. Compromised or ruined sexuality and uncontrollable urination requiring diapers are common, often for the rest of a man’s life.Some patients already have metastatic cancer before surgery. In these cases, it kills the patient even though he has suffered through the grisly procedure and recovery. The PSA test is unreliable. It increases with any irritation of the gland due to factors such as infection or even bicycle riding. Antibiotics or anti-inflammatories are the treatments, not surgery. The vast majority of these tumors grow so slowly that death occurs from something else before the disease becomes an issue. PSA is little help to identify aggressive cancers that would be fatal. Here is a little math: The USPSTF (US Preventive Services Task Force) did a large-scale analysis of the research literature. They concluded that for every 1,000 men ages 55 to 69 who had their PSA checked every one to four years for a decade, it would save one man from prostate cancer. The number needed to test is 1000, over 10,000 patient-years, and who knows how many tests, possibly 50,000. Even if you believe these small numbers are meaningful, the cost-benefit ratio is terrible. False-positive PSAs lead to biopsies, which have complications just like the true positives. Men with biopsies that show cancer get surgery or other treatments. The harms resulting from these interventions include erectile dysfunction, urinary incontinence, serious cardiovascular events, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, and occasionally death. Checking PSA in asymptomatic men produces no improvement in survival. The American Veterans Administration “PIVOT” trial compared surgery versus observation for localized prostate cancer over 13 years. There was no statistically or clinically significant difference in either all-cause (absolute survival) or even disease-specific mortality (relative survival). Prostate removal surgery is a net harm.A Scandinavian study looked at 695 men with prostate cancer. They were divided into two groups. One had radical prostatectomy surgery, the other “watchful waiting.” With the surgery, the men were half as likely to die of the cancer (relative death rate). Their overall death rates from all causes (absolute deaths) at five and ten years were identical to those who did notSupport the show

Menopause information is everywhere—some good, some bad, and all of it confusing. Many authorities call this unpleasant syndrome “natural” and recommend ignoring it. But hormones greatly improve women’s health and menopause symptoms. June is 49: She started estradiol, progesterone, and testosterone eight weeks ago: Hey, doing well on my hormones. About two months in now. My energy is up, as is my sex drive and my enjoyment of it. My muscle tone and skin look great, and some old friends I gathered with on the East coast last week accused me of having an aging painting of myself in a closet somewhere. I’m still having hot flashes at night and wonder if I should adjust my estrogen up some? My reply was: Increase your estradiol to two mg each morning. We may decide to increase your progesterone and will check your levels on your next office visit.How the female reproductive system works: Young women start with hundreds of ova or eggs. Each cycle, the uterus is prepared for a potential baby and one ovum is used. As women mature, usually in their mid-40s, the eggs run low and periods become irregular. After the eggs are gone, the cycles stop but some hormone production persists as long as the ovaries are not cut out.This is the “change of life.” Progesterone levels typically fall and estrogen production continues. Some women get depression, anxiety, irritability, and sleep disturbance. Other symptoms include bloating, acne, breast tenderness, and heavy, irregular menstrual periods. At about age 50, women “fall off a hormonal cliff.” As all their hormones decline, full menopause develops. Many are miserable and have intense hot flashes. After a few last irregular periods, they are in complete menopause, defined as a year without a menstrual cycle. Their symptoms are usually more dramatic and unpleasant than men’s at the same age and often more severe than any pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS) they had earlier in their lives.For the first several years, most women need only progesterone. As menstrual periods slow and stop, estrogen and the other hormones should be added. Estradiol has the strongest effect on hot flashes. Testosterone improves strength, alertness, sexuality, and helps with bladder and vaginal symptoms. Since it transforms into estrogen, it protects the heart in both sexes. Patients who want simplicity or are on a tight budget sometimes use it as the sole therapy.Janice, 64, watched her husband die of lung cancer two years ago after a three-year illness and has been “out of gas” ever since. She said she was “done with men,” so she flew to Los Angeles to have her breast implants taken out. Because Janice had fatigue, depression, anxiety, and no interest in sex, I discussed menopause therapy with her. She agreed to try. So I wrote a prescription for estradiol and progesterone and placed a testosterone pellet. Janice called four months later—she had a new boyfriend and felt great. She is returning to have her implants replaced. Hormone supplementation slows and may prevent: ✪ Alzheimer’s disease (AD).✪ Heart disease✪ Fatigue, depression, sleep disturbance, anxiety, and irritability.   ✪ Bone loss, osteoporosis, and increased chance of fractures. ✪ Skin problems including thinning, wrinkling, itching, sagging, easy injury, and loss of elasticity. ✪ Thinning of joint cartilage. Tooth loss and gum disease. ✪ Vaginal area difficulties: dry, thin, and inelastic. ✪ Spontaneous urination during coughing or lifting. ✪ Sexual decline including painful sex. Linda is a 63-year-old registered nurse: Testosterone makes me feel sexy and gives me an overall feeling of well-being. My strength and muscle tone improve, esSupport the show

Estradiol has the most dramatic effects of any hormone. Its benefits include:✪ Helps the heart more than other hormones. ✪ Decreases the risks of cataracts, vaginal atrophy, and macular degeneration of the retina. ✪ Reduces the chances of stroke, diabetes, colon cancer, Alzheimer’s, memory problems, and osteoporosis.  ✪ Cures hot flashes and improves sexuality. From the Los Angeles Times, 1999: I could live without my husband, children, or cats. But I could never live without my beloved estrogen. Who should use estrogen and how much? Menopausal women and sometimes men transitioning to women are prescribed estrogen. Men with prostate cancer are also occasionally treated with it. Women in menopause should start at 1.5 milligrams in the morning, then increase to 2 to 2.5 milligrams. This brings blood levels up to about 70 pg/ml, which protects the heart and other organs. We believe this is safe because young, healthy women have estrogen levels in the hundreds during parts of their cycle. Premarin, the horse estrogen, was the first treatment for menopause. It has many beneficial effects, but it causes a slight increase in blood clotting. This makes it obsolete for long-term use. Estradiol, the primary bio-identical type, is safer. Every study on it—KEEPS, EPAT, WEST, CORA, DANISH, and ELITE (those academics love acronyms)—found no increase in blood clotting. Although the estradiol transdermal patch may provide the best relief of hot flashes and does not cause blood clots, it does not protect against heart disease. In contrast, both types of oral estrogen protect the heart. This was proven in many studies, including the CORA, ELITE, WEST, and DANISH. Since many medical authorities think that oral estradiol and oral Premarin are the same thing with the same risks, they often recommend using the patch if there are concerns about blood clotting. Doctors should instead prescribe brand name, generic, or compounded oral estradiol. These are safe and protect against heart disease and stroke. Doctors are usually hesitant to prescribe oral estrogens for sick patients or those with heart risk factors such as smoking, obesity, or a family history. They use the patch for them if they recommend hormones at all. However, as I describe in the Be Careful Whom You Trust chapter, these are precisely the patients who need cardiac protection the most. In nearly every situation, their risk to reward ratio favors the oral type. We should accept the minor hazard of blood clotting to protect their hearts. Dr. Rouzier describes these issues in a well-referenced article.Surgeons and anesthesiologists have many responsibilities, and they rarely read the confusing estrogen studies closely. Since blood clots after surgery are such a hazard, most of them tell their patients to stop all replacement before surgery. Some gynecologists are adamant about this. Estradiol is available as generic, compounded, or patented varieties. Hormone doctors mostly recommend a compounding pharmacy's product because generics are less predictable and the patent type is too expensive if not paid for by insurance. Brand names from foreign sources made by major manufacturers are often affordable and of excellent quality. Estradiol patches such as Vivelle Dot (twice a week) or Climara (once a week) may relieve menopause symptoms better than the oral forms. The higher dose of .1 mg a day works best. To help the transdermal patch stick, patients scrub the area with alcohol before they apply it. The device sometimes causes skin irritatSupport the show

The human growth hormone (HGH) story is a variation of the others. The punch line is that if it was economical and unrestricted, it might be the most valuable hormone of all. It is likely the safest.Steven is a gay 72-year-old cosmetic surgeon who practices in West Los Angeles. He hangs out with a string of young, good-looking partners. Steven used testosterone, DHEA, and vitamin D for six months and improved. But he was still sore and fatigued, so he started HGH. After five weeks he said: My sex, energy, and sleep are off the charts. I can work out again without getting sore. And I just got back from a boot camp!Growth hormone was used to treat a growth hormone deficient boy in the late 1950s. It made him taller, so the idea caught on. A commercial product derived from human pituitary glands became available in the late 1970s, and by 1985, 27,000 children had been treated worldwide. When a few people who received HGH were found to be infected with fatal Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease (CJD), the use of pituitary-derived HGH was halted.In 1985, Genentech developed an FDA-approved “recombinant” bio-identical HGH. It has never caused CJD. Since then, the industry has introduced thirteen other nearly identical products. Their prices are all exorbitant. In 1990, Daniel Rudman published a six-month study of 21 older men taking HGH (NEJM). Compared to controls, they had an 8.8 percent increase in lean body mass and a 14.4 percent decrease in fat. This was an “anabolic” effect—a proven reversal, in a short time, of the usual aging trend toward muscle loss and fat gain.This trial was a benchmark that spawned other research. Soon, evidence developed that the medication increased bone density, strengthened immunity, decreased cardiac risk factors, improved cardiac function, decreased cholesterol, improved mental functioning, and improved quality of life. See Appendix C for references about how growth hormone prevents Alzheimer’s disease and improves cognitive function. HGH has also been used successfully to treat burns, heart failure, Crohn’s disease, obesity, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, ulcerative colitis, and other conditions. Hormone physicians say these findings support using growth hormone to combat aging and improve vitality. And since most adults over 60 have about the same HGH production as people with damaged pituitary glands, they believe prescribing it is reasonable.Unfortunately, the FDA did not agree. Human growth hormone received approved for AIDS wasting, but strangely, it is off label for most other adult applications including all the above. A 2005 JAMA commentary declared that off-label human growth hormone prescribing was illegal. And a 2019 Drug Enforcement Administration monograph claimed “anti-aging” use was illicit. The FDA tries to dictate medical practice, which is not their job. Every physician knows that prescribing conventions allow them to treat conditions with any approved medication if they document the reason. Estimates of the total drugs used off-label range up to half of all prescriptions written. We have substantial evidence that HGH improves health, and prescribing it for aging is legitimate.Athletes have employed growth hormone for forty years. Although it is not a controlled substance like testosterone, HGH has bSupport the show

Which replacements do men and women sense the most? Many women feel distinct improvements when they use thyroid, estrogen, testosterone, or progesterone. Some have dramatic responses to vitamin D. For men, testosterone is the most noticeable and some feel better with HGH. A few older men improve when they only take DHEA.See Appendix A and B for dosing and blood testing information about each hormone. Sally’s story: I started menopausal symptoms at 29. I was not a healthy individual. It took coming to you, and you asked how I felt. You actually let me adjust the dosage and fine-tune myself, and now I feel attractive and I’m sleeping again. It’s just a better overall quality of life that I didn’t have for eleven years. I would go to doctors and they would say my hormones were in the normal range, but I didn’t feel good… They didn’t give me enough… I felt amazing within two to four weeks after I started…Another story.MELATONIN is a harmless but potent antioxidant or clean-up hormone with many benefits. It is taken at bedtime and improves sleep. It also helps mood, migraines, energy, and the immune system. Dentists say that patients taking melatonin have improved gum and mouth health. It has favorable effects on both breast and prostate cancer. Some use it to reset the sleep-wake cycle. When travelers enter a new time zone, they take up to 100 mg on the first night. Melatonin has also been used to help addicts stop Valium and related sedatives. And it decreases nighttime urination for men with large prostates.An anecdote: Those taking melatonin may see their grey or white hair gradually change back to the original color. As this happens, they get dark roots and white tips, which is the reverse of what happens to dyed hair as it grows out. This may mean their health is getting better. The best melatonin preparations last six hours or longer. Compounders make these slow-release products as prescriptions. These are also available over-the-counter for purchase at either Nutrascriptives.com or LifeExtension.com. The melatonin capsules made by compounders are 1, 2, 3, and 5 milligrams and higher. Women start at 1 mg and men at 3 mg. Dosage is increased until good sleep or side effects occur. For men, the average dose needed is 9 to 30 mg and for women, 1 to 30 mg. Up to 100 mg every night is safe and some people need that much.The only problems with melatonin are sleepiness and vivid dreams. Since it is taken at bedtime, most people do not mind these, although a few become agitated and cannot tolerate it. Several weeks may go by before the full response occurs. Some people must take melatonin several hours before going to bed because it has a slow onset for them. These effects are individual.I wanted to have dark hair, but melatonin gave me restless sleep. So I am still using dye.VITAMIN D (D3) is a steroid hormone, just like estrogen or testosterone. True vitamins cannot be made by the body, but this is produced in the skin during sun exposure. Those with a deficiency who take it often get an energy boost and have less joint pain. Susan is 63 years old and has a vitamin D level of only 11 ng/ml. She is black, vegan, has high blood pressure, and gets little sun exposure. She wears sunscreen every day and takes Norvasc, a high blood pressure medicine. These all make D deficiency more likely. Susan would probably feel more energetic if she took supplements and had higher levels. A 2015 DanSupport the show

Lance Armstrong beat the French at their national sports: drugging, lying, and cycling.* US federal prosecutors tried to fine him $100 million. Their goal was to boost their careers by destroying people, and a superstar turned villain was a perfect candidate. They spent tens of millions of taxpayer dollars and settled for $5 million—an abject loss. Whatever you think of Armstrong, the French, prosecutors, or athletic doping, the following is clear. Over the past four decades, sports became drenched in drugs. They are integral; they are not going away, and they enhance performance. If you do not believe this, particularly if you think Armstrong is a cheater, spend 20 minutes watching mainstream strength sports such as CrossFit championships. These performers parrot Lance: “We never tested positive.” Yet the press labels Armstrong “disgraced.” They never acknowledge their hypocrisy: nearly everyone in America—including them—takes powerful prescription drugs every single day. *Give thought to what we do here in the US before being too critical of the French.My mission is to improve health and longevity for people who have declining hormone levels. I recommend higher doses than most physicians, but I am not knowledgeable about sports use. If I openly advocated it, my peers would cast me out as a renegade. An athlete’s aim is to maximize performance. If you decide to supplement, begin by learning the basic information here. Then get coaching, take responsibility for your actions, and become an expert. You may be taking health risks, although the concerns are exaggerated. As you explore what works and what is safe, be cautious and skeptical. Big Pharma, the journals, the medical mainstream, the supplement makers, and the bodybuilding industry all have conflicts of interest—they are selling something. Most have little concern about damaging you while they get rich. I would caution you, in particular, to avoid believing random articles from internet searches. Most are written by corporate sources. And most doctors who prescribe hormones have a lot of the story wrong as well. Remember that half of the standard medical practice is questionable, and the medical journals are unreliable (see my other book and The Journals’ Sins are the Editor’s Sins chapter here). Rick Collins (cgmbesq.com), an attorney who defends athletes, wrote to me about bodybuilding sources:[They] (including the magazines) have been historically far, FAR closer to the truth than mainstream physicians on issues of nutrition, exercise, and ergogenic drugs. Bodybuilders saw the value of fat in the diet when doctors were still advising patients to eat “low fat” diets–poisoning them with sugar and excessive carbs. Bodybuilders knew the importance of resistance training for decades while clueless doctors were advocating that all you need is aerobic exercise. Bodybuilders knew steroids build muscle when medical orthodoxy insisted that steroids didn’t work—and rigged studies to “prove” it. Bodybuilders knew the risks of testosterone and HGH were wildly exaggerated and distorted decades ago–while doctors STILL have no clue. Of course, the downfall of bodybuilders is the mindset of excess–“more is better.” There must be limits on the doses, but they are unclear. Testosterone produces acne, hair growth or loss, sterility, and testicular atrophy (small balls). Women may get deeper voices and enlarged clitorises. The FDA says that testosterone increases heart disease, but the studies purporting to show this are wrong. If you use estrogen and have a uterus, you must use progesterone or risk a higher chance of uterine cancer. High doses of vitamin D3 and thyroid can cause toxicity. Testosterone relatives, such as methylated or alkylated anabolic steroids, can Support the show

Men need testosterone. The benefits are enormous and the risks almost nonexistent. To learn how the bad press was contrived, read the Killing Testosterone With Fake News chapter later. Steven is an 82-year-old retired CEO of a major media company: I had lost all strength, and I was sitting in a wheelchair in a Palm Springs nursing home. The staff had to lift me in and out of bed. I was inches from being snuffed out. Then my doctor started coming in every week and giving me testosterone shots. In six weeks, I stood up and walked out of there, back into my life. (Note: this can also work for women.)Men’s symptoms: Starting around thirty years old, testosterone blood levels fall about a percent a year. Muscular strength, sexuality, and energy levels slowly decrease. Recovery from exercise gets slower, and some men notice reduced intellectual capabilities. Bone density falls, but fractures are less common in men than women since men start higher. Atrial fibrillation and stroke are more common with low testosterone levels. Skin problems, heart disease, hot flashes, dental issues, and irritability increase as testosterone declines. Some of these disorders must be treated early or they are irreversible. Sam is a beloved 83-year-old physician: I was about to give up. I just had a knee replacement, and I have osteoporosis. The author sent me some cream testosterone as a gift, and now I think I'm going to live fifteen more years! I can't thank him enough, and I'm indebted to him forever for his kindness. I’m doing well, much better than I ever expected.Testosterone has many benefits. Using it gradually improves health over at least a decade. Testosterone supplementation has the following effects:✪ Strength increases, cholesterol falls, and weight loss is progressive. ✪ Sexuality improves—morning erections return, for example. ✪ Heart disease risks decline. ✪ Diabetes and migraine headaches get better and are sometimes cured. ✪ Testosterone supplementation decreases anxiety and improves mood.Testosterone levels also relate to health:✪ Older men with higher testosterone levels had better results on intellectual testing.✪ Lower levels were associated with earlier death in men. They correlated also with coronary disease.Testosterone transforms into estrogen in both men and women. This “female” hormone helps sexuality in either sex and protects the heart better than any other hormone. Sometimes estrogen blood levels do not rise to those of younger men even with aggressive testosterone supplementation. So a few physicians are starting to prescribe estradiol for men. This will vastly improve cholesterol numbers.Testosterone has a few side effects. Hair loss and hair growth can happen but are of no consequence compared to the benefits. Acne is rarely a significant Support the show

Cui Bono, the Latin phrase meaning “who benefits,” says the motive for an act or crime lies with the person who has something to gain.Only twenty percent of our senior women and even fewer men take hormones. Outside Europe and the US, usage is rare. How is this possible? The “bio-identical” or “human” forms of these drugs are not promoted because they can rarely be patented to make the big money. But they work better and are safer than other medications such as statins, antidepressants, many cancer treatments, and the proprietary imitation hormones made by big Pharma. These industry cash cows are supported and protected, while in contrast, natural hormones are defamed and restricted. Chasing profits has ruined science. To explain, here is how the Women's Health Initiative study (WHI) was hijacked by its own authors and sabotaged patient care. This huge National Institutes of Health trial (published in 2002) examined 160,000 women aged 59 to 79. It found an increase in breast cancer for patients taking both Premarin, the horse urine estrogen, and Provera, the patented synthetic progesterone. But those who took only Premarin had a decrease in breast cancer. This proved Provera was responsible, and other trials confirmed it. The WHI should have ended this medication’s use for long-term applications, but it did not.The WHI took 11 years, and by that time it was complete, the two drugs it examined were obsolete. But the study statisticians claimed they uncovered critical dangers, and the authors sensationalized and embellished their threadbare findings. Medical academics buffed their reputations by declaring that they, too, could see the emperor’s clothes. The media joined the parade—baloney sells advertising—and the public soon believed that all female hormones were killers. This “man bites dog” story still terrifies everyone. Once a bell is rung, it cannot be unrung. In the public and medical eye, hormones were branded with cancer, dementia, and other problems. One reviewer wrote that the study authors were “overselling hysteria.” John Goldman, MD, wrote in Medscape, “[The study] has undermined the credibility of the research and the medical community as a whole.” Abraham Morgentaler, MD, and others (Harvard) explained how the panic was generated:The (WHI)… reported increased risk of adverse events of only 19 events per 10,000 person-years of exposure for the estrogen–progesterone arm [Premarin-Provera] compared with placebo. This means that if one woman in every generation of a family used estrogen–progesterone for 10 years, it would take 50 generations, or about 1,000 years, to see one extra adverse event in that family. The result may have been statistically significant, but they were clinically meaningless.Avrum Bluming and Carol Tavris described the study’s statistical trickery and atrocious sensationalism in Estrogen Matters (2018), a superb book about the science and politics. One of the WHI’s principal investigators, Rossouw, had an agenda to “change the thinking about hormones.” Six years before the WHI was published, he wrote it was time to put “the brakes on that bandwagon,” referring to the growing support for estrogen replacement. And so the WHI authors ignored their colleagues’ advice and rushed to publication before completing the study. This spawned thousands of meritless lawsuits. Bluming and Tavris cited follow-up trials showing that estrogen decreases the chance of breast cancer, heart disease, colon Support the show