Front-page scare story in today's NY Times

looks like big censored is running scared

 

I am now being very vague as I have had posts disappear with no explanation although very innocuous!

Hi Aristotle, I've been hanging out on another site with an osteoporosis forum but am growing disenchanted with it. One of its "advisors" is a professional bone-density technician who lets people know how stupid he thinks they are for declining to take osteo drugs.

There are now nearly 600 comments to the NY Times article on the newspaper's website. I'm surprised that Gina Kolata, the veteran reporter who penned the article, would have stooped to writing to such a puff piece for the pharmaceutical companies. Disappointed in the NY Times as well. A front-page piece no less.

Not that it excuses it, but may be an indication of struggles print media are having.  The word that was captured in my post (identical to the one which got through) was a common but slightly disrespectful word used to describe the commercial drug industry.  I agree, however, that the reporter could have balanced the item a bit better.  Interesting that it ends with comments from a doctor who obviously has serious misgivings but still feels bound by "the science".

Hi Allison,

I suspect that the newpaper reporter knew what would happen and was playing devil's advocate. He may have bitten off more than he could chew but reporters like that sort of theing.

I've been hanging out on the stron bones suport group and have taken quite an active although very chatty part in proceedings. I'm still following the 'natural'w way and have just reached the Acid / Alkaline daily check stage which is looking good.

I'll continue to follow this thread since it's both interesting and quite informative.

Hi Kathleen, glad you're finding the comments informative. I'm finding them overwhelmingly affirming of my decision not to take osteo drugs, as HUNDREDS describe either the "extremely rare" side-effects or other debilitating effects. There are now nearly 600 comments! I wouldn't be surprised if they reach 1000 by tomorrow.

Maybe that was the journalist's intention to provoke a landslide of comments that showed people can think for themselves and even offer alternative courses of action. 

I read there are new drugs coming and one present drug is okay but only prescribed to people who have already had fractures and only for a limited time then needs other drugs to follow.

There are not many comments supporting the mass prescribing of drugs.

 

The drug you mention that's given to those who have already had a fracture is Forteo, which was shown to cause bone cancer in lab rats ... though, worrisome as that sounds, Forteo's side-effect profile is actually better than that of the other osteo drugs. But as you say, other drugs will then be needed to maintain Forteo's gains ... and those other drugs are -- guess which? -- a bisphosphonate or Prolia. So Forteo becomes merely a delaying measure for the drugs one may wish to avoid in the first place.

Exactly! So we are back to square one.

I am a bit wary of posting names as have had some posts removed for less.

It must depend on who the moderator of the day is as I was surprised your website got through as I did not even do something similar and was removed.

But I am glad you did because it is invaluable.

One could examine those responses and actually construct a study limited though because only based on published comments and not multiple checks and balances.

I would probably print them out to examine properly but I am tempted.

I've actually copied all of the nearly 600 comments into a Word document so that I can read them at leisure, save, and refer to them.

My website link was checked by a mod before it was displayed. I guess that is the protocol.

Great idea! That way you will have it.

My post was innocuous as far as I could see, no names were mentioned, just two very gentle exercises explained.

It seems to be perfectly okay to post the patented names of medications.

I described two gentle exercises, no names! As it was a new post I only had two responses then it all disappeared.

Apparently even strange little configurations of the text can make the filter bot think there's a link or something - that's why a human moderator checks things.