The BBC's Newsnight programme has raised the issue of the safety of 'Puberty Blocking Drugs', and an article (22nd July 2019) on the BBC's website, has outlined and discussed the issue. The BBC are to be congratulated! They do not usually criticise the conventional medical establishment, or even raise any of the delicate issues that are being debated within the NHS. But on this occasions it has done so.
Yet unfortunately the BBC's coverage raises as many questions as it resolves, indeed many more important questions could and should have been raised. So here is an outline of the situation they describe, interspersed by some of the additional questions that were not asked.
The clinics response was that the data was from a "small sample" and so no "meaningful conclusion" could be drawn from it. The study has been criticised by 'experts' on clinical trials, saying that it is hard to tell if the reported effects were due to the puberty blockers or something else.
Following the BBC programme the Health Research Authority, the body tasked to ensure medical studies are ethical and transparent, has said it will now investigate the claims contained within the programme.
One treatment on offer to children with gender dysphoria are puberty blocking drugs. They work on the brain to block the release of oestrogen, in girls, and testosterone, in boys, the sex hormones that increase during puberty. They suppress the development of sex characteristics such as periods, breasts and voice-breaking.
Before 2011, puberty blocking drugs would only be given to children aged 16 plus. But with the increase of gender clinics around the world the drugs were being bought for UK children going overseas. So the age was reduced, and a medical study was approved through which younger children could be given to access these drugs.
The BBC went on to confirm this when it said that "in acknowledging the weak evidence for the drugs, the research team, made up of GIDS's and University College Hospitals staff, set out to 'evaluate the psychological, social and physical effects' of the blockers on a carefully selected group of young people." So what are these risks? The articles mention the 'patient information sheet' which mentioned potential adverse effects on bone strength, the development of sexual organs, body shape or final adult height.
But then Newsnight found that certain information about the adverse reactions to these puberty blocking drugs had not been included. It said that previous research had suggested all young people who took the blockers went on to take cross-sex hormones, the next stage towards fully transitioning to the opposite gender. "But patients and parents were not told this in the information sheet."
"I don't see that the parents and their children could really have given informed consent given the lack of information that was provided," Michael Biggs, associate professor of sociology at Oxford University, was quoted as saying. "They were not given the information they needed in order to take this momentous life-changing step."
Professor Biggs gave Newsnight a series of documents relating to the research study he had obtained via freedom of information requests, which were independently looked at.
"Preliminary data for 30 of the 44 young people on the study was made available to the Tavistock's board in 2015. It showed that after a year on puberty blockers, there was a significant increase found in those answering the statement 'I deliberately try to hurt or kill myself'."
Interesting stuff, perhaps, but he did not need to go to all that trouble! Puberty blocking drugs are not new. They were once known as 'gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists'. Like all dangerous and harmful pharmaceutical drugs their purpose is to suppress, to inhibit, to block something that is happening naturally within the body.
Less Common
Fast or irregular heartbeat
Rare
Bone, muscle, or joint pain
fainting
fast or irregular breathing
numbness or tingling of the hands or feet
puffiness or swelling of the eyelids or around the eyes
skin rash, hives, or itching
sudden, severe decrease in blood pressure and collapse
tightness in the chest
troubled breathing
For males only (adults)
More Common
Arm, back, or jaw pain
bloody or cloudy urine
blurred vision
chest pain or discomfort
difficult, burning, or painful urination
difficulty with moving
dizziness
frequent urge to urinate
headache
increased urge to urinate during the night
muscle pain or stiffness
nausea
nervousness
pain in the joints
pale skin
pounding in the ears
slow or fast heartbeat
sweating
troubled breathing with exertion
unusual bleeding or bruising
unusual tiredness or weakness
waking to urinate at night
Rare
Pain in the groin or legs (especially in the calves)
Incidence Not Known
Altered mental status
cardiovascular collapse
double vision
visual changes
vomiting
For females only (adults)
Rare
Anxiety
deepening of voice
increased hair growth
mental depression
mood changes
For children
Rare
Body pain
burning, itching, redness, or swelling at the injection site
For females only (children)—expected in first few weeks
Rare
Vaginal bleeding (continuing)
white vaginal discharge (continuing)
Drugs.com then outlines some more side that, they say, require medical attention from a health care professional, that is, they are serious and have to be treated by a doctor.
For adults
More Common
Sudden sweating and feelings of warmth (hot flashes)
Less Common
Bleeding, bruising, burning, itching, pain, redness, or swelling at the injection site
decreased interest in sexual intercourse
swelling of the feet or lower legs
swelling or increased tenderness of the breasts
trouble sleeping
weight gain
For females only (adults)
More Common
Light, irregular vaginal bleeding
stopping of menstrual periods
Less Common
Burning, dryness, or itching of the vagina
pelvic pain
For males only (adults)
More Common
Back pain
chills
constipation
cough
diarrhea
fever
general feeling of discomfort or illness
loss of appetite
pain or discomfort at the injection site
redness of the face, neck, arms, and occasionally, upper chest
runny nose
shivering
sore throat
unusual drowsiness, dullness, tiredness, weakness, or feeling of sluggishness
Less Common
Decreased size of the testicles
inability to have or keep an erection
Returning to the BBC's revelation, Professor Susan Bewley, who chairs Healthwatch, a charity for science and integrity in healthcare, was said to be "one of a number of doctors raising concerns about the lack of evidence in this area of medicine", and is reported as saying that seeing any change around suicidal thoughts "is very worrying".
The rest of the BBC article is made up of conventional health experts discounting these concerns, and presumably explaining why nothing whatsoever will be done. Indeed, in response to Newsnight sharing this evidence, Teresa Allen, chief executive of the HRA, said: "The information that Newsnight has brought to our attention has not been raised with us before. We will therefore investigate further, which may include a review of the original ethics opinion."
The Newsnight's investigation said that there were growing concern over the way GIDS's is operating. For example an open letter from former GID's clinician, Dr Kirsty Entwistle, raised concerns over the way puberty blockers side effects were being presented to children as "fully reversible", when their long-term impact was unknown. She also said staff were unable to raise concerns without risking being branded as "transphobic".
Dr Entwistle went on to say that she, and countless colleagues, had tried to raise these concerns in all the forums available to use.
It is certainly a pity that the BBC does not undertake more investigations into the policies and practices of the conventional medical establishment, which dominates our NHS. If it was prepared to do so they would no doubt find many similar situations, and perhaps learn to ask more searching questions of a medical system that is doing so much harm to national health.
Perhaps the most crucial of all these questions was never asked. Why has the problem of Gender Dysphoria and Transgender been increasing so rapidly over recent years? My suggestion would be that this is another problem that is being generated by some of the pharmaceutical drugs and vaccines we have seen fit to feed to our children during the last 70 years?
Yet unfortunately the BBC's coverage raises as many questions as it resolves, indeed many more important questions could and should have been raised. So here is an outline of the situation they describe, interspersed by some of the additional questions that were not asked.
The NHS has two youth gender clinics in England, in London and Leeds, both run by the Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust. They have recently lowered the age that puberty blocking drugs can be offered to children, from aged 16 to 11. A study, not yet published, has apparently shown that some children who have taken the drugs "reported an increase in thoughts of suicide and self-harm".
The clinics response was that the data was from a "small sample" and so no "meaningful conclusion" could be drawn from it. The study has been criticised by 'experts' on clinical trials, saying that it is hard to tell if the reported effects were due to the puberty blockers or something else.
- So there is evidence of harm - but that evidence is discounted. As I have said, many times on this blog, and elsewhere, conventional medicine is the only industry that is allowed to market a product, and ignore the safety implications. The 'precautionary principle' does not apply to matters of health. And doctors are routinely allowed to to break their own Hippocratic oath - "First, do no harm".
Following the BBC programme the Health Research Authority, the body tasked to ensure medical studies are ethical and transparent, has said it will now investigate the claims contained within the programme.
- The question that could have been asked, but wasn't, it why it was necessary for a BBC programme to initiate such an investigation?
One treatment on offer to children with gender dysphoria are puberty blocking drugs. They work on the brain to block the release of oestrogen, in girls, and testosterone, in boys, the sex hormones that increase during puberty. They suppress the development of sex characteristics such as periods, breasts and voice-breaking.
Before 2011, puberty blocking drugs would only be given to children aged 16 plus. But with the increase of gender clinics around the world the drugs were being bought for UK children going overseas. So the age was reduced, and a medical study was approved through which younger children could be given to access these drugs.
- What this clearly indicates is that the prescription of the drugs came first, and medical safety testing comes later. Why? Again, I emphasise that no car, no washing machine, no other product that might cause harm to users, would be allowed to get away with this. The most notable feature about conventional medicine's safety environment is its almost complete absence!
The BBC went on to confirm this when it said that "in acknowledging the weak evidence for the drugs, the research team, made up of GIDS's and University College Hospitals staff, set out to 'evaluate the psychological, social and physical effects' of the blockers on a carefully selected group of young people." So what are these risks? The articles mention the 'patient information sheet' which mentioned potential adverse effects on bone strength, the development of sexual organs, body shape or final adult height.
But then Newsnight found that certain information about the adverse reactions to these puberty blocking drugs had not been included. It said that previous research had suggested all young people who took the blockers went on to take cross-sex hormones, the next stage towards fully transitioning to the opposite gender. "But patients and parents were not told this in the information sheet."
"I don't see that the parents and their children could really have given informed consent given the lack of information that was provided," Michael Biggs, associate professor of sociology at Oxford University, was quoted as saying. "They were not given the information they needed in order to take this momentous life-changing step."
- But this is not just a matter of informed consent, it is also a matter of a drug company breaking the law. Drug companies are under a legal duty to disclose all the known side effects of their drugs and vaccines; but clearly they do not do so, and they are not questioned about why they have failed to do so.
Professor Biggs gave Newsnight a series of documents relating to the research study he had obtained via freedom of information requests, which were independently looked at.
"Preliminary data for 30 of the 44 young people on the study was made available to the Tavistock's board in 2015. It showed that after a year on puberty blockers, there was a significant increase found in those answering the statement 'I deliberately try to hurt or kill myself'."
Interesting stuff, perhaps, but he did not need to go to all that trouble! Puberty blocking drugs are not new. They were once known as 'gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists'. Like all dangerous and harmful pharmaceutical drugs their purpose is to suppress, to inhibit, to block something that is happening naturally within the body.
- And so these drugs are already known to cause horrible adverse reactions, or side effects - and this has been known for many years. The Drugs.com website has outlined these side effects on one of these drugs, Lupron. I reproduce them below, but remember (i) most of them relate to adults, and children are more susceptible to side effects than adults: and (ii) side effects that are described as "Less Common" or "Rare" are more a reflection on the fact that only between 1% and 10% of side effects are ever reported to drug regulatory authorities by doctors.
Less Common
Fast or irregular heartbeat
Rare
Bone, muscle, or joint pain
fainting
fast or irregular breathing
numbness or tingling of the hands or feet
puffiness or swelling of the eyelids or around the eyes
skin rash, hives, or itching
sudden, severe decrease in blood pressure and collapse
tightness in the chest
troubled breathing
For males only (adults)
More Common
Arm, back, or jaw pain
bloody or cloudy urine
blurred vision
chest pain or discomfort
difficult, burning, or painful urination
difficulty with moving
dizziness
frequent urge to urinate
headache
increased urge to urinate during the night
muscle pain or stiffness
nausea
nervousness
pain in the joints
pale skin
pounding in the ears
slow or fast heartbeat
sweating
troubled breathing with exertion
unusual bleeding or bruising
unusual tiredness or weakness
waking to urinate at night
Rare
Pain in the groin or legs (especially in the calves)
Incidence Not Known
Altered mental status
cardiovascular collapse
double vision
visual changes
vomiting
For females only (adults)
Rare
Anxiety
deepening of voice
increased hair growth
mental depression
mood changes
For children
Rare
Body pain
burning, itching, redness, or swelling at the injection site
For females only (children)—expected in first few weeks
Rare
Vaginal bleeding (continuing)
white vaginal discharge (continuing)
Drugs.com then outlines some more side that, they say, require medical attention from a health care professional, that is, they are serious and have to be treated by a doctor.
For adults
More Common
Sudden sweating and feelings of warmth (hot flashes)
Less Common
Bleeding, bruising, burning, itching, pain, redness, or swelling at the injection site
decreased interest in sexual intercourse
swelling of the feet or lower legs
swelling or increased tenderness of the breasts
trouble sleeping
weight gain
For females only (adults)
More Common
Light, irregular vaginal bleeding
stopping of menstrual periods
Less Common
Burning, dryness, or itching of the vagina
pelvic pain
For males only (adults)
More Common
Back pain
chills
constipation
cough
diarrhea
fever
general feeling of discomfort or illness
loss of appetite
pain or discomfort at the injection site
redness of the face, neck, arms, and occasionally, upper chest
runny nose
shivering
sore throat
unusual drowsiness, dullness, tiredness, weakness, or feeling of sluggishness
Less Common
Decreased size of the testicles
inability to have or keep an erection
- Worrying, but apparently not sufficiently worrying for conventional medicine to stop prescribing these dangerous drugs until this 'lack of evidence' is corrected!
The rest of the BBC article is made up of conventional health experts discounting these concerns, and presumably explaining why nothing whatsoever will be done. Indeed, in response to Newsnight sharing this evidence, Teresa Allen, chief executive of the HRA, said: "The information that Newsnight has brought to our attention has not been raised with us before. We will therefore investigate further, which may include a review of the original ethics opinion."
- No reason was given for the HRA not knowing about this before, no reason given for the HRA's belated need to initiate another investigation, no reason given for not suspending the prescription of the drug whilst the investigation was in progress.
The Newsnight's investigation said that there were growing concern over the way GIDS's is operating. For example an open letter from former GID's clinician, Dr Kirsty Entwistle, raised concerns over the way puberty blockers side effects were being presented to children as "fully reversible", when their long-term impact was unknown. She also said staff were unable to raise concerns without risking being branded as "transphobic".
- So the response of the medical establishment has been to accuse the critics of these drugs as being 'transphobic'. The problem does not concern the safety of pharmaceutical drugs. It is about the moral and ethical stance of doctors on the transgender issues.
Dr Entwistle went on to say that she, and countless colleagues, had tried to raise these concerns in all the forums available to use.
- Apparently no-one was interested, or presumably concerned - until the transmission of the BBC's Newsnight programme.
It is certainly a pity that the BBC does not undertake more investigations into the policies and practices of the conventional medical establishment, which dominates our NHS. If it was prepared to do so they would no doubt find many similar situations, and perhaps learn to ask more searching questions of a medical system that is doing so much harm to national health.
Perhaps the most crucial of all these questions was never asked. Why has the problem of Gender Dysphoria and Transgender been increasing so rapidly over recent years? My suggestion would be that this is another problem that is being generated by some of the pharmaceutical drugs and vaccines we have seen fit to feed to our children during the last 70 years?
