They say that common etiquette means not talking about sex, religion or politics.
Hmmm…I’ve already talked about sex drive, if sperm is gluten free, and gluten-free sex for only $27.
I’ve also discussed if you can pray your celiac away and if a church has the right to ban gluten-free hosts.
Since we’ve already pretty much thrown etiquette out the window, it’s time to jump into politics. But this is for a good cause…our health (and our sanity.)
So I’ve been on a specific medication for about 9 years now. It renews every month and every month it’s the same pill. Until yesterday when Mrs. Dude picked up my meds. I opened the bottle and WHAT THE HELL?? They looked totally different. Checked the label…it was the right medication. Checked the manufacturer (since it’s a generic) and CRAP…a new manufacturer. Is it gluten-free??
I looked online. Nothing.
I called the pharmacy. Did not know.
They called the manufacturer. I waited.
They called me back. They said it’s safe.
Definitely a relief, but wouldn’t it be nice (and a heck of a lot easier) if all medications had to be labeled whether they contained gluten? I mean, how cool would that be?
Well…your dream could become a reality. But we need your help.
Representative Tim Ryan (Ohio) has once again introduced the Gluten in Medication Disclosure Act. Official title: H.R.2074 – Gluten in Medicine Disclosure Act of 2019. Why is he trying again? I’ll let him explain:
From Tim Ryan:
That’s the good news. The bad news is that the bill was introduced in both 2013 and 2015 and did not get enacted. So he’s giving it another shot (god bless him).
Want more bad news? After 3 weeks, there are only 4 co-sponsors so far so passing it ain’t gonna be easy again.
Passing a bill is a five-step process. It gets introduced (“Hello Bill…nice to meet you.”), gets reported by the Congressional Committee, passes House, passes Senate, passes gas (just kidding) and finally gets signed by the President.
Why does the bill once again have such a slim chance of being passed? Because politicians are like most people; if it doesn’t affect them, they don’t care. And lord knows how many of them are in the pockets of the large pharmaceutical companies. A fellow celiac emailed his local congressman (Congressman Rohrabacher) about supporting the act and what did he get in response? A canned letter bashing The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). Unreal. This is why congress has a 9% favorability rating, falling below traffic jams and cockroaches.
(Dude note: Say what you will about the ACA, but as a person with a history of bladder cancer, skin cancer, celiac disease and blood clots, I would be considered uninsurable. Not anymore.)
So if it has such a slim chance of getting passed, do we throw in the towel? Let me ask you. Did Bluto throw in the towel?
This may be our last shot folks. If we go down, let’s go down swinging.
Please contact your local representative and ask/beg them to support the Gluten in Medication Identification Act.
[button color=”orange2″ link=”http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/” size=”big” target=”_blank”]FIND YOUR LOCAL REPRESENTATIVE HERE[/button]
Thank you.
P.S. Someone asked if I could supply a sample letter so you could copy and paste and make it easier. If you’re stuck, try something like this:
Millions of your fellow Americans have a medical necessity to be 100% gluten-free. It’s not a fad and it’s not a joke. There are currently no labeling laws in place to determine whether medications are gluten-free or not, putting people at serious risk. The pharmacies usually do not know, and even a call to the manufacturer may not get the right answer. I am asking you to please support the H.R.2074 – Gluten in Medicine Disclosure Act of 2019 introduced by Representative Tim Ryan. Thank you in advance for your consideration.
Done! Thanks for bringing it to our attention!
I cannot believe that this doesn’t already exist. Pathetic really! I’m Canadian but i’ll spread the word for you. I apologize to all you Americans who live under archaic labelling laws.
The biggest question in my own mind is why the big gluten-free hard-hitters have not gone to bat over this if its failed twice before. They pushed for food labeling laws, but not for meds? Doesn’t make sense to me. Those of us on meds really, really need this, especially since insurance companies don’t want to pay for name-brand products any more – even if the doc prescribes them.
Thanks Gluten Dude! That is really helpful. I’ve often wondered about the reason why health is not such an easy sell in politics. It’s hard to sell a politician who’s looking for a majority approach to getting votes, on a population of people that’s assumed to be only 1%. But that rises to 40% when you include all the reasons why someone would be gluten sensitive. All the other diseases that require it, plus NCGS (Non Celiac Gluten Sensitivity). I think they’re still trying to prove that NCGS is only about FODMAPS but I doubt if they’ll succeed because a lot of rare and hard to diagnose issues also cause gluten sensitivity. I think if we had a do-over button in history, we wouldn’t choose wheat as a staple grain. We’d probably choose sorghum ( a type of millet that has better bread making qualities). However it’s too late now, so all we can do is help people to avoid it if they need to.
Kudos to Tim Ryan for spearheading this. Even if it loses, he’s doing the right thing.
My pharmacy is now refusing to do what yours just did, that is, even to contact manufacturers and ask.
I’ve sent in my letter. Hopefully, I won’t receive a canned response! Thank you for bringing this to our attention.