T.S. Wiley Responds
What follows are T.S. Wiley's response to the Letter to Senator Smith and my response to T.S. Wiley.
Wiley's e-mail was sent last night to the letter's author and me, and CC'd to Julie Taguchi MD, Merrily Mount MD, and Brandi Kupchella at the United States Senate Special Committee on Aging.
T.S. Wiley:
Senator Smith's office did their homework admirably. They knew all about you and Wiley Watch before they invited me. And they have been made aware that you won't provide Dr. Taguchi with any evidence of harm or allow any examination of your allegedly harmed members by valid physicians. We also discussed Bent's "illness" and inability to speak English, making your quotes from him unreliable at best. Dr. Taguchi has also spoken to Merrily Mount many times. Merrily is willing to state that the video on UTUBE was prepared for her, as you know it was. If you would like validation of your claims, once again, please forward blood work and physician's reports (as well as your many prescriber's contact information) of previous harm to [redacted] as soon as possible. Any evidence or testimony is welcome as we encourage the report of all adverse events that are corroborated by professionals. -TS Wiley
My reply:
> We also discussed Bent's "illness" and inability to speak English, making your quotes from him unreliable at best.
You could have asked him.
[Before breaking ties with Wiley over her protocol, Dr. Bent Formby worked extensively with T.S. Wiley on both of her books. She cites his help with science as a credential.]
We ran that paragraph past Dr. Formby to be sure that it's something he would fully endorse. To remind you:
"You should know that Ms. Wiley's co-author and science mentor, Dr. Bent Formby – a researcher with PhDs in molecular biology and medical biochemistry – disavows the Wiley Protocol, calling it 'a nuclear blast to the endocrine system' and 'fantastically irresponsible.' He asked, after watching the hearing, 'Does somebody have to die of kidney failure or suicide before she is stopped?'"
Unreliable quotes? His response: "Just perfect. Keep me informed and let me know if you need more input from me."
Dr. Formby's e-mail address, in case you've lost it or for anyone who wants to verify, is [redacted].
> Merrily is willing to state that the video on UTUBE was prepared for her, as you know it was.
What possible relevance is whom the video was prepared for?
You testified before a United States Senate committee, quote: "I don't ever involve myself with individual patient response. That belongs to their doctor." In the support meeting you tell a woman on the Wiley Protocol, "I would say cortef maybe next month but I think you should up your estrogen maybe 50% from the baseline.... Yeah, we're cheating, we're saying up it by 50% so the doctor won't notice we've gone way beyond two lines."
That's not involving yourself with individual patient response. That's playing doctor without a license.
Just one example, easily verified:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQlF0mmAIXk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F56ZguemfKw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bv4u5smoUKU
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=wileywatch
> And they have been made aware that you won't provide Dr. Taguchi with any evidence of harm or allow any examination of your allegedly harmed members by valid physicians.... Any evidence or testimony is welcome as we encourage the report of all adverse events that are corroborated by professionals.
Let's all be clear on exactly what your offer was:
*****************************************
ATTENTION!! Now that you've decided to spam doctors, the doctors would like you to put up or shut up...
LADIES OF RHYTHMIC LIVING!
THE DOCTORS OF THE WILEY PROTOCOL IN SANTA BARBARA ARE OFFERING YOU A FREE EVALUATION!!
If you can provide any evidence that you were actually on the real Wiley Protocol and suffered because of it, then you could be eligible. You need to provide evidence including: medical records of doctor's reports on your condition on the Wiley Protocol, test results showing "progesterone dominance (?)" or supra-physiological blood levels of progesterone (from a reputable lab) between the dates of 4/05 and 10/05, visits to emergency rooms and their diagnoses, and mental health status reports. You must provide documentation of where you purchased the alleged Wiley Protocol.
For your appointment contact: ...
*****************************************
Is this an offer for help? A sincere inquiry for information? Do credible scientists normally preface "welcome" inquiries for evidence or testimony with "put up or shut up"?
What woman would subject herself to your terms? Mental health status reports? And for what?
No one accepted your offer. No one is astonished.
Had they wanted to, how many could meet your terms? This offer was made a full year and a half after these women started dropping out of your protocol and speaking up (and having been continually maligned and harassed by you and your husband in the interim).
No credible scientist attaches onerous terms to reports of adverse events. You know that, and so does every recipient of this e-mail.
Ms. Wiley, you are the creator, marketer, and seller of a hormone protocol that drastically exceeds conventional dosages – dosages that have been studied by credible scientists and deemed to carry very significant and serious risks.
You and you alone possess a responsibility to adduce proof.
You have insisted for years now that studies are forthcoming, yet the refrain is always "soon".
You have explained repeatedly that you can't wait around for studies to be performed. But you've always been free to practice your protocol on yourself. So what is it really that can't wait?
The scientific and medical communities, the public, and the government charged with their protection are still waiting – waiting for you to demonstrate credible evidence that your product and protocol are safe. I can't explain the latitude and patience you've been extended, but meanwhile you have amply demonstrated your tenuous relationship with the truth as well as the level and sincerity of your interest in discrepant information.
These women shared their experiences, which they had every right to do, and as a consequence they have been dragged – and continue to be dragged – through the muck by you and your collaborators. They trusted you, and they got burned.
They owe you nothing.
Deborah Vanderstadt
Wiley Watch