The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports the federal attorneys looking into Chris Benoit's doctor, Phil Astin, say the physician prescribed excessive anabolic steroids. We say 'not so fast our friends'.
Our position for some time has been that Benoit's behavior was affected by anabolic steroids, however that the sad homi-suicide of his family resulted from a multifactorial situation of chronic brain trauma, anabolic steroids, benzos, narcotics, and stress.
Federal prosecutors say the amount of testosterone prescribed to professional wrestler Chris Benoit by his doctor was "excessive" and want the judge to dismiss motions to suppress evidence seized in the case.
U.S. District Attorney David Nahmias has asked Judge Russell G. Vineyard to proceed in the case against Phil Astin III, the Carrollton doctor indicted on seven federal counts of over-prescribing to two unnamed patients. Officials have said that Benoit, who killed his wife and child in June before taking his own life, was not one of those patients.
Astin is currently suspended from practicing medicine, and essentially on house arrest. The Gov't says the followed (from the AJC):
Officials cited records from Jones Pharmacy in Fayetteville showing seven testosterone prescriptions Astin wrote for Benoit from May 2006 to May 2007, calling them "an excessive amount of testosterone cypionate."
"Each prescription dispensed a 10-month supply of the drug," authorities charged, "yet the pharmacy filled seven of these prescriptions in a 12-month period."
That is weird prescribing frequency. The math sounds funny...'dispensed a 10 month supply, seven times in 12 months'. Usually physicians work in multiples of months, such as 5 refills of a one month supply. However, when examined closely this isn't so weird. Testosterone cypionate is 100 mg per 1 cc. The drug can be dispensed in a 1ml or a 10 ml vial. The usual dose (reference to follow) is 50 mg to 200 mg every 2-3 weeks. The Feds must be thinking that a typical dose is 50 mg every 2 weeks or 100 mg per month. Thus a 10 ml bottle, which has 1000 mg would be 10 months supply as mentioned above. That is very arbitrary. A doctor could prescribe 200 mg every 2 weeks, or 400 mg per month. A 10 ml vial would then last 2 1/2 months. The dose could be higher too. The Feds point to the PDR, which gives 'guidelines' for prescriptions; however the PDR or the FDA guidelines are not the practice of medicine. If anything those documents are aimed at the marketing of the drugs. A physician might prescribe as much testosterone as it takes to place the patients measure serum testosterone in the normal range. Thus a 10 ml vial of T cypionate might cover only a couple months or less. Seven refills over 12 months might not be excessive at all. We are not advocating that Benoit's doc was exactly right on; in fact it sounds like some of his practices were shoddy. However, the statement from the Feds is some prosecutorial hyperbole that would not be borne out my medical practice.
The government said it also recovered other pertinent files showing that Astin had provided "take-home syringes" of Demerol to one of his staff members.
Authorities also allege Astin violated federal law by issuing multiple undated prescriptions for controlled substances to unnamed patients. Federal law mandates that such prescriptions be dated and signed on the date they are issued.
Comments