Q&A from BP about some of the deeper aspects of the story:
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/unfiltered/?p=618
Yes of course, everything was nice and legal, but if you think you have GH deficiency, here's what happens,
If your physician thinks you may be GH deficient, he or she will usually pick one of the standard tests. The testing is done in the outpatient setting and usually takes about two to three hours.
and then,
Treatment with GH
Once a physician has proven GH deficiency, he or she will begin the patient on a small dose of GH and slowly raise the dose until a final maintenance dose is reached. The hormone is given daily by injection. The hormone is given by the patient or a member of the family. Small needles and syringes are used. The
physician will see the patient at four to eight week intervals to ask how the patient is doing and to obtain a blood test which can help determine the correct dose. ...Once a final dose is established, the blood test and
office visits will continue approximately every 4 to 6 months.
LinkThat seems like a lot of interaction with a specialist, whose name he reports not to know, to get the dosage correct, unless you weren't all that concerned with the details of the illness, as for the practices of Internet pharmacies
some sites require customers only to fill out a questionnaire before ordering prescription drugs, bypassing any face-to-face interaction with a health professional.
Just check the box for "GH Deficiency" but says the FDA
"This practice undermines safeguards of direct medical supervision and a physical evaluation performed by a licensed health professional," says Jeffrey Shuren, M.D., medical officer in the Food and Drug Administration's Office of Policy, Planning and Legislation. "The Internet makes it easy to bypass this safety net."
LinkSo even though Byrd didn't do anything illegal or against the rules, he didn't seem all that concerned about the details of treating his medical condition.
