How are hormones taken from pigs and other animals for medication?

The hormones are a byproduct of slaughter houses. The also get heart valves for open heart surgery from them. Had a work associate named June, that raised hogs specifically for heart vales. Another associate had open heart surgery, we always thought Gerry got his valves from June farm.

Google “Porcine, Bovine,
Equine, etc/ Hormone Extraction” and get many hits.

“Here’s” one http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desiccated_thyroid_extract

Premarin a HRT product is manufactured from the urine of pregnant mares. The mares are kept stalled for their entire 11 month gestation while bags collect their urine which carries the hormone desired to be “harvested.” The horses are given a short break when they give birrth with most of the foals going to slaughter while a select few females are kept for the breeding program. They often use large, draft type breeds for maximum production.

One of my neigh-bors ” Dusty” is a PMU rescue horse, an 8 year old Belgian draft that got lucky and was auctioned off as a colt to be picked up by a rescue group in Canada and is now happily living out his horsey life on 10 acres here in California with other horses.
The Premarin industry is an awful fate for a horse and synthetic HRT is just as effective.

www.premarin.org

Thanks for the answers so far. I was hoping I would feel ok about asking a relative to consider natural hormones who is a vegetarian. She does eat eggs and milk, so I thought if the collection of the hormones seemed benign enough she might consider it. It is for her thyroid, maybe she will consider it since she is willing to use leather shoes and purses.

@Coloma OMG that is so upsetting to me. I think maybe it bother me more than taking hormone from a dead horse or pig. I don’t eat veal for basically the same reason, the calves on many farms are kept stalled, more like a small box.

@JLeslie Yes, I love all animals but horses have always been close to my heart. Such an awful life for such a noble animal.

I don’t know much about female hormones for HRT but I know that nearly all medical testosterone is now entirely synthetic.

@Coloma I talked to my relative, she knew about the Premarin. She did take some HRT for a while for menopause, might still. She never took Premarin. She is thinking about the thyroid med.

I will not take hormones made from animals. It’s just flat out nasty

@snowberry Are you a vegetarian?

@downtide As mentioned above, there is a manufacturer that makes thyroid meds from pig hormone. It was off the market for a while, but is now being made again and a lot of people are very glad it is back. It is neither female or male. I just found out about the Premarin in this Q. I never knew previously whether it was natural or synthetic. In my reading up a little I see fertility drugs to grow eggs can be natural. I once had a very very severe reaction to one of those drugs, I don’t remember the name of it, it started with an R I think. I bet there is a good chance it is off the market now, long story.