by Morley Evans
I bought a bottle of Rogaine® after seeing yet another ad saying Rogaine® grew hair in 85% of the men who used it twice a day for four months. I decided to give it a try until Christmas. One bottle is used each month. It cost less than $20 at Shoppers Drug Mart. Wary of side effects, I read everything. Since it is applied topically on the scalp, I wasn't too worried. After about three weeks I gradually became itchy. My arms, shoulders back and chest started to drive me nuts, though my scalp was not particularly itchy. I decided I must be allergic to Rogaine®. The itch mostly went away the day after I stopped using Rogaine® so I was certain that was the problem. I would have to take an antihistamine to reduce the histamine that had built up to get rid of the itching completely. The product insert warns users to stop using Rogaine® if one is allergic to any of its ingredients.
I filled out a report with Health Canada and another with Johnson & Johnson. (Not to be confused with SC Johnson in Racine, Wisconsin.) I received nothing from Health Canada, but Johnson & Johnson sent me an eMail the next day saying they were very sorry their product had not helped me and that they would appreciate me calling a toll-free number to talk to an Agent at their Customer Care Center. I phoned the next day and talked to a friendly and helpful woman who told me that Johnson & Johnson tries very hard to look after its customers and both she and Johnson & Johnson are very sorry I found their product unsatisfactory. She asked me how much I paid for Rogaine®. I said I hadn't found the bill yet, but it was probably less than $20. The Agent said Johnson & Johnson will send me a cheque for $16.99 if that would be okay. I was surprised.
A few days later, a cheque arrived from Johnson & Johnson (RBC Place Ville-Marie, Montréal) for $16.99 CDN. I sent an eMail to Johnson & Johnson thanking them.
I Googled "Johnson & Johnson Zocor" to see if Johnson & Johnson had a Statin Drug of its own. I was dismayed to learn that Merck has entered into an agreement with Johnson & Johnson to sell Zocor as an "over-the-counter" drug in the United Kingdom. I will write to the CEO of Johnson and Johnson, William C. Weldon, to tell him about my experience with Zocor and Merck et al who could not care less what happens to anyone stupid enough to deal with them: beware Johnson & Johnson.
I bought an antihistamine (Diphenhydramine Hydrochloride 25 mg) from the drugstore in River Heights Shopping Centre. It knocked me for a loop but got rid of most of my itchiness. The next day, I took a Bell anti-allergy herbal capsule that worked better than the pharmaceutical drug. I took another Bell capsule the next day and my itchiness was totally gone. There were no side effects from the herbs.
Johnson & Johnson gets an A++ on its report card. Merck gets an F minus on its report card along with an Order to "Go directly to jail and pay Morley Evans a gazillion bazillion dollars for the pain and suffering you caused, you filthy bastards." Pharmaceutical products continue to get a zero. Herbal medicine continues to get an A+. Johnson & Johnson gets an A++ so far.
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