Reply #9: Good, if the doctors are careful.

[Igel]

Lots of drugs are good for problems, but since there's no money in it they aren't tested and approved for it. Doesn't mean they don't work; it means that the doc has to be careful in using them.

To find out about them takes a lot of work and doctors don't have the time and, in some cases, just don't or can't care. Most of the drugs are generic at this point; some non-generics may be in testing for an ailment, but not yet approved; some may even have failed testing because they're dangerous for some populations but not others, and be useful in the case of certain patients.

I've had relatives take unapproved drugs, sometimes with great success, and in one case with far fewer side effects than the "approved" drugs that replaced the unapproved one when the FDA told the pharmacy to stop filling his prescriptions.