When I first had hot flushes at the start of menopause, I was advised by my Woman's Health Center that hormone replacement would help my symptoms, and it would also protect me from heart disease and stroke.
This is no longer the case.
From the latest information provided by the Women's Health Initiative, Hormone therapy was used to ease symptoms of menopause, and it was also advocated as a preventive to help protect women against heart disease, weak bones, and dementia, but..
In July 2002, the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) abruptly ended its combination of oestrogen and progestin therapy study, as their data discovered higher rates of breast cancer, heart attacks, strokes, and blood clots in the population taking the hormones, compared to those taking placebos.
And three years later, after follow up results, the bottom-line message from this three year post intervention follow-up is; "The widely shared information about the use of hormone therapy with estrogen plus progestin is unchanged.
These new results indicate that for prevention of chronic disease, the risks of estrogen plus progestin exceed the benefits.
" This changing information is somewhat difficult to have available to women, and many women are still using hormone replacement in the belief that they are doing something good for themselves, apart from reducing menopausal symptoms! A frequent question may be; If I stop hormone replacement..
I can't face not sleeping and hot flushing..
how will I manage? One point to consider may be that menopause symptoms in some countries are not experienced, what do they do that is different? There are many natural foods and herbs that will help diminish menopause symptoms, some women achieve hormone balance naturally using Maca and Vitex.
Make sure you have foods with essential fatty acids, oily fish, walnuts, flax seed are a few, and balance your omega-3 and omega-6 fat if you use supplements.
Ensure that you are getting adequate minerals as well.
Start an exercise program, slow to start with, once around the block at a stroll! Reduce or eliminate grains and sugars as they cause yeast overgrowth that worsen hormone levels, and make changes in your diet gradually.
Reduce or eliminate caffeine and alcohol, as they can also have adverse effects on hormone levels; explore new foods and drinks, there are some lovely herbal teas to choose from, try some new ones for variety and flavor, and there are some interesting health benefits of green and white tea.
How do I minimize the risks of heart disease? Take action to prevent cardiovascular disease including healthy lifestyle choices, having checkups for risk factors such as high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and diabetes, and treating these risk factors as needed.
When hormone therapy is stopped, some protection against fractures is no longer there, so it is important that other steps are taken to prevent or reduce osteoporosis and fracture risk in consultation with your health professional.
Continue to do your own research; we are all ultimately responsible for our own health, and the research doesn't stop.
Information allows us to make the right choices and decisions that don't just impact on ourselves, but affect or family as well as the wider community.