Leslie Carol Botha: Women are only confused about HRT Risks and Benefits because they are not educated about synthetic hormone therapies at any age. They are being recommended and prescribed HRT with synthetic hormones – which only masks the symptoms of menopause. What really needs to be prescribed is hormone balancing or natural bioidentical hormones. Synthetic hormones are a medical experiment on our bodies.
A Decade Later, Women Remain Unsure of HRT’s Risks
We News
womensenews.org
In the 10 years since hormone treatment was deemed too risky, many more women have chosen to endure symptoms of aging rather than take the “other pill.” Yet, more than half remain confused about the risks and benefits.
By Sadiya Ansari
WeNews correspondent
Friday, July 13, 2012
Credit: Karrie Nodalo/camerakarrie on Flickr, under Creative Commons (CC BY 2.0).
(WOMENSENEWS)–On a routine visit to a new obstetrics-gynecologist, a woman recalls being recommended hormone replacement therapy to prevent osteoporosis.
She was shocked, since a few years earlier a landmark government study found hormone therapy’s risks outweighed the benefits. She declined the recommendation and did not go back to that physician.
True story from the life of Corinna Barnard, editor of Women’s eNews.
But Barnard said she wondered a tiny bit about her decision to not see that doctor again. Wouldn’t the doctor know best?
She isn’t alone in her confusion and uncertainty.
The Endocrine Society, based in Chevy Chase, Md., commissioned a national survey in June of physicians on their experiences in treating menopausal symptoms. Nearly 90 percent said women are not receiving hormone therapy because they are uncomfortable with the risks and are unwilling to consider the option.
But more than half of ob-gyn physicians surveyed also said women were confused about hormone therapy.
Ten years ago a study published by the Women’s Health Initiative, part of the National Institutes of Health based in Bethesda, Md., changed the landscape for the treatment of age-related illnesses in older women.
It found that hormone therapy, often prescribed to relieve menopausal symptoms and protect against osteoporosis, in healthy postmenopausal women increased the risk of breast cancer, heart disease and stroke.
Participants in the study were taking the treatment so researchers could assess how well it prevented aging-related diseases, not menopausal symptoms.
There were some benefits to the treatment, including a reduced risk of bone fractures and colorectal cancer, but the risk of breast cancer and heart disease was high enough that researchers halted their work five years into the eight-year study.
This is such an important health issue to tackle. It always baffles me when I meet women/patients who will avoid hormone fed meats but take The Pill or HRT. However, I have yet to read a convincing argument for the use of bio-identical hormones. They may be natural, but they are still a replacement therapy which covers up symptoms.
Juliette – Thank you for your comment. You make an important point. Bio-identicals while they may support a woman’s endocrine system are still a replacement therapy. And yes, they cover up the symptoms of hormone imbalance. What do you suggest for hormone balancing? What are your thoughts on the issue of diminishing hormones during peri-menopause, menopause and post menopause while women are living a longer life? Will check out your web site. Thank you for visiting my blog. I am hoping you will respond.
Leslie