Hormone therapy for women is an area of controversy that continues to evolved. The issues are well -being, menopause symptom control, cancer risk, dementia risk, and heart risk.
The interaction of hormones on all of these issues is complicated and the research on the pro’s and con’s of supplementation remain somewhat unclear, despite efforts to obtain certain information. The book THE ESTROGEN ELIXIR is a very nice summary of this topic, and quite complete and exacting in explaining the history and current status of hormone treatment.
The AZ Republic article this week covers the question of BioIdentical Hormones, which is one facet of the conversation. The BioIdentical ‘wave’ has been going on for over a decade and it claims superiority for both results and safety, but the data on their use is still controversial and subject to all of the concerns about traditional hormone supplementation.
So….what is a woman to do? This is a complicated question and the answer is different for each woman based on her symptoms, concerns, and approach to life. In general, I tell my patients that the women who do best are on ESTROGEN ALONE, the second best are woman on NOTHING, and the third best (and I mean that….not the worse, but the third best) are the women on COMBINATION (ESTROGEN & PROGESTERONE) THERAPY.
It is impossible to provide any recommendations here that are specific for you, so if you have concerns, please stop in to discuss this issue in detail.