My cholesterol level dangles in the hot zone, despite several mile daily walks, a high fibre diet and regular doses of hormones.
When I recently read about a new menopause study that showed a different hormone concoction would improve my cholesterol level more dramatically, I faxed the article to my doctor and asked for a change of prescription.
My doctor, a menopause symptoms researcher, was more than happy to make the switch. More important, she welcomes the information just released from one of the best U.S. studies of HRT.
My doctor said she didn't feel comfortable to convince somebody to take HRT. "It's my place to share the [spin]knowledge|information|research
results[/spin], to do it accurately, to reassure my patients and to persuade them to stay healthy," she told me.
The new Postmenopausal Estrogen/Progestin Interventions study - called PEPI - will help doctors give better advice for dealing with signs and symptoms of menopause. It doesn't answer all the concerns, particularly about links between long-term HRT use and breast cancer. But it does eliminate a major doubt about whether the HRT combinations taken by most women help guard against heart disease. And it clarifies the best ways to take the drugs.
Women already are contacting their doctors about the PEPI study. It was presented not long ago at an American Heart Association meeting and is expected to be published next month in a leading medical journal.
The study is important for other reasons: Doctors and women's groups are highly focused than ever on whether artificial hormone therapy is necessary. There's less discussion about using hormone replacement short-term to relieve menopause symptoms, such as hot flashes. The bigger question is whether women going through menopause should take them for several years to lower their risk of cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis, two major causes of death and disability in post menopausal women.
Many skeptics, including a raft of new authors on the subject, urge caution. They ask: Didn't our grandmothers live happily without taking {spin]hormones|HRT|estrogen therapy[/spin]? Couldn't they cause cancer? Aren't there ways to look after ourselves without taking {spin]pills|drugs|artificial substances[/spin]? And who wants to take a drug that extends periods for a year – or even longer?