mama mia!

my mother is one of the lucky ones who gets to listen to my educational monologues after i learn something new about the human body.  i don't know if she would tell you the same -- the "lucky" part.

she and i talked at length about current options for women who are dealing with the pains and discomforts of menopause.  unfortunately, it is inevitable that women will go through menopause, rife with physical and emotional changes.  as if the hot flashes, night sweats, irregular periods and weight gain weren't enough, women also experience a decline in hormone levels which can cause moodiness, depression and loss of libido.

many women cope with these changes by using hormone replacement therapy, taking a supplement of estrogen paired with progestin (synthetic progesterone).  hormone therapy was thought to have long-term benefits of preventing heart disease and osteoporosis and it was used routinely until 2002 when a large clinical trial unearthed it's health risks.  these risks include heart disease, stroke, breast cancer, blood clots and abnormal mammograms.  depending on a woman's health history, hormone therapy is still the most highly-recommended treatment for coping with menopause symptoms, but there are more options for women who are at high-risk or women who don't want to supplement with synthetic hormones.  some women change their lifestyle while others choose a natural herbal supplement like estroven.

the discussion about hormone therapy is a complicated one, and one that won't be over soon.