The basics
- Surgical Menopause: definition; endogenous & exogenous hormone sources; why hormones?
- What hormones do: general definition of what hormones are and what they do
- Estrogen: roles of estrogen in the body and what happens when we lack it
- Progesterone: roles of progesterone in the body
- Testosterone: roles of testosterone in the body
- Hormone Replacement Therapy: definition; decisions involved in selecting HRT
- What type of hormones?: bioidentical, synthetic, and alternative defined; that tricky term "natural"
- Which hormones? estrogen use; adding progesterone; adding testosterone; use of hormone precursor DHEA
- How much? factors influencing dose amount selection
- What route? oral; transdermal; patch/cream/gel; transbuccal; vaginal; subdermal
- Take it when? time of day; cycling
The HRTs
- Estrogens: the different brands of estrogens
- Combination estrogen plus progesterone: the different brands of combination products
- Estrogen interactions: what interacts with estrogen, and how (smoking, alcohol, St. John's Wort, foods, antibiotics,thyroid) as well as the vital nutrients that must be present to metabolize HRTs
- Progesterone supplements: the different brands of progestogens
- Over the counter progesterone creams: perils of otc use; picking a brand
- Testosterone supplements: the different brands of testosterones and testosterone-containing combination products
- HRTs in the UK and elsewhere (coming: New Zealand, Australia)
Balancing
- Balancing your hormones: definition of balance; tools
- Balancing during the post-op period: why perfect balance isn't reasonable now; what is reasonable?
- Principals of HRT balancing: start low and go slow; change only one thing at a time; listen to your body
- The balancing process
- Oh joy! hot flashes: mechanism; interpreting; coping
- Balancing estrogen
- Symptoms of estrogen imbalance
- Balancing progesterone
- Symptoms of progesterone imbalance
- Balancing testosterone
- Symptoms of testosterone imbalance
- Hormone level testing: blood estrogen norms; blood vs saliva testing; limits of testing
- A few final words on balance: Premarin-or-nothing; other factors affecting balance
- My HRT stopped working!: how to interpret changes we see in HRT efficacy
HRT and special situations
- Allergies: can you be allergic to estrogen?
- Diabetes
- Endometriosis and post-hyst HRT
- Hot weather and your HRT
- HRT and cancer risk
- HRT for those with ovaries but no uterus
- HRT for those with a uterus but no ovaries
- Looking for a new doctor
- PolyCystic Ovary Syndrome
- Stress
- Those who can't take hormones
- Thyroid
Menopausal health
- Can't you just recommend some vitamins and herbs to take care of all this?
- Life with HRT: other hints and tips
- Monitoring your health: what we need to keep track of in menopause
- Menopause is not a disease: hrts are not drugs and we are not sick
- Vaginal dryness
Advanced topics
- Bioidentical HRTs: the difference between the type of hormone and the compounding business practice
- Can't I just have some instructions on how to do this, please? for those who want the how without worrying about the why
- Cenestin and Enjuvia are discontinued: what to do now?
- Deciding to keep your ovaries: post-hyst ovarian cancer risk
- Generics: are they okay; why they may perform differently from the brand name
- HRTs and dose dynamics: another variable in how we experience HRT actions
- Making sense of transdermal HRT doses: what's up with how the numbers don't seem to add up
- Menopausal brain chemistry and SSRI antidepressants: why these drugs can be a legitimate part of our hrt or when we're having trouble balancing our hrt
- Natural vs surgical menopause: what is the difference? how perimenopause differs from the surgical menopausal transition; how transition differs from background hormonal adequacy
- Progesterone: do I need it or not?
- Researching it yourself: how and where to find scientifically solid information
- The three estrogens: estradiol, estrone, estriol
- Sexuality and surgical menopause: troubleshooting libido
- State of hrt use in menopause: current treatment guidelines and trends
- Surgical menopause, hrts, and headaches: troubleshooting the link
- Transbuccal use of Estrace:
- Delivery efficacy: how to convince your doctor to let you try this
- Mechanics of taking transbuccal tablet HRTs
- Troubleshooting gel hrts
- Troubleshooting patches:
- Adhesion: when your patch doesn't stick and how to help it do so
- Adjusting dose: cutting, changing frequency
- Location: how this affects dose and how well your patch works for you
- "Runs out early": how patches actually function to deliver hormones
- Skin irritation: what does that rash underneath the patch mean for using this hrt?
- Are all patches the same? why Climara and Vivelle Dot may perform totally differently
- Tuning our hrt support as we age: there's no actual end date for using hrt, but here's how we make sure we're using only as much as we really need
- Vaginal delivery of systemic estrogen HRT: is this effective? safe? which hrts it works with
- What's the best way to get a perfectly even hormone delivery?
In the news
- Attitude and hot flashes: an editorial
Bijuva: a new combination HRT - Ethinyl estradiol gets up to some odd tricks; getting enough vitamin D from the sun?
- FDA approves two new hrts: Endometrin and Evamist
- Gleanings from an article on contraceptive patches
- HRT and breast cancer
- Muscle strength and hormones: new studies link fatigue and weakness to estrogen levels
- New guidelines from the International Menopause Society
- Oxybutynin: a new addition to drugs effective for hot flash suppression
- Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease With HRT
- The "problem" of bioidentical HRTs: How the medical profession is responding to widespread use of customized HRTs and why that's not working for everyone in menopause
- Progestogens and lung cancer
- Surgical menopause boosts cardiovascular risks
- Surgical menopause must-reads: great overview articles (good to share with your doctor, too)
- Testosterone alone is not enough to provide for libido: discussion of recent research
- The Redemption of HRT: who can take it, how long—great new post-WHI guidelines
- Vaginal atrophy gains new designation: GSM
Book reports
- Strong Women, Strong Bones by Miriam E. Nelson: osteoporosis monitoring, prevention, and treatment
- Women's Moods by Deborah Sichel and Jeanne Watson Driscoll: how hormonal disruptions affect brain function
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- Introduction to the site
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