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Menopause has a significant impact on the health of women. As the baby
boomers age there are more and more women experiencing menopause and looking for
ways to deal with the health consequences. For years HRT, (Hormone
Replacement Therapy) consisting of synthetic estrogens with or without synthetic
progestins, was used liberally to combat the symptoms associated with menopause.
The most commonly noted benefits were for bone health and cardiovascular
protection. But HRT also helped control symptoms which affected women's
quality of life such as hot flushes and genitourinary atrophy (vaginal dryness,
vaginal itching, bladder infections).
In 2002 the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) trial of HRT made headlines when
one of the arms of the study was prematurely cancelled due to a number of
adverse effects in women in receiving oral conjugated estrogens and oral
medroxyprogesterone acetate. Because most of the information was carried
to the population by the mainstream media, frightened women across the country
abruptly stopped their HRT without consulting their physicians. These
women went searching for alternatives to HRT and many found information on
Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy (BHRT).
Now that the dust has settled and women have discussed with their physician
how the results of the WHI trial applies them, some do not want to assume the
risk associated with HRT. But they do want relief from their symptoms and
the protection HRT provides for bone strength and heart disease. This
website provides research and information on HRT and BHRT, the pros and cons of
each and arguments made from both sides of the hormone replacement issue.
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