Menopause

Can a Blood Test Tell Me Whether I Am in Menopause?

There are several hormone levels that physicians may suggest ordering. For health care providers (HCP) these may include estrogen (our own estradiol is what laboratories can measure), luteinizing hormone (LH) or follicle stimulating hormone (FSH). In general it is reassuring to have a test ordered because your doctor doing something and that makes us feel…
Hormone therapy and Ovarian Cancer risk

What’s your opinion on the paper that came out in Lancet about hormone therapy and ovarian cancer? What does this really mean for women?
Progesterone for Hot Flashes: NAMS eConsult

Hot flushes/flashes and night sweats have conventionally been considered to be caused by estrogen deficiency and thus their major treatment is estrogen. Dr Jerilynn Prior was invited in November 2013 by the editors of the online blog (eConsult) for the North American Menopause Society to write about progesterone treatment of hot flashes. Here is the article: “Progesterone…
Science based Natural Remedies for Hot Flushes and Night Sweats

Women may feel there are no effective improvements in hot flushes and night sweats except hormone therapy or perhaps a newer type of anti-depressive medication. They rightly may not want to take either of these kinds of medicines and feel instead they must either suffer or go through the pharmacy aisles to try all manner…
The ABCs Of Osteoporosis Prevention For Menopausal Women

Menopause means graduation! One year has passed since the last menstrual period—perimenopause is over. Because of the hormonal changes of the first few years after menopause, bone renovation is more rapid and risks for bone loss are greater. Thus we must continue habits that will keep bones healthy for the rest of our lives. Bone…
Beyond “Estrogen Deficiency”—news from Women’s Health Initiative

The USA’s National Institutes of Health just announced that the Estrogen arm of the Women’s Health Initiative was stopped early (1). Estrogen treatment in women who had undergone hysterectomy was associated with neither benefit nor harm for heart disease and caused a 40% increase in stroke (1). No one can ever again say that estrogen…
The Death of Hormone Replacement Therapy — Why and how to use Ovarian Hormone Therapy

A response to the cancelled Women’s Health Initiative study and call for a healthier look at menopause Dr. Jerilynn C. Prior, Scientific Director of the Centre for Menstrual Cycle and Ovulation Research, has never advocated the use of hormones as an ongoing “replacement” for menopause. She does not feel that menopause is a medical condition…
Progesterone Therapy for Menopause

“Bio-identical” is the trendy term for therapies we’ve used for a long time. Bio-identical therapies include Prometrium ® , Estrace ® , Estradot ® , Androgel ® , Climara ® and Estragel ® to list a few examples. It simply means hormonal therapies that are identical to ones that the human body makes. The purpose…
The ABCs of Osteoporosis Treatment

There are many practical ways you and your health care provider can treat osteoporosis (weak bones). Prevention is about more than drugs! Your life and health matter. Below are ways you can prevent fragility fractures, broken bones occurring with a fall from standing or lesser amount of force. “A” Is For “Active” Bones are strengthened…
Preventive Powers of Ovulation and Progesterone

This series of articles, originally published in the CeMCOR newsletter, illustrate the importance of ovulation throughout women’s reproductive life. Scientific evidence shows that ovulation (and therefore an approporiate progesterone level) is necessary for the optimum development and functioning of several physiological systems in women’s bodies. The articles explain what ovulation is and address some of…