My cholesterol level hovers in the danger zone, despite several mile daily walks, a high fibre diet and daily doses of hormones.
When I recently read about a new menopause study that showed a different estrogen mix would improve my cholesterol level more dramatically, I faxed the report to my doctor and asked for a new prescription.
My doctor, a menopause symptoms researcher, was more than happy to offer me the alternative. More important, she welcomes the clinical data just released from one of the best U.S. studies of hormone therapy.
My doctor said she didn't feel it's her place to convince somebody to take artificial hormones. "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 provide meaningful counseling 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 estrogen-progesterone combinations taken by most women offer protection for heart disease. And it clarifies the best ways to take the HRT.
Women already are contacting their doctors about the PEPI study. It was presented recently at an American Heart Association meeting and is expected to be published very soon in a leading health journal.
The research is important for other reasons: Doctors and women's groups are more interested than ever on whether the drugs are necessary. There's less discussion about using estrogen therapy short-term to relieve signs of menopause, such as hot flashes. The bigger question is whether menopausal women should take them for long term to lower their risk of heart disease and osteoporosis, two major causes of death and disability in older women.
Many nay sayers, including a raft of new blood on the subject, urge caution. They ask: Didn't our grandmothers get along OK 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?