My cholesterol level hovers in the unhealthy zone, despite three-mile daily walks, a very healthy diet and frequent doses of hormones.
When I recently discovered a new menopause study that showed a different hormone concoction would improve my cholesterol level more dramatically, I faxed the details to my doctor and asked for a change of prescription.
My doctor, a menopause symptoms professor, was more than happy to make the switch. 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 comfortable 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 coach 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 questions, particularly about links between long-term artificial hormone use and breast cancer. But it does quash a major doubt about whether the hormone therapy combinations taken by most women offer protection for heart disease. And it clarifies the best ways to take the hormones.
Women already are wanting to know more about the PEPI study. It was presented not long ago at an American Heart Association meeting and is expected to be published next month in a leading medical journal.
The study is important for other reasons: Doctors and women's groups are highly focused than ever on whether the drugs are necessary. There's less debate about using estrogen therapy short-term to relieve menopause symptoms, such as hot flashes. The bigger question is whether menopausal women should take them for several years to lower their risk of cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis, two major causes of death and disability in women past menopause.
Many skeptics, including a raft of fresh researchers on the subject, urge caution. They ask: Didn't our grandmothers manage perfectly well without taking {spin]hormones|HRT|estrogen therapy[/spin]? Couldn't they cause cancer? Aren't there ways to keep in good health without taking {spin]pills|drugs|artificial substances[/spin]? And who wants to take a drug that causes menstrual periods for a year – or even longer?