“Seriously, you need to get HRT – you won’t believe how good you feel.”
“But I’m 63 and feel great – I don’t need HRT”
“You won’t believe how much better you’ll be. Your bones need it. Seriously, just get it. If your doctor won’t give it to you just go find a female doctor that prescribes HRT and they will.”
This is a conversation that I couldn’t help over hearing, mostly because it involved the class instructor talking up to all of us how great HRT was before a recent exercise class started. The great irony of this? The other members of the class are there doing the non-drug things that are looking after their healthy aging and health.
So, since I’m a female doctor who looks after perimenopause women (those who are not on HRT and some who are). Did I say anything? Not a thing. It’s her space in that class to share her thoughts.
And this is mine: Menopause marketing is a globally lucrative and exponentially growing market (and I’ve written alot about this over past 2 years!) So right now, women’s forums – both online and IRL – are rife with misinformation. Let’s highlight 3 things:
1.) HRT is great, and when prescribed correctly – very safe! However, it is not the right choice for every woman. This is a decision for a woman and her doctor to make together, looking at risk/benefit and goals of care. There are also other options that aren’t HRT for managing certain symptoms.
2.) The other things for perimenopause are just as – if not more – important and include physical activity and strength, looking after sleep, and healthy diet.
3.) Women in perimenopause/menopause do not need supplements to balance their hormones or almost any of the intensely marketed products.
For a deeper dive into this, check out Menopause Series from RCSI – Free and Online.
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