Southwest Florida's Health and Wellness Magazine Health and Wellness Articles
By Donna Walters
This is the first in a series of articles from the book, “Estrogen Revisited Lifelong and Fearless” by Donna Walters and Blane Crandall, MD At the turn of the twentieth century, millions of women all over the world experienced the benefits of hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
Many husbands were happy, too. Replacing the depleting estrogen seemed to make their wives feel energetic, sexually playful and in good spirits. Gone were the night sweats, cranky moods, hot flashes and insomnia. The belief during that time: HRT was doing the double-duty of preventing heart disease, osteoporosis and even breast cancer. It was the anti-aging miracle we had all been waiting for. Then in 2002, came the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) to squash our euphoria.
Researching Further to Make an Informed Decision
The WHI declared that women taking hormones could instead be increasing their risk for heart disease and breast cancer. Women all over the nation panicked, had a good cry and dropped HRT like a hot potato. Donna Walters, a seasoned Paralegal in the Washington D.C. area, was not one of those women. Instead, she began a quest: researching further in order to make a more informed decision. As a result, she vowed that she would never experience the ravages of menopause. With the help of a physician in Naples, Florida, Blane Crandall, MD, an OB/GYN who has treated women for over thirty years and prescribed HRT since the 1970s, this book came to fruition.
The Importance and Effects of Estrogen on Our Health
That initial WHI announcement, though inaccurate and misinterpreted, is still causing confusion and fear in 2012. It is time to reignite estrogen awareness, understand its importance and effects on our health throughout our entire lives – not just the menopause years. It’s time we make an educated choice about our bodies. Sound familiar? It should.
Over forty years ago we finally got the chance to decide when, and if, we would get pregnant. The birth control pill gave women a kind of freedom and power we never before experienced. And like choosing to replace diminishing estrogen now, it did not come without risks. The difference in the HRT alternative is that choosing to go through natural menopause comes with just as many, if not more, hazards that could be life altering. To be continued…
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