Menopause hormone therapy relieves symptoms but isn't a cure-all

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Timely treatment provides relief for menopause symptoms, but expecting it to fix all of them is a set-up for disappointment

It happens with some regularity. I offhandedly mention some bodily inconvenience to a fellow middle-aged woman – indigestion, a headache, a bad mood. Immediately, she says it’s perimenopause and suggests I try hormone therapy.

These moments give me whiplash. In 2002, when I was a medical student, a study frightened a generation of patients and clinicians by suggesting the risks of menopause hormone therapy (MHT) – blood clots, stroke and breast cancer – outweighed its benefits. Then, in 2012, scientists took a closer look at the evidence, along with new data, and found the calculus only applied to older women. Now, many clinicians are comfortable prescribing hormones. In fact, some are a bit too comfortable hawking them as a cure-all.

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