By Dr. Patricia Yarberry Allen The following post first appeared on Dr. Allen's Huffington Post blog , as an urgent message to her fellow physicians. -- Ed.

Patients with menopausal syndrome are flocking to infomercial doctors. They find them online, referred by lists of bio-identical practitioners in lists of popular books referred by compounding pharmacies, or referred by female friends who have found that a practitioner is willing to give them hormonal medication that will ease their suffering.

I know patients who travel across the country to have their blood and saliva tested, and to have compounded hormone preparations created “just for them” yet the “unique prescription” requires more money and more time each visit in order to create “just the right dosage for each patient”. These same patients often end up in my office with enlarged breasts, heavy bleeding, weight gain and water retention and often with the well recognized and more serious complications of hormone use.

Their hot flashes, insomnia and fatigue may be controlled, but they are suffering debilitating side effects. And many of these women have been told clearly that “natural hormones” carry no side effects. The patients choose to believe that with this form of hormone therapy that there is no risk of breast cancer, endometrial cancer, blood clots, heart attack or stroke.

Read more at Women's Voices For Change.

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November 17, 2009 3:46 PM

[0+]  SecondBeach said:

I'm not sure what to say other than that this is a great piece.

It's amazing how ignored something is that effects 51% of the population. Apparently, having your physical needs addressed by the medical community is male privilege.

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November 18, 2009 11:05 PM

[0+]  EAMD said:

I think this is a terrible piece.

Dr. Allen talks about the importance of understanding the risk/benefit ratio of hormone therapy while downplaying the very real risks involved, even when those hormones are prescribed by "highly educated, board-certified, responsible doctors." She also goes as far as to term menopause as "menopausal syndrome," and states women who go through this awful "torture" will "need to prepare for symptom management."

Do some women experience menopausal symptoms which interfere with their everyday lives? Of course. Should these women have access to treatments which will ease those symptoms? Of course. But Dr. Allen seems to be making a blanket statement about the appropriateness of hormone therapy, and she is also portraying menopause as something that can (and probably will) literally destroy women without medical intervention.

This is no feminist manifesto. On the contrary, it is a condescending abuse of a medical degree which tells women they should fear the "crisis" of menopause and seek pharmaceutical treatment if they are ever to make it through without becoming "marginalized and...almost invisible." Disgusting.

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