Women, particularly in the UK and Ireland, are being offered an illusion of health sponsored by the manufacturers of HRT.
HRT may offer some women short-term benefits, but like every other medication, it comes with risks, which is why informed consent is important. Weighing up possible benefits verses possible risks cannot be undertaken while a woman is being pushed into a position of fear or while a society is being subjected to relentless propaganda.
Advertising medication, including HRT, is supposed to be regulated, but currently, in the UK and Ireland, the media is flooded with messages such as these:
HRT for life … to prevent dementia … to strengthen your bones … to protect your heart.
HRT for your mental health … to prevent depression … to avoid suicide … to prevent alcoholism … to help you find the motivation to exercise … to help you focus.
HRT for every menopausal woman experiencing symptoms and even those who are not … because you don’t want chronic disease down the line, do you?
About lifestyle changes … if you really want to feel good, fix your hormones first!
And research? Of course there’s research. Here’s a cross-sectional study of less than two dozen women that has been shared on social media. It says HRT can prevent cognitive decline. That’s great news! True, it’s not a large randomized controlled trial, the gold standard in medicine, [and “can” in this type of research also means “cannot”] but why not give women hope that HRT might protect their brain, right now! Who has time to wait for larger trials?
And the risks of HRT? Don’t worry! If you happen to know that every time women were encouraged to take HRT for disease prevention it ended in disaster – you can put those worries aside. That’s history! This new bioidentical HRT, it’s not like the old stuff! I mean you might not recognize the ingredients, and we’re still playing with the body's natural balance of hormones, {not to mention all those products that haven’t undergone long-term testing], but these hormones are bioidentical, you know, like the hormones in your body! And yes, we’ve tested it among a sample of patients in our clinic, and no, we haven’t published the data [the data isn’t robust] but it’s very promising and women need this right away because they are suffering!
And while we’re talking about it, run to your doctor to demand testosterone. It’s true that it’s not approved for menopause symptoms [because the research is so weak] but it will make you feel so good. Just ask for it off label! Lots of drugs are given off label, [and although they are never promoted while breaking advertising laws as is being done here], does it matter? After all we’re talking about your libido and being mentally sharp – don’t you want to improve that? You’ll feel like yourself once more and you can keep on having fun in life! You deserve it!
Who wouldn’t want HRT?
I mean, seriously, who wouldn’t?!
All your symptoms and fears of future chronic disease wiped aside by this tiny packet of pills/cream/gel/patches.
It’s so seductive!
In recent months, I’ve heard a version of all of the above from the UK band of menopause celebrities – be them doctors who are becoming household names, journalists, MPs and women who made a name for themselves by being on TV. It’s no wonder that so many women are reaching out to me feeling alone because it seems like all their friends have fallen for the seductive HRT narrative, which is created through false promises, not backed by science and is being pushed out in violation of medical ethics.
Sorry to break it to you but nowhere in history or in the world does good, long-lasting health come from a pharmaceutical product. Health doesn’t work like that! Your body doesn’t work like that!
I know that so many women are exhausted, overworked and struggling with symptoms and they don’t want to read research papers that take away hope by disproving all the promises menopause celebs offer about HRT promoted as a wonder drug.
So many want the government and pharmaceutical companies to save them because taking responsibility for our own health beyond making a doctor’s appointment and running to the pharmacy to pick up the prescription can seem like a lot of work.
But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Basic principles of health that can help bring perimenopause and menopause symptom relief and a greater sense of well-being can all be incorporated into lifestyle choices. They can become part of our everyday, without the risk of side-effects.
Your body goes through a sensitive time at midlife because CHANGE is on the cards. A woman enters a rite of passage to become an elder. It is part of the design that you learn where good health lies so that you can thrive into old age and be the wiser elder that your family and humanity needs.
If a woman keeps on living with high stress, a poor diet, minimal movement and barely any sunshine, she may well face health struggles down the line. Not because she failed to artificially adjust her hormone levels at midlife, but because she innocently failed to listen to her body’s needs. Outsourcing symptom management to profit-driven players with long histories of scandals, and accepting the unhealthy lifestyle patterns that society has created keep us distant from our body’s wisdom and the messages we need to hear.
Our long-term health cannot be outsourced. It’s an inside job and once we stop looking outside of us for solutions, we allow perimenopause and menopause to become the empowering journey that they are meant to be. You already have everything you need for this journey and discovering that is life-changing – the blessings are tremendous.
And the added bonus? You don’t have to rely on government and corporate supply chains!
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Want to understand more about the claims around HRT and dementia? Read this blog post: Calm after the storm: perimenopause, menopause, the brain, HRT, dementia and Alzheimer’s
Want to understand more about the claims around HRT and bone health? Read this blog post: Osteoporosis, bone health, menopause, HRT and the confusing messages of medicine
Want to understand more about the claims around HRT and heart health? Read this blog post: Menopause, Medicine, Media and Myth
