Menopausal medication has recently been shocked by the WHI (Women’s Health Initiative) study which changed the entire way of considering prescribing menopausal medications drugs to alleviate menopause symptoms. Hence, this worldwide, major study was surprisingly stopped in the middle of its course after preliminary results showed that what was once freely prescribed menopause medication were holding a considerable threat to women using them for a long term.
Menopausal medications which consisted of an association of estrogen and progesterone were found in this study, when used over a prolonged period of time to maybe have an association with an increase in cardio-vascular complications and even some breast cancers.
The conclusion of this wide study was that further studies were needed but that caution in prescribing menopausal medications is warranted. Hence, what used to be almost an automatic reflex for doctors to prescribe HRT (hormone replacement therapy) to all women going through menopause is now highly questioned. Hence, if at all considering using menopausal medications in the form of HRT, a physician always needs to weight the benefits and the now known risks of such medication.
Caution has been emphasized in women using menopause medication for a longer period, their risks of developing serious complications increasing as the duration of HRT increases.
In order to limit the needs for menopausal medications, a woman going through peri menopause should take proper action and consider adopting a healthy lifestyle. Exercising regularly and eating properly have shown in numerous studies to have beneficial effects and are a good alternative to menopausal medications.
After the shocking results of the WHI study and the serious questioning of how society view menopause more as a disease that a natural passage, the use of menopausal medications has been highly reconsidered and a more natural approach privileged. It is a common reflex in our society who is often in search of a “quick fix” to small disturbances to favor the medicalization or even overuse of drugs in answer to common and often benign problems. Such overuse of menopausal medications has been now condemned by a very serious worldwide study and more natural solutions to menopause symptoms are now searched.
Routine menopausal medications prescription is now a thing of the past and the medical community has been alarmed that what was considered the safe and standard of treatment for menopause carried serious health risks.
Such a warning should definitely apply to all drugs that have been liberally prescribed for common problems such as ADD, male hair loss, common mood disorders, etc in the past. Who knows maybe very soon such a shocking study as the one about menopausal medications will unreveal serious health threats for people who have used these drugs for a prolonged period. That is the second valuable lesson to be learned form the WHI study on menopausal medications.
For more information now go to: http://www.happymenopause.com/Early-Menopause-Symptom.html