ask: HRT

Between having a compromised immune system and intolerance of a multitude of medicines and soy, I'm not a good candidate for HRT. So, I've had to muddle through several years of going through the "change of life," the hot flashes and night sweats, sudden brain "freeze" and loss of concentration, and, most of all, the weight gain. Not fun.

I started running several years ago, competitively only about 4 years ago, and the heightened activity from 6 months of intense training every year has helped, somehow. Changing my eating regimen to organic, whole foods versus processed, refined foods has also helped, somehow.

My physician's nurse practitioner agreed with my resisting HRT, anyway, as there had been conflicting information about the benefits and the possible risk of breast cancer, heart disease and stroke. However, it seems that, after more research, HRT is not so "ominous," after all.

Have other women taken HRT and found it works well for them? Do you think it works better than diet modification and exercise? Or is a combination working best? I'd love to hear from you!

http://www.webmd.com/menopause/features/hrt-revisiting-the-hormone-decision