“It’s powerfully GOOD news,” said Dr. Northrup when she received word of a Congressional Resolution asking the FDA to rescind its ban on the use of the bio-identical hormone estriol. So, despite popular belief, women who are concerned about their health care and who want to explore all options really can fight city hall.

I have not yet experienced the symptoms of ‘menopause’, yet my mother and other family members started warning me at a young age of the senility, hot flashes, and potential facial hair growth that could occur. This, of course, made me anything but excited about reaching the end of my reproductive years. However, a recent lecture on the subject made me rethink much of what I, and my American female peers, have been told about menopause.

Some aspects I never considered before:

(HealthDay News) -- Women tend to miss almost half their menopause-related hot flashes, which are associated with memory problems, according to a University of Illinois at Chicago study that included 29 women with moderate to severe hot flashes.

The women wore monitors that measured skin changes during a hot flash. Both subjective (self-reported) and objective (detected by the monitor) hot flashes were recorded over 24 hours. The average number of objective hot flashes was 19.5 per day, about 40 percent more than were reported by the women.

By Shannon Koehle
EmpowHer's Health Reporter

Menopause can be a stressful, irritable time in one’s life. Suffering from hot flashes, mood swings, decreased libido, low energy and more, some women’s symptoms are simply unbearable.

While there are medical treatments available to relieve symptoms, the International Hormone Society, made up of a collection of doctors worldwide, holds that bio-identical hormones may be safer than synthetic ones.

But what are Hot Flash Hands???

I stopped taking the pill 7 months ago and started on bioidenticals 6 months ago. The month between starting hormone replacement therapy I gained between 10 and 15 pounds and cannot lose this excess weight. I have NEVER had a weight problem and exercise regularly and follow a well balanced diet. By exercise I mean 5 to 6 days a week for at least one hour, sometimes an hour and a half if I have time. Specifically, I spin 4 days a week and lift weights in between. I also substitute jogging for spin clases.

By Shannon Koehle
EmpowHer.com reporter

Memory loss is a common sign of aging that is now associated with menopause.

Often linked to symptoms that include hot flashes, night sweats, irritability, and increased stress, research and patient complaints now indicate memory loss could be an additional symptom of this natural process.

As president and founder of The American Menopause Foundation Maria Lugano says, there’s not much information to confirm or deny the connection between memory loss and menopause, but it is a symptom.

Pretty simple. I'll read a book and forget what I read immediately. I can watch a movie over and over again and it's like watching it for the first time. Anyone ever experience this? Anyone have any ideas to improve the situation? SB

I was taking pempro, it quite helping me. The doctors here took me off and put me on an estrogen cream that does not good. I have been taking tylenol PM for five years and it does not always work. I would rather have a natural solution to my problems, but I cannot find any medical person that can help me. Anyone out there that can direct me to the correct person, it would be greatly appreciated. As you can see it is 12:29 am and I am awake . . . HELP!

As I try to write this I am Flashing. I had a Hysterectomy 2 and 1/2 years ago. I am 55 years old. Ever since the surgery I have massive mood swings,hot flashes and night sweats. I can't sleep without a sleeping pill and now I add a muscle relaxer because of my resistance to the sleeping pills. I take Estratest but does not seem to help much. I have been on anti-depressants for 20 years my dosage had to be increased since the surgery. I read your article in the newpaper today and copied it at work.