Dear nycartist:

You are welcome and thank you for your appreciation.. I appreciate it!

I read your third post and re-read your second:

1. “I am suddenly able to run over 2 miles”- running is risky at any age, but especially if one’s bone mass decreases and the person is more prone to fractures. Brisk walking provides the same aerobic exercise benefits without the risks. Whether you take hormones or not, it makes sense to walk fast (3-4 miles per hour),  but not to run. When you run your body weight drops on your joints again and again every time you hit the ground;  when you walk (or swim) that doesn’t happen (I walk 3.5 miles per day, I am in my fifties, post menopause).

2. I read about menopausal hormone therapy. I am sure you have all the information you need available to you, but it won’t hurt if I share with you a few things that I read (Mayo Clinic and Wikipedia):

– “for best results, hormone therapy should be tailored to each person and re-evaluated every so often to be sure its benefits still outweigh the risks”.

– when a woman still has her uterus, estrogen is never prescribed alone, it is always prescribed with progesterone, because estrogen alone increases the risk of uterine cancer.

– “In the largest clinical trial to date, a combination estrogen-progestin pill (Prempro) increased the risk of certain serious conditions, including: heart disease, stroke, blood clots, breast cancer. Subsequent studies have suggested that these risks vary, depending on age.”- younger age- less risks, more benefits, but not necessarily, depending on other factors such as lifestyle and body weight.

– Regarding osteoporosis, there are other drugs that “effectively maintain bone density and decrease the risk of breaking a bone as a result of osteoporosis”, so keep in mind that menopausal hormonal therapy is not the only therapy to prevent or improve the loss of bone density. Mayo mentions  “lifestyle changes and medications other than hormone therapy for long term protection” (of osteoporosis and heart disease following menopause).

-regarding your mother suffering a stroke when she was 40 as a result of taking birth control, I read in Wikipedia: “The combined oral contraceptive (COC)  pill.. includes a combination of an estrogen.. and a progestogen (specifically a progestin).. COC pills with more than 5 micrograms of estrogen increase the risk of ischemic stroke and myocardial infraction but lower doses appear safe. These risks are greatest in women with additional factors, such as smoking (which increases risk substantially) and long- continued use of the pill, especially in women over 35 years of age”- so.. better see to it that the dosage of estrogen you take is lower than 5 microgram…? (ask a doctor).

– The more years a woman uses the pill, the greater the risk. Same with menopausal hormone therapy, the more years, the greater the risk. I read that it is not recommended to do the menopausal hormone therapy when a woman is 45 or older. So I figure if you do this therapy, it should not be for longer than 8 years… or shorter? (ask a doctor).

– The following harms everyone at any age and any condition: smoking, too much alcohol, immobility, over-exercise, malnutrition, obesity. (I also read today what is news to me, that too much animal protein causes a depletion of calcium).

I hope you post again with your thoughts, feelings and what’s next for you.

anita