I recently added a
letter that I wrote to Senator Murray regarding
the Women’s Health Initiative to the site. Because of trials like the Women’s
Health Initiative women are left with the impression that their bodies don’t
need physiologic replacement.
Consider sending your thoughts to Senator Murray via the link on that page. In
order to make progress in this field we must first understand that HRT in
women’s medicine is not physiologic replacement.
Preventing Menopause FAQ’s
If
ovarian failure (menopause) can be prevented, why hasn’t my doctor told me?
Isn’t
ovarian failure (menopause) a normal part of life?
Why isn’t ovarian failure (menopause) treated like any other organ failure, i.e. liver, kidney, or heart?
Why should we say a woman is castrated instead of menopausal?
Can a proper balance of adult levels of ovarian hormones restore sexual function?
Is ovarian failure (menopause) in women treated the same as testicle failure in men?
If
ovarian failure (menopause) is so harmful to a woman’s health, why does the American College of Gynecologists recommend that women live with a level of sex hormones equivalent to castration (menopause)?
Sexual Response FAQ’S
What happens to the sex organs, (vagina, uterus and breasts) after ovarian failure?
Why is castration handled differently for men than for women?
Why don’t doctors work diligently with women to restore lost sexual function after
ovarian failure (menopause)?
Will a testosterone patch for women be available to help restore a woman’s sexual response?
HRT (hormone replacement therapy) FAQ’s
What is HRT and why is it so unhealthy?
Does HRT improve sexual response?
Andropause FAQ’s
Is Andropause the same as menopause (ovarian failure)?
What is the male equivalent of menopause (ovarian
failure)?
Preventing Menopause FAQ’s
If menopause (ovarian
failure) can be prevented, why hasn’t my doctor told me?
Because your doctor was taught in medical school that menopause
(ovarian failure) is normal and inevitable for women over 40. Therefore, it probably doesn’t even occur to your doctor to help you protect your ovaries from damaging medications, or to help you extend the life of your ovaries.
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Isn’t menopause (ovarian
failure) a normal part of life?
Ovarian failure (menopause) causes an unhealthy medical condition called hypogonadism. During the entire adult lifespan, hypogonadism is never considered normal.
Yet somehow, menopause (ovarian failure), which by definition is hypogonadism, has been dubbed normal.
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Why isn’t ovarian failure (menopause) treated like any other organ failure, i.e. liver, kidney, or heart?
Effective treatment for ovarian
failure (menopause) should be offered because it is very unhealthy, just like the failure of any of our other vital organs. The human body was not designed to function optimally with only some of its organs. It was designed to function with all of its internal organs. As a result of ovarian failure (menopause) a woman’s risk of breast cancer increases dramatically, her quality of sleep decreases and her sexual response nose dives.
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Why should we say a woman is castrated instead of menopausal?
It may be harsher to say castrated instead of menopausal but at least it's honest. Castration describes a hormonal state in which the ovaries no longer produce hormones either because they have failed or have been removed.
surgical castration is removal of the ovaries
chemical castration is damage to the ovaries = Castration
menopause is failure of the ovaries.
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Can a proper balance of adult levels of ovarian hormones restore sexual function?
Yes. Minimum levels of ovarian hormones are necessary for sexual function. With the products available today it is possible to reach the minimum levels though it is difficult. True ovarian hormone replacement is not the same as HRT, hormone replacement therapy. Better more versatile products will need to be developed to truly provide normal ovarian hormone balance.
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Is ovarian failure (menopause) in women treated the same as testicle failure in men?
No. Men who have had their testicles removed or have testicular failure suffer castration, but they are almost always encouraged to take replacement hormones in appropriate adult levels, no matter what their age. This is in sharp contrast to women who are routinely encouraged to live castrated in spite of the ill effects menopause
(ovarian failure) has on their health and sexual function.
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If ovarian failure (menopause) is so harmful to a woman’s health, why does the American College of Gynecologists recommend that women live with a level of sex hormones equivalent to castration (menopause)?
I don’t know. Research is available to show that ovarian function protects women’s health and sexual function. Medically, it makes no sense to encourage a woman to endure the health risks that occur as a result of menopause
(ovarian failure). Medically, what makes sense is to replace sex hormones to adult levels.
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Sexual Response FAQ’S
What happens to the sex organs, (vagina, uterus and breasts) after ovarian failure?
The ovaries produce hormones to keep the sex organs healthy. After ovarian failure (menopause) the sex organs suffer. The vagina shrinks and loses its elasticity, which can make intercourse painful and sometimes impossible. After ovarian failure the breasts begin to sag and the nipples lose sensitivity. Every woman’s sexual response declines following ovarian failure.
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Why is castration handled differently for men than for women?
Men are more vocal about their loss of sexual function than women. Men would not be swayed by a doctor who told them that it was stress, the kids, age or normal to lose the ability to experience sexual arousal and orgasm forever. If a man complains about a loss of sexual function and a simple blood test confirms a low testosterone level and he is otherwise healthy, a doctor will work diligently with him to find a comfortable level of hormone replacement to restore sexual function.
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Why don’t doctors work diligently with women to restore lost sexual function after
ovarian failure (menopause)?
The perception is that it is difficult to treat a woman for a loss of sexual function
after ovarian failure (menopause), so many doctors don’t try. Instead women are encouraged to continue sexual encounters with their partners and given vaginal lubricants to make intercourse possible.
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Will a testosterone patch for women be available to help restore a woman’s sexual response?
Currently, there is no pharmaceutical on the market to address castration-related sexual loss in women. However, there is a patch that has shown efficacy in restoring sexual function in women who have sub-adult levels of sex hormones. Unfortunately, the FDA has not approved it yet. Hopefully, in time this product will become available to women. Until restoring sexual response is seen as a priority among doctors, the products needed will not be developed.
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HRT (hormone replacement therapy) FAQ’s
What is HRT and why is it so unhealthy?
HRT is short for Hormone Replacement Therapy. HRT has been used in large clinical trials like the Women’s Health Initiative, and has been shown to be unhealthy. It does not protect a woman from heart disease nor does it improve her sexual response. It is important to recognize that HRT does not actually replace ovarian hormones, nor was that ever the intention. HRT was designed to help control hot flashes and to reduce bone loss. Because it is an oral estrogen it creates changes in the hormonal balance that reduces a woman’s sex drive and in no way represents a hormonal environment that the female body would ever see before or after menopause
(ovarian failure). This mixture is called hormone replacement therapy, HRT, because that is what the drug companies call it and for no other reason.
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Does HRT improve sexual response?
No. Standard HRT does not represent the hormonal balance that is necessary for sexual arousal and orgasm.
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Andropause FAQ’s
Is Andropause the same
as menopaue?
No. Andropause is the term that is
used when a man starts noticing a drop in his sex hormone levels. Andropause
would then be closer to peri-menopause (failing ovaries) than menopause (ovarian
failure).
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What is the male
equivalent of menopause (ovarian failure)?
Menopause (ovarian failure) creates
a medical condition called hypogonadism. Men who suffer testicular failure also
suffer the very same condition, hypogonadism. The symptoms are the same for women
and men. Hypogonadism causes a profound loss of sexual function, loss of
cognitive function, sleep disruption, irritability, hot flashes and much more.
Hypogonadism is never considered normal during the life span of women and men.
However, men are routinely treated while women with the exact same condition
(menopause) are routinely not treated.
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