Q. I am at my wits’ end. I’ve been taking Prempro for hot flashes. Now my doctor wants me to stop because of cancer concerns. Whenever I quit, though, the hot flashes return worse than ever.
My friends swear by bioidentical hormones, but my doctor says that they have not been proven any safer than Prempro. She wants me to try Effexor XR, but I am not ready to take an antidepressant for hot flashes. Help!
A. Your doctor may be reacting
to a study reported at the American Association for Cancer Research this spring. The Nurses’ Health Study acquired data from 60,000 women over several decades. Those who took postmenopausal estrogen were at greater risk of breast cancer. Progesterone increased the risk even more.
Bioidentical hormones have not been tested so thoroughly, so your doctor is erring on the side of caution. For more information on dealing with hot flashes and vaginal dryness, plus the pros and cons of hormones, we are sending you our Guide to Menopause. In it we discuss nondrug approaches such as Pycnogenol and black cohosh. Anyone who would like a copy, please send $3 in check or money order with a long (No. 10), stamped (65 cents), self-addressed envelope to: Graedons’ People’s Pharmacy, No. W-50, P.O. Box 52027, Durham, NC 27717-2027. It also can be downloaded for $2 from our website: www.peoplespharmacy.com.
Although antidepressants like fluoxetine (Sarafem), venlafaxine (Effexor) and paroxetine (Paxil) may ease hot flashes, stopping such drugs suddenly can cause unpleasant withdrawal symptoms, including dizziness, headache and hot flashes.
View the Original article
No comments:
Post a Comment