My menopause symptoms are making me uncomfortable. is hormone replacement therapy recommended?

No: Hormone replacement therapy will not eliminate your menopausal symptoms. It will only delay them. Once you stop the hormone replacement therapy whatever menopausal symptoms you are destined to experience will occur at that time. In addition, hormone replacement therapy does have increased risk of blood clot and stroke. Menopause is like puberty. It is a natural part of our lives.

In many cases: While menopause is natural, so is dying from bacterial pneumonia. Most of us would take an antibiotic to treat the pneumonia, so it makes sense to treat menopause. 1) HRT to reduce/ eliminate symptoms and 2) long term health benefits of HRT such as bone strength, bladder &sexual health, memory, possibly prevent heart disease. Each woman should check with her md to balance her risk/benefit profile.