What I learned about The Menopause that convinced me HRT is the right option for me: Part 1

So some of you might have watched Davina McCall’s documentary about the Menopause on Channel 4 last week. It was something that was long overdue just from the perspective that we need to get people talking openly about it. The nugget that surprised me most of all was that just 10% of women going through The Menopause are taking HRT. Wow.

Now, I know this is a very emotive subject, and as a yoga teacher some of you might be surprised to hear that I am a real advocate of it. Never in a million years did I think I’d be here sharing this perspective with you 12 months ago. So I thought over the course of a few posts I’d share with you the things I’ve learned about The Menopause and HRT that have opened my eyes and convinced me HRT was the right option for me.

1. The Menopause isn’t a disease. It’s a natural part of what happens to us as women. BUT The Menopause is a MARKER for disease. And this is important.

Estrogen plays a huge role in keeping our body systems working well. And as we start to lose A LOT of estrogen (and good quality estrogen) during The Menopause, things stop working so well. In particular, we’re at greater risk of cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, diabetes and dementia.

Estrogen is an important part of what keeps the arteries to our hearts clear and flexible so they can manage changes in blood flow. As our estrogen levels start to decline, so the risk of plaque building up in these vessels increases and as a result, over time so does the risk of cardiovascular disease which can lead to things like heart attacks, stroke and vascular dementia. Did you know that cardiovascular disease is the single biggest killer of women?  

Loss of estrogen also has a significant effect on our bone density. Our bones become thinner and more fragile making women more susceptible to broken bones as we get older. One of the main breakages seen in older women are hip fractures, which are very difficult to recover from and which quickly take their toll both physically and psychologically.

Other major diseases linked to a decrease in estrogen include diabetes, depression and dementia. Our bodies are littered with estrogen receptors which help our body systems to work better. They’re in our brains, heart, blood vessels, skin and bones and so it should be no surprise that, as estrogen decreases so significantly, these systems don’t work as well as they should.

Now that’s quite a lot to take in, right?

So why is this the number one thing that made me start to rethink HRT, even over things like the risk of breast cancer (we’ll get onto that in a separate post)? Because while there are loads of other natural complimentary therapies / choices that we can make like yoga, nutrition, supplements – and I do practice some of these – ultimately none of them will replace the estrogen that I’m losing due to The Menopause. But HRT will.

Now I completely appreciate that there are lots of other things to consider, and I’ll give you my perspective on some of the most important ones that influenced my own decision making as the weeks go on. But this was a big one for me. Knowing that the decisions I take now on how I manage The Menopause will have a really significant outcome on major health conditions when I’m older.

Get the lowdown on HRT and The Menopause at menopausedoctor.co.uk