Menopause For Dummies E-Book

Marcia L. Jones

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Ratgeber
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 582

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2011

Beschreibung

A comprehensive and practical guide for women of all ages to gain a clear view of the physical, mental, and emotional changes related to menopause Although menopause is a natural and inevitable stage in every woman's life, its physical, mental, and emotional manifestations can vary greatly from one person to the next. Add the conflicting "expert" information about the benefits, risks, and side effects to which women are exposed on a daily basis, and it's easy to see many women find it difficult to make informed choices about how to deal with their menopausal symptoms. Authored by a team of acknowledged experts in treating menopausal symptoms,Menopause For Dummiesprovides you with all the information you need to stay in control every step of the way. In plain English, it explains the role menopause plays in a variety of common health problems, such as osteoporosis, stroke, and heart disease. It walks you through proven measures for minimizing your risk of developing complications, including diet and exercise, stress management, hormone replacement, and other techniques. And this no-nonsense guide gives you authoritative, up-to-the-minute coverage of: * How to identify pre-menopause (perimenopause) and what it means * The stages of menopause * How menopause can affect your body, emotions, and libido * The latest facts about hormone replacement therapy * The pros and cons of various alternative treatments * The best ways of handling hot flashes * Easing symptoms with diet and exercise * Preventing bone loss * Helpful lifestyle changes This book has four top ten lists to provide even more ways of navigating the changes you'll experience throughout menopause--exposing common myths about menopause, giving you the scoop on medical tests you might need, kicking around ideas to kick-start or rejuvenate your exercise routine, and tempting you with fabulous healthy foods (because eating healthy doesn't have to be boring). Additionally, the book has a glossary and a list of resources to find more information about menopause, hormones, and related conditions. With Menopause For Dummies in your corner, you'll have a kinder, gentler "change of life."

Leseprobe

Menopause For Dummies, 2nd Edition

by Nancy W. Hall, M.S., M.Phil.,

Menopause For Dummies, 2nd Edition®

Published byWiley Publishing, Inc.111 River St.Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774www.wiley.com

Copyright © 2007 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax [phone]. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Legal Department, Wiley Publishing, Inc., 10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256, 317-572-3447, fax [phone], or online at http:// www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: The contents of this work are intended to further general scientific research, understanding, and discussion only and are not intended and should not be relied upon as recommending or promoting a specific method, diagnosis, or treatment by physicians for any particular patient. The publisher and the author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation any implied warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. In view of ongoing research, equipment modifications, changes in governmental regulations, and the constant flow of information relating to the use of medicines, equipment, and devices, the reader is urged to review and evaluate the information provided in the package insert or instructions for each medicine, equipment, or device for, among other things, any changes in the instructions or indication of usage and for added warnings and precautions. Readers should consult with a specialist where appropriate. The fact that an organization or Website is referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the author or the publisher endorses the information the organization or Website may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that Internet Websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read. No warranty may be created or extended by any promotional statements for this work. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for any damages arising herefrom.

For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 800-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax [phone].

For technical support, please visit www.wiley.com/techsupport.

Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2006934830

ISBN-13: 978-0-470-05343-0

ISBN-10: 0-470-05343-7

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

2B/RQ/RR/QW/IN

About the Authors

Nancy W. Hall, M.S., M.Phil., lived the menopause experience in real life as she wrote this book. In addition to delving into the most up-to-date research on perimenopause, menopause, women’s health, and treatments for menopausal symptoms, she relentlessly grilled her friends and a shocking number of complete strangers about their experiences.

Nancy received her Master’s degrees in psychology at Yale University. Her interest in various aspects of parenting led her to research and write about all sorts of issues pertaining to children’s and women’s health and work-life concerns. Nancy has been a contributing editor for both Child magazine and Parents magazine, and a frequent contributor to other parenting, women’s, and health magazines and Web sites. Her books on child development, family policy, and health include Balancing Pregnancy and Work: How to Make the Most of the Next 9 Months on the Job (Rodale, 2004).

Nancy is the mom of a son and a daughter (both keepers). When she’s not writing books and magazine articles about these and other topics, she knits, bakes artisan breads, raises bees, and studies goju ryu karate.

Marcia L. Jones, PhD, has life experience in fertility treatment, perimenopause, and menopause. In 1991, while attempting to start a family at the age of 38, she scoured bookstores searching for down-to-earth information on the likely problems and how to proceed. Her doctor directed her to the only information available at the time, photocopies of technical articles from medical journals and pamphlets written by pharmaceutical companies trying to sell product. Today, many women are delaying childbirth, so the issue of fertility fits nicely into a discussion of perimenopause and menopause. These experiences served as her primary motivation for writing this book. She became certain that women in their mid-thirties to late forties need current, unbiased, reliable information on perimenopause and menopause written for a layperson.

Thanks to the efforts of her doctor Jane Chihal, MD, a contributor to this book and a recognized expert on menopause and fertility, Dr. Jones was the proud mother of two girls ages 6 and 4.

Dr. Jones received her PhD from Southern Methodist University in anthro-pology. She led many research expeditions in the Middle East and served as an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Tulsa.

Growing weary of academia, Marcia shifted her career focus and entered the fast-paced world of software, achieving the rank of chief operating officer and co-owner of Criterion, a company that developed human-resource software for Fortune 1000 organizations. She grew Criterion from a $1.5 million company to a $10 million company and recently sold it to Peopleclick. During the past 18 years, she has written many articles on people in the workforce and taught courses in the use of human-resource technology as an adjunct professor in the Graduate School of Management at the University of Dallas.

Theresa Eichenwald has extensive experience caring for menopausal women as an internist at hospitals in New York, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, and, most recently, Texas. She has taught at Albert Einstein School of Medicine and Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York.

In addition to teaching and caring for patients, Dr. Eichenwald has authored a number of articles for professional journals, covering topics such as breast cancer and ovarian tumors, as well as patient education pamphlets. She is a member of the American Medical Association, the American College of Physicians, and in medical school participated in the American Medical Student Association Task Force on Aging.

Dedication

To David, through all the ages, and to Wilson and Meg, through all the stages.

Author’s Acknowledgments

My work could not have been accomplished without the solid foundation, wit, and wisdom of the first edition’s authors, the late Marcia L. Jones, PhD and Theresa Eichenwald, MD.

Special thanks to Leslie Connor and Sandi Kahn Shelton for always, always being there for me, and to Leslie, Sandi, and to Judy Theiss and the many other women with whom I spoke for graciously sharing their time and their own experiences. Thanks, too, to the hundreds of thousands of women who unselfishly participate every day in health studies and clinical trials that benefit millions of us. It’s not hot in here after all, but it’s nice to know it’s not just me.

A huge thank you to Marilyn Allen, who put me in the right place at precisely the right time.

The terrific Wiley Publishing staff was delightful to work with. Special thanks to Michael Lewis, who brought me on board and supported my approach to the book’s second edition. The wonderful support and spot-on advice of my project editor, Jennifer Connolly, didn’t just make it look easy — with Jenn to light the way, it really was easy.

Publisher’s Acknowledgments

We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our Dummies online registration form located at www.dummies.com/register/.

Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:

Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Development

Project Editor: Jennifer Connolly

Acquisitions Editor: Mike Lewis

Copy Editor: Jennifer Connolly

Technical Editor: Susan Kindig, MD

Editorial Manager: Michelle Hacker

Editorial Supervisor: Carmen Krikorian

Editorial Assistants: Erin Calligan, Joe Niesen, David Lutton

Cover Photos: © Rolf Bruderer/CORBIS

Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com)

Composition Services

Project Coordinators: Erin Smith and Jennifer Theriot

Layout and Graphics: Lavonne Cook,Stephanie D. Jumper, Alicia South

Anniversary Logo Design: Richard Pacifico

Proofreaders: Laura Albert, Jessica Kramer, Tricia Liebig

Indexer: Beth Palmer

Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies

Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer Dummies

Joyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director, Consumer Dummies

Kristin A. Cocks, Product Development Director, Consumer Dummies

Michael Spring, Vice President and Publisher, Travel

Kelly Regan, Editorial Director, Travel

Publishing for Technology Dummies

Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher, Dummies Technology/General User

Composition Services

Gerry Fahey, Vice President of Production Services

Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services

Contents

Title

Introduction

About This Book

Foolish Assumptions

How This Book Is Organized

Conventions Used in This Book

Icons Used in This Book

Where to Go from Here

Part I : The Main Facts about Menopause

Chapter 1: Mapping Out Menopause

Defining Menopause

Anticipating Menopause

Transitioning to Menopause

Treating Menopause

Promoting Longevity

Chapter 2: Talking Biology and Psychology: Your Mind and Body on Menopause

Setting the Stage

Making the Menstrual Cycle and Hormone Connection

Surveying the Role of Hormones

Understanding the Stages of Menopause

Seeking Out Support

Chapter 3: Fooling Mother Nature: Early Menopause

Understanding the Lingo

Coping with Sudden Change

Prepping for Surgical Menopause

Taking Advantage of Assisted Living

Finding Support: Birds of a Feather

Chapter 4: Getting In Sync with the Symptoms

Kicking Things Off with Perimenopausal Symptoms

Visiting the Menopausal Symptoms

Understanding That It’s Not Your Imagination

Part II : The Effects of Menopause on Your Body and Mind

Chapter 5: The Business of Your Bones

Homing In on Bone Health

Keeping Pace with Bone Reconstruction

Boning Up on Osteoporosis

Preventing Osteoporosis by Managing Your Risk Factors

Finding Out Whether You Have Osteoporosis

Treating Osteoporosis

Chapter 6: Getting a Handle on Heart Health

Keeping Up with All Things Cardio

Considering Cholesterol

Understanding Cardiovascular Diseases

Checking Out Your Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease

Being Smart about Your Heart

Chapter 7: Dealing with Vaginal and Urinary Changes

Understanding the Normalcy of Vaginal and Urinary Changes

Talking Shop with Your Doc

Overcoming Vaginal Changes

Talking about Urinary Problems

Chapter 8: Examining Your Skin and Hair on Menopause

Getting the Skinny on Skin

Preventing premature skin aging

Handling Hairy Issues

Chapter 9: Maintaining Your Sex Life Through Menopause

Looking at Menopause and Your Libido

Talking Turkey about Testosterone

Keeping Sex Sexy

Flirting with Fertility

Chapter 10: Mental and Emotional Issues

Understanding the Mental and Emotional Stresses of Menopause

Deciding Whether You’re Depressed

Dealing with the Head Games

Straightening Out the Commotions with Your Emotions

Part III : Treating the Effects

Chapter 11: The Basics of Hormone Therapy

Defining Hormone Therapy

Ticking Through the Therapies

Prescribing Pills, Patches, and Pomades

Searching for Sources

Doing the Dosing

Chapter 12: Understanding Hormone Therapy and Your Heart

Meeting the Players: Hormones and Your Heart

Understanding the Difference Between Hormones and Hormone Therapy

Identifying the Heart Disease Culprit

Skimming the Fat: Hormone Therapy and Your Blood

Oiling the Pump: HT and Your Heart

Chapter 13: Checking Out Hormone Therapy and Breast Cancer

Beginning with Breast Basics

Defining Breast Cancer

Taking Care of Your Breasts

Determining Estrogen’s Role

Checking the Link between HT and Breast Cancer

Assessing Your Risks

Using Hormones as Therapy

Choosing Your HT Regimen

Chapter 14: Reviewing Reproductive Cancers and Hormone Therapy

Colorectal Cancer

Endometrial (Uterine) Cancer

Ovarian Cancer

Cancers Unaffected by Hormone Therapy

Chapter 15: Considering Hormone Therapy and Other Health Conditions

Dealing with Deep Vein Thrombosis

Dissecting Diabetes

Facing the Facts about Fibromyalgia

Getting the Goods on Gallbladder Disease

Thinking about Your Thyroid

Looking at Lupus

Monitoring Migraines

Considering Cognition

Chapter 16: Making the Decision about Hormone Therapy

Outlining Attitudes about HT

Taking Everything into Consideration

Weighing the Benefits and Risks of HT

Getting to the Heart of Cardiac Health

Assessing Your Personal Risk

Summing Up the Studies

Presenting the Options for Perimenopause

Quitting HT

Recognizing Whether HT Is for You

Chapter 17: Taking an Alternate Route: Non-Hormone Therapies

Weighing the Pros and Cons of Herbs

Relieving Your Symptoms with Plants

Getting Touchy about Acupuncture

Soothing Symptoms with Mind-Body Therapies

Slip Sliding Away with Topical Treatments

Offering Options for Bone and Heart Health

Part IV : Lifestyle Issues for Menopause and Beyond

Chapter 18: Eating for the Change

Eating to Promote Good Health

Eating to Prevent or Contain Problems

Weighing in on the Weight Issue

Chapter 19: Focusing on Fitness

Recognizing the Benefits of Exercise

Focusing on Fitness Fundamentals

Exercises for Women with Osteoporosis

Exercises to Protect Your Heart

Chapter 20: Enjoying a New Lease on Life

Going from Menopause to Infinity

Working and Playing Well with Others

Retiring Gracefully (or Not)

Finding Your Spirit in Whatever You Do

Living Happily Ever After

Part V : The Part of Tens

Chapter 21: Ten Menopause Myths Exposed

You’re Too Young to Be Menopausal in Your 30s and 40s

Menopause Is a Medical Condition That Must Be Treated with Medicine

Menopause Isn’t a Disease, So There’s No Need to See a Doctor

You Lose the Urge to Have Sex after the Change

Irregular Vaginal Bleeding Always Means Cancer

Humps Accompany Old Age — End of Story

Only HRT Can Relieve the Symptoms

Women Don’t Need to Worry about Heart Attacks

Most Women Get Really Depressed During Menopause

You’ll Break a Bone If You Exercise Too Hard

A Blood Test Can Determine Whether You’re Going Through Menopause

Chapter 22: Ten Medical Tests for Menopausal Women

Pelvic Exam and Pap Smear

Rectal Exam

Colonoscopy

Bone-Density Screening

Mammogram

Cholesterol Screening

Fasting Blood-Glucose Test

Thyroid Screening

Ovarian Hormone Screening

Stress Test

Chapter 23: Ten Terrific Fitness Programs for Menopausal Women

Core Strength Training

Walking

Elliptical Training

Running

Swimming

Cycling

Yoga

T’ai Chi

Pilates

Water Aerobics

Chapter 24: Ten Powerhouse Foods for Menopausal Women

Soy Joy

Nuts to You

Catch of the Day

I Yam What I Yam

The Berry Blues

Flax Flying

Orange You Glad . . .

Tea for You

It’s Easy Eating Greens

Yo! Yogurt!

Part VI : Appendixes

Appendix A: Glossary

Appendix B: Resources

Fabulous Books about Menopause, Health, Fitness, and Related Issues

Wonderful Web Sites for Women

The Study Sites

Introduction

We wrote this book to give women of all ages a clear view of the physical, mental, and emotional changes related to menopause. For generations, women of all ages have approached menopause without knowing specifically what it would mean for them. Oh, you probably knew that menopause and hot flashes go hand in hand, but even that information isn’t always true. The truth is that you may never have a hot flash, and if you do, it will probably be years before you’re menopausal. Common knowledge about menopause is still too often dominated by myth and misinformation. (The medical community didn’t even officially recognize the link between estrogen and hot flashes until 1974!)

If menopause only concerned a small group of people on a desert island, this lack of information might be understandable. But over half of the world’s population will become menopausal one day. Menopause has been the misfit family member of the research community for years: a collection of symptoms and a very real phenomenon, but not a disease. Even medical textbooks pay scant attention to the topic. Today, one group is paying attention to menopause. The pharmaceutical industry sees great opportunity in the field of menopause, and more research is underway. If you’re looking for books to help reasonably intelligent women navigate the journey of menopause, your options are still somewhat limited to a choice between pretty, glossy pamphlets published by drug companies who may just be a tiny bit biased in their recommendations, or books that promote the natural aspects of menopause with such ferocity that you may feel guilty wishing for relief from troublesome symptoms. If you’re really persistent, you will find some academic articles in medical journals, but your eyes could glaze over as you try to pick out straightforward answers to your practical questions. We hope this book can fill that void. Our goal is to help you digest the research so you can make objective and informed health decisions based on your own experience with menopause.

Menopause is not a disease — that’s true. No one is going to die from menopause or its symptoms, but every day, women die from the medical effects of low estrogen levels. Your risks of certain diseases and cancers rise after menopause. Some folks may respond to that statement with one of their own, “Well, that’s because women are older when they go through menopause.” True again, but it’s also true that estrogen plays a role in an amazing number of functions in your body, some of which protect your organs, increase your immunity, and slow degeneration. This transformation we call menopause impacts our health in very significant ways. This book helps you understand the story behind the symptoms and the diseases.

Some women choose to use hormone therapy to relieve symptoms associated with menopause and protect their body from disease. The choice of whether to take hormones or not is quite controversial because hormone therapy has its own significant set of risks. The debate goes on in the medical community and media concerning the risks of hormone therapy. If you’re like many women, your confusion only grows as you read more on the subject. Each new study seems to contradict the findings of the last one. You’re an intelligent person. But how can you know which study you should believe? In this book, we try to provide enough information to enable you to make informed decisions about your health.

About This Book

We have no agenda in writing this book. We’re not trying to sell you medications, alternative health strategies, or remedies. This book presents accurate and up-to-date information from the most credible sources. It contains straightforward information based on reliable medical studies without the academic lingo common to medical journals. When no clear-cut answers exist and when quality research shows mixed conclusions, we let you know.

Everyone’s time is limited, so we cut to the chase. We cover the questions that are important to you during this phase of your life. If you want more detail, we provide an appendix full of resources to help with your personal research. We also try not to stray too far from the topic at hand. For example, during the years leading up to menopause, women may have difficulty getting pregnant. The same hormonal changes that cause those annoying symptoms prior to menopause also stifle fertility. Many women in their late 30s who are trying to get pregnant rely on hormone supplements. Despite the overlap in hormonal terms, fertility is not a concern for many women going through the change, so our discussion is limited.

Whether you’re going through the change, have already been there, or are about to start off down that road, you’ll find the information you need between these snazzy yellow and black covers. We cover all the health issues and therapy choices that confront women during the menopausal years.

Foolish Assumptions

Every author has to make a few assumptions about her audience, and we’ve made a few assumptions about you:

You’re a woman. (But, believe it or not, your treatment choices can have implications for the guy in your life, so we’ll talk just a tiny bit about his health, too.)

You want to understand what’s going on with your body.

You’re looking for straight talk for real people as opposed to scientific jargon and Medicalese (though we have a Medicalese icon to invite you into short — optional — forays into this territory).

You want to evaluate your risks of disease as you pass through midlife and move into your menopausal years.

You don’t want a book that claims to let you diagnose yourself or figure out what medications you need. You have a medical advisor to discuss these things with.

You want to be able to ask intelligent questions and discuss treatment alternatives with your healthcare providers.

You want to feel more confident about the quality of your healthcare.

You buy every book that has a black and yellow cover.

If any of these statements apply to you, you’re in the right place.

How This Book Is Organized

We’ve organized this book into five parts so you can go directly to the topic that interests you the most. Here’s a brief overview of each part:

Part I: The Main Facts about Menopause

The journey to menopause often catches women by surprise. You may not have been expecting to take the journey, or you may have been wondering when you would begin. In this part, we give you a quick overview of what your hormones are doing before, during, and after menopause. If you haven’t thought about things such as hormones and follicles for a while, don’t worry; we refresh your memory. Your sixth-grade health-and-hygiene course probably never finished the story. In this part, you get the whole story from how the egg makes its journey from the ovary to the uterus to what happens when the ovary goes into retirement. We’ve also added a chapter to answer the special questions you may have if you’re among the small group of women who (through illness, medical treatment, or some other factor) face menopause more suddenly or much earlier than most women will.

Part II: The Effects of Menopause on Your Body and Mind

Want to know how hormones affect the health of your body and mind? You can find the answers in Part II. We devote each chapter in this part to a specific body part or health issue. In each chapter, you get an overview of how hormones function in relation to this part of your body and the types of conditions that can develop, how to recognize them, and what you can do about them.

Part III: Treating the Effects

You may want to evaluate the pros and cons of hormone therapy (HT) from time to time during your journey through menopause. This part of the book brings you up to date on what the medical community knows about HT. We discuss the effects of HT so that you can make informed decisions. Reading these chapters provides added benefits as well: You’ll probably find it easier to evaluate the news about hormone research that comes out in future years.

We also include information about non-HT drugs and alternative treatments. This will help you make informed decisions on treating menopause symptoms and helping to protect your health during the menopausal years without hormones. You may be one of many women for whom hormone therapy isn’t medically appropriate, or you may just prefer not to take hormones, or to take them for as short a period as possible.

Part IV: Lifestyle Issues for Menopause and Beyond

Part IV is chock full of great ways to stay healthy and enjoy a long and active life during and after menopause. Staying healthy and active is simpler than you think. We discuss healthy eating habits and simple ways to stay fit. Whether you’re looking for natural ways to lower your risk of specific diseases or for ways to slow the aging process, you can find the information you need right here. We even get into the ways in which this new stage of your life can be richer and more exciting than any you’ve experienced yet.

Part V: The Part of Tens

If you’re a fan of For Dummies books, you probably recognize this part. These are short chapters with quick tips and fast facts. In Part V, we debunk ten menopause myths, review ten common medical tests you may encounter, suggest ten terrific exercise programs for menopausal women, and give you tips about ten powerhouse foods that will help keep you feeling your best — now and in the years to come.

Part VI: The Appendixes

A glossary of menopause-related terms and a list of menopause-related resources cap the book.

Conventions Used in This Book

We use our own brand of shorthand for some frequently used terms and icons to highlight specific information.

As you read this book, you’ll discover that menopause is a process, with different stages characterized by similar symptoms. These stages are referred to as perimenopause, the three to ten years prior to menopause when you may experience symptoms; menopause itself, which you know you’ve reached only after you’ve reached it because the definition of menopause is the absence of periods for a year; and postmenopause, which is your life after you’ve stopped having periods. In this book, we use perimenopause to describe the premenopause condition, and we use menopause to refer to everything after that just because the term postmenopause isn’t commonly used.

A major part of this book — the whole of Part III as well as sections in other chapters — talks about hormone therapy (HT), which is used to alleviate symptoms and address health concerns prompted by menopause. In literature and on Web sites, you can see hormone therapies referred to and abbreviated any number of ways, including hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and estrogen replacement therapy (ERT). But we stick pretty closely to using HT because we feel that it’s the most inclusive and accurate term. Just be aware that HT means essentially the same thing as HRT.

And, speaking of hormones, a couple of the more important ones for menopausal women have several subcategories:

Types of estrogen include estriol, estradiol, and estrone.

Progesterone is the class of hormone; the form used in hormone therapy is often referred to as progestin.

We sometimes use these terms interchangeably and only refer to the specific hormone as necessary for clarity.

Icons Used in This Book

In this book, we use icons as a quick way to go directly to the information you need. Look for the icons in the margin that point out specific types of information. Here’s what the icons we use in this book mean.

The Tip icon points out practical, concise information that can help you take better care of yourself.

This icon points you to medical terms and jargon that can help you understand what you read or hear from professionals and enable you to ask your healthcare provider intelligent questions.

This fine piece of art flags information that’s worth noting.

When you see this icon, do what it tells you to do. It accompanies info that should be discussed with an expert in the field.

The Technical Stuff icon points out material that generally can be classified as dry as a bone. Although we think that the information is interesting, it’s not vital to your understanding of the issue. Skip it if you so desire.

This icon cautions you about potential problems or threats to your health.

Where to Go from Here

For Dummies books are designed so that you can dip in anywhere that looks interesting and get the information you need. This is a reference book, so don’t feel as though you have to read an entire chapter (or even an entire section for that matter). You won’t miss anything by skipping around. So, find what interests you and jump on in!

Part I

The Main Facts about Menopause

In this part . . .

T he first act of Dance of the Hormones probably occurred three decades or so ago for you. Remember the bittersweet tale of teenage angst and joy that we call puberty? And now, intermission (the menstrual years) may be coming to a close as the hormones once again take the stage for the second act — menopause. Take your seat and get ready to peruse your program . . . uh, Part I of this book.

In Part I, we provide you with an outline to your menopausal years. We define menopause, review the biology, introduce you to the actors —your hormones — and briefly review the related symptoms and health conditions (physical, mental, and emotional). There’s even a special scene with a little extra drama for those of you for whom the menopause curtain rose early. Get to it before the usher dims the lights.

Chapter 1

Mapping Out Menopause

In This Chapter

Getting your feet wet with the basics on menopause

Figuring out where you are on the menopausal roadmap