The No-Nonsense Guide to Menopause

By Laura Eldridge and Barbara Seaman

Book Overview

For nearly as long as women have been around, they have been going through menopause. It is a bodily process as old as human birth, death, and of course, menstruation. Like many normal biological events, menopause was gradually medicalized, and with the rise of pharmaceutical medicine, women and their doctors were convinced that it was an "estrogen deficiency disease" that could be treated by supplementing the body's declining estrogen levels with hormones. By 2002 hormone treatment had been on the market for more than fifty years when doctors and women alike were shocked by the results of a massive clinical trial, the Women's Health Initiative: women taking hormones had more heart attacks, breast cancer, strokes, pulmonary embolisms, and blood clots than women who did not, and patients were left scrambling to find new and sometimes difficult answers to their menopause and midlife health questions.InThe No-Nonsense Guide to Menopause, Barbara Seaman, a legendary figure in the women's health movement, and Laura Eldridge have written a comprehensive, easy-to-use resource that will give you all the information you need to make smart and informed decisions that will put you in control during this time of transition -- medically, psychologically, sexually, and even financially.With the latest research on everything from hormone replacement therapy to skin creams to preventing osteoporosis,The No-Nonsense Guide to Menopauseis the definitive manual on this important subject. You'll find out which changes are expected and natural and which can be a cause for concern; how hormonal shifts can affect your heart, your sex life, and your mood; and what you can do to address these issues. Whether the authors are discussing the risk factors for heart disease, the benefits of lifting weights, or if you should consider a hysterectomy, they offer unbiased, straightforward information and advice with a signature blend of wisdom and sensitivity.Perhaps most important, you'll learn how to evaluate what you read in magazines, hear on the news, and are told by your doctor, so you can distinguish between solid facts and dubious claims. By learning how to read and evaluate scientific studies and becoming familiar with what goes on behind the scenes in research labs, at doctors' offices, and at pharmaceutical companies, you will be able to become your own advocate. The next time you go to the doctor's office, you will know how to make the most of your visit and leave feeling confident, informed, and in command. There is no one way to experience menopause and no single way to handle the challenges it can present, but as a no-nonsense patient, you will have the tools you need to make decisions that are right for you.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743276787
• ISBN13: 9780743276788
• Release Date: July 2008
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 496 Pages
• Weight: 1.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 1.5" x 6.1"

Customer Reviews

Who's right when everyone is wrong?

I thought this book seemed very true, but then every other book on hormones and menopause seemed true as well. I felt like this book shot down every hope of relief from hormonal symptoms-HRT to herbs and alternative treatments. Put on your cotton shirt and get out the fan. I guess it's not what I wanted to hear. If all these woman say is true, a lot of women have been skrewed(sorry-best word I could think of...) It seems like no one really knows the best answer for problems of womens health. As hard as someone is screaming that they have the answer, someone else is screaming that the opposite is true.

This is the book I have been looking for!

My search for straight-forward information about menopause ended when I found this book. Thirty years ago, Barbara Seaman's "Free & Female" was a revelation for me. It provided the straight-forward information I needed during that time of my life. Now Seaman had done it again, this time for menopause and not a moment too soon! I had been flailing around the internet seeking answers to many if not all of the questions posed in this book. Happily, she and co-author Laura Eldridge have found the answers and deliver them in clear, concise language understandable to anyone without a medical degree, i.e most of us. Highly recommended for everyone--the women who are going through this transition, those around them who are wondering what the heck is going on with their wives, sisters, daughters, friends and the medical professionals we turn to for help during this time of change.

The non-nonsense best book about Menopause

Do not waste your money and time with other books about menopause. I did and not only most books are negative and give you a terrible picture of this change of life, but they are often too oriented "pro" or totally "con" HRT and other approaches. This one is open and nicely wrote. With a good sense of humor, it approaches each point with a positive and realistic attitude. It is easy to read, informative and never boring. To keep on your bedside table....... Agmari

This book helped me alot

I read five other books on menopause and pre-, peri-, and post menopause, prior to picking this one up at the library. This one helped me the most. It explains in some detail the studies done on hormones (natural, bioidenticals, and traditional) and what they have and haven't proven. The authors try to present the information in a straight-forward way, without too much bias, so you have the information to make a healthy decision for yourself along with your doctor. The menopausal years can make you feel a little crazy and not like yourself. This book helps identify what is attributable to horomones and what is normal, healthy aging. It also provides information about what symptoms hormone therapy can help, and how to cope with other symptoms or feelings that HT can't help. And it backs everything up with scientific studies - not just the opinion of one doctor, pharmaceutical company, celebrity, or health guru. Plus the information is very up to date, which is important as the information about hormone therapy changes and improves. If you're questioning whether or not to take hormones, or what kind of hormones to try, I suggest reading this book.