The other day I noticed a billboard advertisement for a business called "The Happy Hormone Cottage" They advertise themselves as "Empowering women to take charge of their quest for hormone balance on their journey to healthy living."
It caught my attention because my SO had recently had a conversation with her primary care doctor about hormone therapy, but she has decided to not participate.
The name of the business: "Happy Hormone Cottage" raised some suspicions on my part as to what this company was all about. I asked a friend who is an Ob/Gyn about it and she said that it was a business established to take advantage of less sophisticated women who may be considering hormone therapy for post menopause reasons. She also said that more often then not they are known for mis-prescribing or over prescribing medications.
It seems that there has been a lot of bad press over the years in regards to hormone use and the side effects. From my layperson's perspective, I would be very concerned about the exposure to those risks. I know it depends on which hormone we are talking about and also the particular medical history of the patient, but when I hear of higher risks of cancer, bone density loss, etc etc I am glad that my SO decided not to take them.
Knowing that there are many members of this board actively taking hormones, my question is how did you weigh the risks versus the benefits in making your decision to proceed with hormone therapy?