‘Women are left wondering, ‘‘Who do I believe? My clinician, who I’ve been going to for 20 years and who seems real smart, but he or she doesn’t seem to know any of this stuff, or the person on social media who’s got 2 million followers?’’ Composite: The Guardian/Getty Images View image in fullscreen ‘Women are left wondering, ‘‘Who do I believe? My clinician, who I’ve been going to for 20 years and who seems real smart, but he or she doesn’t seem to know any of this stuff, or the person on social media who’s got 2 million followers?’’ Composite: The Guardian/Getty Images Call the doctor Well actually I’ve heard menopause hormone therapy fixes everything. Should I take it? Timely treatment provides relief for menopause symptoms, but expecting it to fix all of them is a set-up for disappointment
Prefer the Guardian on Google I t happens with some regularity. I offhandedly mention some bodily inconvenience to a fellow middle-aged woman – indigestion, a headache, a bad mood. Immediately, she says it’s perimenopause and suggests I try hormone therapy.
These moments give me whiplash. In 2002, when I was a medical student, a study frightened a generation of patients and clinicians by suggesting the risks of menopause hormone therapy (MHT) – blood clots, stroke and breast cancer – outweighed its benefits. Then, in 2012, scientists took a closer look at the evidence, along with new data, and found the calculus only applied to older women. Now, many clinicians are comfortable prescribing hormones. In fact, some are a bit too comfortable hawking them as a cure-all.
Timely treatment provides immense relief of menopause symptoms, and has the added benefit of lowering fracture risk. But ascribing all your ills to menopause and expecting treatment to fix them is a set-up for disappointment.
Read more Here’s how to tell what’s hype and where menopause treatment can actually help.
In a 2025 Mayo Clinic study , about one-third of women reported having pronounced menopause symptoms. But only 13% sought treatment, and the real-world number is probably even lower, says Nanette Santoro, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology and menopause researcher at the University of Colorado.
One issue is that menopause is not confirmed until a year after one’s last period , by which point “we’ve missed the window when they have been their most symptomatic”, Santoro says. But lack of appropriate care is also a factor: When women raise concerns about menopause symptoms with their clinicians, many are dismissed .
At the same time, menopause awareness is growing. Celebrity advocacy , social media , and a long-overdue cultural reckoning around women’s health have driven a demand for care.
But menopause isn’t the only thing that happens to women’s bodies with age. By the time women hit perimenopause, at least half already have a chronic medical condition. The same awareness that is finally getting women into doctors’ offices is also convincing them they need hormones for symptoms that may have other causes – or no cause at all.
“It can be tricky,” says Lauren Streicher, a gynecologist and menopause researcher at Northwestern University. “Is your mouth dry because you’re post-menopausal, because of the medication you’re taking, or because it’s just one of those things that happens as you get older?”
Claims that treatment reduces weight gain , prevents dementia , averts heart disease , prolongs life and confers “ hormonal balance ” – whatever that is – aren’t groun…