Resources

In this four-part series, Dr. Jerilynn Prior, founder of the Centre for Menstrual Cycle and Ovulation Research, and a diverse panel of women discuss the importance of the menstrual cycle to a woman's overall health and explains how to keep track of your cycle using the Menstrual Cycle Diary.

Perimenopause, although characterized as a time of dropping estradiol involves chaotic estrogen levels that average >20% higher and intermittently are extremely high and ovulatory disturbances with decreasing progesterone levels. Perimenopause begins and is most symptomatic when cycles remain regular. Perimenopause is highly symptomatic for more than 20% of women--symptoms typically included heavy menstrual flow, night sweats, infertility, breast tenderness and sleep disturbances. Progesterone, because it normally counterbalances estradiol's actions, is effective treatment for heavy flow, probably night sweats, infertility and breast tenderness and definitely decreased anxiety and improves sleep.

The Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) Estrogen plus Progestin (E plus P) trial was prematurely stopped because it caused harm (1). Until the Estrogen in women with hysterectomy arm (E only) of the WHI was also halted prematurely in 2004 (2), progestin was blamed for the lack of heart disease prevention. But now, five years later, doctors and media are still discussing Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) and menopause as estrogen deficiency. The fundamental question is: Given these huge, great science WHI studies showing harm is caused by HRT, why has medicine not changed?