Menopause treatment is getting personal

"For decades, menopause has been treated like a medical nuisance to be managed silently. Women, knowing it's taboo to talk about, have quietly dealt with symptoms like hot flashes, vaginal dryness, restless nights, brain fog, mood swings, and plummeting libido. "We've had a two-sided problem that is being unraveled: patients who have been left to suffer and providers who have been left without education," Jessica Nazzaro, a board-certified OBGYN, certified menopause practitioner, and a medical advisor for at-home hormone tracking company Mira, told Business Insider. Patients now "know they are not alone, not crazy, and can find help.""

"Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) - which restores a patient's levels of estrogen, progesterone, or both to relieve menopause symptoms - was once the only solution women could turn to for things like night sweats, hot flashes, and vaginal dryness. Then came the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) study in 2002, a long-term national study on preventing breast and colorectal cancer, heart disease, and osteoporosis in postmenopausal women, which found that HRT could increase cancer risk. Prescriptions plummeted, and stigma spiked."

Menopause has long been treated as a medical nuisance and a taboo topic, leaving many women to endure symptoms like hot flashes, vaginal dryness, sleep disturbance, brain fog, mood swings, and decreased libido. Patients and providers have lacked education and support, but access to at-home hormone testing, online menopause specialists, and mailed personalized prescriptions is expanding care. Hormone replacement therapy remains a primary treatment for symptoms, but the 2002 Women's Health Initiative findings reduced its use after linking HRT to increased cancer risk. Subsequent reanalysis identified limitations in that study, and current guidance favors individualized treatment plans that consider hormone type and patient risk.

Read at Business Insider