Surgical Menopause: Special situations: no HRT

There are a number of reasons why some women are unable to take hormones in surgical menopause. A blood clotting disorder or cancer are the most common reasons for this, but occasionally we hear of doctors recommending against hormones for other reasons such as blood pressure, smoking, or fear of the other risks they can carry. Whatever the reasoning, this is a difficult road to follow. While women in natural menopause can often get by with symptomatic relief to augment their own lingering ovarian output, a woman in surgical menopause is most likely going to have to face life in some degree of hormonal deficiency.
Of course there are also women who wish to refrain from taking HRTs or supplementing their hormones (these may not be considered the same thing by many women). We've read comments from many women who are afraid of hormones or HRTs because of some family history of cancer or because they had their hysts for cancer. But not all cancers are the same in the effects hormones may have on them, and if you don't know, for sure and in detail, that your specific cancer or family risk is specifically estrogen-mediated, you may want to discuss your own particular risk factors with an oncologist. Just because cousin Mabel thinks she recalls that Great-aunt Violet died of some sort of cancer doesn't mean that HRT may pose an unacceptable level of risk for you.
By the same token, if you cannot safely take HRTs, please understand that alternative HRTs like nutraceuticals and high-phytoestrogen foods do contain functional hormones and carry those same risks you're avoiding with prescription HRTs. And consider further that if you deem a family or personal cancer risk too high to supplement your hormones, you may want to discuss with an oncologist whether your own hormones also present that level of risk. Remember: your body doesn't stop producing hormones entirely when you lose your ovaries: you are still producing enough for the majority of your needs via body fat and adrenal conversion. If the small increment that HRT use adds is too dangerous, so too might your own production pose an unacceptable risk. An oncologist can help you explore whether you need to take drugs to block all hormone production or use in the body, and this may be every bit as important for you as not adding more to your system.
.........for Sandy
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