Women are Suffering in Silence…
For countless women in menopause, this transformative experience is marred by distressing symptoms that impact their physical and emotional well-being. Compounding the challenges, many women find themselves suffering in silence, with healthcare providers dismissing them and refusing to prescribe hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
The Unseen Struggles of Menopause
Menopause symptoms can have a profound impact on a woman’s quality of life, often leading to anxiety, depression, and impaired daily functioning. Many women silently bear the burdens of menopause. A significant reason for this silence is the social stigma surrounding aging and the perceived loss of fertility and femininity associated with menopause.
Women may feel embarrassed to discuss their symptoms or may believe that they should endure these challenges quietly. This reluctance to share their experiences can lead to feelings of isolation and a lack of support from friends and family.
The Gaslighting Effect
Gaslighting is a psychological manipulation tactic in which a person is made to doubt their own reality and experiences. In the context of menopause, many women report experiencing gaslighting from healthcare providers who downplay or dismiss their symptoms.
Instead of receiving empathetic and evidence-based care, some women are told that their symptoms are exaggerated, psychosomatic, or a natural part of aging. They receive prescriptions for antidepressant and anti-anxiety medications, which come with numerous side effects and fail to tackle the underlying issue of their symptoms, which is the deficiency of sex hormones.
For decades, women in menopause have been told:
“Hot flashes will eventually go away… It’s just part of menopause… Get a fan…”
“Menopause is natural and part of getting older… Let it run its course…”
“Hormone therapy causes cancer…”
“Hormones increase your risk of heart attacks and strokes…”
“Hormones are not worth the risk…”
“Weight gain is part of getting older, just exercise more and eat less…”
“There is no need to test your hormones…”
“There’s nothing we can do…”
There are several factors that contribute to doctors’ refusal to prescribe hormones:
Lack of Training: Healthcare providers do not receive comprehensive training on menopause and HRT. This knowledge gap can lead to a lack of understanding about the benefits and risks of HRT, resulting in inadequate care for women in need.
Fear of Litigation: In some cases, doctors may be concerned about the potential for litigation if adverse events occur during HRT. This fear can lead to a reluctance to prescribe hormone therapy.
Misconceptions: Some doctors hold misconceptions about HRT, associating it with increased risks of breast cancer and heart disease. Many women also refuse to get HRT because of the perception that it causes breast cancer and heart disease.
This misconception started after a study that was done in the late 1990’s called the Women’s Health Initiative, which included tens of thousands of women. The purpose of that study was to discover benefits and risks of HRT for menopausal woman. The study was stopped abruptly in the early 2000’s because of a perceived risk of breast cancer and heart disease.
That study created the misconception that HRT causes cancer and heart disease, and since then, some providers still have that misconception and have not updated their knowledge and research on the subject. So, they end up scaring women form HRT and planting the idea that they will cause those health risks.
Dr. Peter Attia labels this situation "Hands down the biggest screw-up in the medical field in the last 25 years."
For more details on this study, read our blog titled “You Have Been Misled About Menopause!”
