Better Living Through Pharmeceuticals

Ah, to Hormone Replacement, or not to Hormone Replacement. That is the question. I can tell you that if you knew me for the past year, you would have said, HORMONE. REPLACEMENT. YES. NOW. HOW SOON CAN YOU GET IT INTO YOUR SYSTEM, SISTER?

I know, I know. You're thinking, this woman is loco, doesn't she know it causes cancer in your lady parts? Yes, the answer is that she does know, but she also knows that when it comes right down to it, sometimes YOU GOTTA DO WHAT YOU GOTTA DO. Feeling utterly miserable 24/7 is a valid reason to want to replace your dwindling hormones. Or at least that's where I finally arrived. On the Good Ship, I AM LOSING MY MIND BECAUSE I HAVE NO ESTROGEN OR PROGESTERONE. All aboard, we're setting sail to CRAZY TOWN.

Let me just stop here and tell you that the last thing I ever thought I would do was consent to go on hormone replacement. I have been vehemently against it FOREVER. My sister has been using it for a decade and when I would whine and cry and call her to tell her that I was trying to find a roof that was high enough to kill me if i jumped and not just maim me, she would gently suggest I try it and I thought what you thought, DOESN'T SHE KNOW IT GIVES YOU CANCER IN YOUR LADY PARTS? Now, my sister is a very smart and she loves to research something until there is not a shred of anything she doesn't know. And that's exactly what she did with hormone replacement. This girl did her reading. And googling. And doctor visiting. And she decided it was worth the risk and could, maybe even be a good thing to do for your health. Yes, that is actually what she found that some very intelligent people's think.

Well, there wasn't much she could do to convince me because I generally like not to do stuff that will increase my chances of getting cancer. It seems like there's so many things that can give you the big C, why improve your odds if you can help it? But that was when I was just irritated by the acne on my chin, and the crankiness and the brain fog. That was before the year of the hot flashes and sleepless nights. That was BEFORE the bleak and hopeless thinking started. The thought that maybe I should find a nice ice floe and set sail into the sunset with a bad magazine and a pint of Ben and Jerry's.