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A FACILITY/WELLNESS CENTER
A recent study has shown what some might consider to be obvious – that when a woman has increased information about the different treatment options that are available to her, she is in a better position to make decisions about her treatment. The study explored whether “decision aids” used by women considering their menopause treatment options assisted them in making a decision. While the additional information did seem overwhelming at first, the women in the study were able to make more solid decisions once they had all of the information in hand.
“Without understanding your personal risks, it can be a bewildering choice,” said Nananda Col, M.D., lead study author. “People tend to make choices based on the last spectacular headline they saw. For example, the increased risk of heart attack when taking combination hormone replacement therapy is true, but how big that risk is — compared to how big the benefit will be — is substantially different for every woman.”
The point here is that it is important to take charge of the direction of your own life. Going through the aging process can be overwhelming. Sometimes you just want to hand off your decisions to a doctor or someone else interested in giving you advice. But in order to make the best decision for you, YOU need to be the one to make the decision. Of course, you should work with health care providers to get the most accurate information about your options, but you shouldn’t let anyone else decide what treatment is best for you. Menopause may make your body feel like it’s out of your control but you grab the reins and keep on riding that horse where you want to go.
