Tag: menopause

Menopause Isn’t Taboo

Menopause is not a taboo subject, and the Care Package is a mixture of quack remedies, questionable products, and placebos. This is silliness, not science.

/ February 1, 2022

Laser Therapy for Vaginal Rejuvenation

Some doctors are offering laser therapy for "vaginal rejuvenation". It is no more effective than placebo, can cause harm, and is very expensive.

/ October 19, 2021

Estrogen Matters

Hormone replacement therapy in menopause is safer and more effective than we have been led to believe. A new book examines the evidence and sets the record straight.

/ September 4, 2018

The Hormone Myth

"Mary is really bitchy today; she must be on the rag." Comments like this are all too common, and are misguided. In her new book, Robyn Stein DeLuca dispels the myths about how hormones affect women's moods and mental health, myths that have contributed to unequal treatment of women. Junk science supported the myths; good science debunks them.

/ August 15, 2017

Hormone Replacement Therapy for Menopausal Symptoms: Setting the Record Straight

Whether you call them hot flashes or “power surges,” the symptoms of menopause can be very distressing. They were routinely treated with hormone replacement therapy (HRT) until the Women’s Health Initiative study in 2002 persuaded many patients and doctors to abandon that treatment. The results of that study were misunderstood by some and questioned by others, and there continues to be confusion...

/ May 17, 2016

Acupuncture does not work for menopause: A tale of two acupuncture studies

Arguably, one of the most popular forms of so-called “complementary and alternative medicine” (CAM) being “integrated” with real medicine by those who label their specialty “integrative medicine” is acupuncture. It’s particularly popular in academic medical centers as a subject of what I like to refer to as “quackademic medicine“; that is, the study of pseudoscience and quackery as though it were real...

/ April 18, 2016

More Acupuncture Misrepresentation

Poorly done acupuncture studies are published every week, so I can’t write about every one that comes out. I probably would have passed this one by, except for the New York Times article using it to tout the effectiveness of acupuncture. The headline reads: “Acupuncture, Real or Not, Eases Side Effects of Cancer Drugs.” I know that authors, in this case Nicholas...

/ January 22, 2014

Christiane Northrup, MD: Science Tainted with Strange Beliefs

After her daughter left for college, Christiane Northrup, MD, went for a morning walk one day. About halfway through her walk she developed an ache in her throat radiating up into her jaw. It felt like a fist was squeezing her esophagus. It persisted even after she returned home. What would you have done? I think even the average layperson knows that...

/ May 27, 2008