Menopause Books

Review by Diana J. Diesch:

This book was written for every woman who has ever had a question regarding peri-menopause and menopause. I am a mental health professional specializing in women’s issues, I recommend this book to all of my patients 35 and over. This book will answer questions you didn’t even know you had.

Review by Imperial Topaz:

I do understand why some people have rated this book only one star. The book gets into a lot of areas outside of mainstream medicine. However, I felt most of what she had to say was medically sound. If you are looking for a book that gives only AMA-approved advice, this is NOT the book for you. I think this book is actually quite valuable. Who would benefit from it most are people who want BOTH AMA-approved advice, AND who want to consider things like herbal remedies, acupuncture, and other natural treatments. These discussions are particularly valuable for anyone who cannot take traditional hormone treatments for various reasons–such as if you have deep vein thrombosis (which I do). She covers alternative therapies very well, in depth, and from the perspective of a physician who has had many years experience in trying these natural therapies with patients, and with herself. So, here you can get a POSITIVE physician’s viewpoint on alternative therapies. Yes, it’s true she discusses her personal life, and I personally enjoyed those parts. It’s also true that she sometimes gets readings from Tarot cards, but if something comes out of them, she always checks into those areas which have come up in the readings with traditional medical tests and treatments. If you’re not into “nurturing your fibroid,” or tarot cards, just ignore those parts of the book. Ignoring these parts was not a problem for me. The important thing is, this book is NOT trying to convert people to new-age treatments. It is seriously discussing a number of alternative therapies, from a medical standpoint, that MANY people have already been using on their own for many years–but these people can’t find any doctor who will seriously discuss the merits and demerits of any of these treatments. Furthermore, she DOESN’T concentrate ONLY on these alternative therapies–she discusses all the traditional therapies very well. Should you buy this book? If you are the type of person who is only comfortable with traditional medical advice, you will NOT like this book. Buy another one. If you are someone who is looking for a SERIOUS discussion of alternative therapies, you will think this book is wonderful. I fall primarily in the former camp, but am also open to the latter camp for consideration. I found the book very useful, and felt it was well worth the money I spent on it. The main reason being that it discussed SO MANY MORE aspects of menopause than I ever would have dreamed of thinking about!! It is not a book you can sit down and read cover-to-cover. It has to be read slowly, and digested. After reading this book and another one, I went to see my doctor with a list of pre-prepared questions, and he said I was the best-informed patient he had ever had (here in Morocco). I suggest that you DO buy this book, but you might want one or two other books which cover different aspects of the menopause transition. The other book I chose was a paperback called “The Silent Passage,” and between the two books, I feel very satisfied.

Review by :

Kathryn Petras’ book The Premature Menopause Book is the only book out on book shelves that deals with this very importtant topic. As the founder and creator of HotFlash! the perimenopause/menopause web site and online support group I have interviewed Kathy and read her book. Her compassion and breath of knowledge is incredible. She has helped literally thousands of women through her book and drive to make this once unknown health challenge get the attention it deserves. In dealing with the media and in consulting with women, I have found that women AND men want to know all they can about perimenopause and menopause. While folks are still catching up on what menopause means to the average woman, Kathy has broken ground in talking about the health challenges, emotional struggles, and the reality of hitting menopause, (which traditionally occurs at age 51) while still being thirty or even twenty. Doctors are finding more and more women, each day, are in early or premature menopause. Thankfully Kathyrn Petras has written a compassionate and informative book to help all women who are faced with a premature menopause.

Review by MPB:

This is a revision of Dr. Susan Love’s Hormone Book – which was updated and republished after the Prempro arm of the Women’s Health Initiative was halted.

The best thing about this book is its perspective. Susan Love writes as a woman experiencing menopause. She’s a doctor and serious researcher who insists on hard EVIDENCE, not just good theories. She’s a doctor who feels a responsibility to her patients and readers, a responsibility to fully and accurately INFORM them, so that they can make their OWN choices. She’s a researcher who knows how to analyze and re-analyze data. She is open minded.This book sets out to inform women about menopause, its mechanisms, its symptoms, its accompaniments, and ALL the available treatment choices from positive thinking, to diet, to acupuncture, to herbs, to pharmaceuticals, to exercise, and everything in between. It includes information on what is and isn’t known about each possible treatment, as well as the risks and benefits of each. Dr. Love is not looking for “converts” to one side or the other of the “hormone wars,” as so many menopause/hormone authors seem to be. She is not the sort of doctor who tells patients/readers what to do. She clearly feels that every woman should make her OWN choices, and that those choices will be different for each individual woman. While educating her readers, she is also good enough to state her own positions, so readers can factor in consideration of her personal prejudices. Yet, she clearly supports women’s choices whether or not they are ones she would make herself. She asks only that those choices be based on understanding and knowledge.

The Prempro phase of the Women’s Health Initiative was halted due to the serious side-effects of that drug. Susan Love largely predicted those results in the earlier editions of this book. She had the courage to stand-up to other doctors in a field which is not her specialty (she’s a breast surgeon), and question the “evidence” upon which they relied for their theories and therapies. She stuck to her guns although she was severely criticized (and readily admitted when she herself was in error). Despite the fact that Dr. Love was widely vindicated by the Women’s Health Initiative, she refrains from taking an “I told you so” position in this new edition that incorporates the Prempro findings of the WHI.This book goes further than just informing. It goes into detail on just about every possible form of menopause therapy: eastern, western, new-age and old wives’ tale. It also details virtually every variety of drug, every dosage, every form of administration, as well as the particulars of what actions specific medications, herbal and naturopathic remedies might have. Dr. Love educates us with whatever solid knowledge there is about each, and she gives us tools to help evaluate future data. She is a scientist whose mind is open to considering all possibilities. And, she’s a woman who knows the menopause experience.

Review by Rachel Elaine:

Back-to-back, I’ve read this book and the other one by Dr. John Lee, “What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Pre Menopause: Balance Your Hormones And Your Life From Thirty To Fifty.” Although the one just mentioned is more pertinent to my age group, and both books cover much of the same ground, I chose to review this book because it seems to be more in-depth. Both books, however, are laden with valuable information for women of any age.

The late Dr. Lee had done his homework even after medical school ended and it showed within both of his books. Everything is explained simply, concisely, thoroughly and in easily understandable terms.

Topics include: biochemistry of the body and synthetic drugs and hormones, mechanisms of the body, glands and functions, the estrogen myth and results of HRT study, female cancers and causes, autoimmune disorders, pros of natural progesterone and details of all relevant hormones, the pharmaceutical community and conventional medicine practices, illness and natural prevention, nutrition and exercise, osteoporosis and bone re-building, vitamins, herbs and minerals, heart disease and strokes, insulin and glucose, thyroid problems, liver health and many, many more that tie everything together so sensibly.

Without the specific label of a holistic doctor, Dr. Lee obviously believed and practiced a more natural way for his patients to live with optimal health and well-being. His books attest to the facts that natural is always best; synthetic drugs will always have side effects because they are foreign substances to our bodies; radical surgery is not always the best answer and menopause is not a to-be-feared disease.