Menopause Expert Sandy Greenquist shares Menopause management news and commentary at MyMenopauseConnection.com. The HealthCentral Network, Inc. (www.HealthCentral.com) is one of the top health destinations on the Web, with more than 35 condition-specific, wellness and general health Web properties. http://www.healthcentral.com/menopause/c/74726 http://www.healthcentral.com/menopause/c/74726/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/menopause/c/74726 http://www.healthcentral.com/menopause/c/74726/58856/bearing-exercise Fri, 20 Mar 2009 11:58:00 -0400 Sandy Greenquist It seems that most of us are aware that women begin to lose bone at a more rapid rate after menopause. We're pretty well-schooled in the fact that we need about 1200mg of calcium (1500 mg if not on hormone therapy), 600 mg of magnesium and at least 1000 IU of vitamin D3 daily in order to help our bodies continue to build bone and prevent osteoporosis. And we've been told to do weight-bearing exercises to protect our bones. What seems to be... http://www.healthcentral.com/menopause/c/74726/58856/bearing-exercise http://www.healthcentral.com/menopause/c/74726/58855/vitamin-fuss Wed, 18 Feb 2009 11:56:00 -0500 Sandy Greenquist A large and growing amount of evidence on the benefits of vitamin D and the risks of its deficiency has been predominantly ignored until recent years. Vitamin D deficiency has very few obvious outward signs which may account for the lack of attention previously paid. Several years ago a nutrition expert I often consult with told me that, based on her study and observations over the years, she recommends extra vitamin D3 for her clients in the... http://www.healthcentral.com/menopause/c/74726/58855/vitamin-fuss http://www.healthcentral.com/menopause/c/74726/54514/build-difference Mon, 12 Jan 2009 11:43:00 -0500 Sandy Greenquist It seems to me that far too many health care providers are jumping to prescribe one of the "bone-building" drugs as the first response for any woman who shows any sign of decreased bone mass, even when they are far from having osteoporosis or even advanced osteopenia (the level of loss before osteoporosis). The drugs, the first of which was Fosamax, do not come without risk, and many of us haven't really understood how they act.   First... http://www.healthcentral.com/menopause/c/74726/54514/build-difference http://www.healthcentral.com/menopause/c/74726/53609/hormone-therapy Sun, 28 Dec 2008 11:24:00 -0500 Sandy Greenquist The facts and the fiction...there are a lot of both. I, for one, am ready for the media to stop replaying various takes on the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) and alarming women with often erroneous, frequently skewed, stories based on that flawed study. The WHI released in 2002 investigated mostly older women (average age 64) who started hormone therapy (HT), specifically the synthetic hormones, conjugated equine estrogen and... http://www.healthcentral.com/menopause/c/74726/53609/hormone-therapy http://www.healthcentral.com/menopause/c/74726/52110/sex-menopause Fri, 19 Dec 2008 11:51:00 -0500 Sandy Greenquist Well, the short answer is yes. The long answer has a few conditions and gets a bit more complicated. Loss of libido (sex drive) remains a common, usually untreated symptom in postmenopausal women, even though decades of studies universally show that replacement of testosterone has a significant impact on a number of parameters, including desire, frequency, satisfaction, pleasure, fantasy and orgasms.   The first book to come out on the... http://www.healthcentral.com/menopause/c/74726/52110/sex-menopause http://www.healthcentral.com/menopause/c/74726/52109/hormones-mood Fri, 12 Dec 2008 11:49:00 -0500 Sandy Greenquist It has long been stated that women in menopause do not experience more depression or mood disorders than at other times in life. However, as research continues to investigate this little understood life transition, important facts are emerging. It is, of course, necessary first to differentiate the episodes of mood alterations which may occur on an episodic or cyclic basis, closely related to significant hormone changes and those that manifest... http://www.healthcentral.com/menopause/c/74726/52109/hormones-mood http://www.healthcentral.com/menopause/c/74726/48691/waist Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:31:00 -0500 Sandy Greenquist Of all the body changes that come with perimenopause, I think weight gain, usually in the form of abdominal fat, is the meanest. Weight gain in the abdomen is one of the most common complaints of women whose hormones have begun to change signaling perimenopause.   There are a number of factors that contribute to this phenomenon, including hormonal imbalance, the body's inclination to hold onto estrogen-producing fat cells in midlife,... http://www.healthcentral.com/menopause/c/74726/48691/waist http://www.healthcentral.com/menopause/c/74726/46812/vitamins Fri, 07 Nov 2008 16:25:00 -0500 Sandy Greenquist I am often asked by my patients, and I've wondered for myself, "Do I really need a vitamin and/or mineral supplement? If the answer is yes, then what and why?"   The current research would seem to support the recommendation that women can benefit from a good quality,vitamin/mineral supplement taken every day. This is even truer as our aging is taken into consideration. And, one fact is clear, taking a daily supplement won't hurt! Did you... http://www.healthcentral.com/menopause/c/74726/46812/vitamins http://www.healthcentral.com/menopause/c/74726/44728/bioidentical Tue, 14 Oct 2008 15:08:00 -0400 Sandy Greenquist Since the publication of the book The Sexy Years in 2004, which introduced bioidentical hormones to the public as an alternative form of hormone therapy to manage the symptoms of perimenopause and beyond, questions about effectiveness and safety have multiplied. In addition, the controversy between those who advocate the bioidenticals versus those who promote the traditional route of hormone replacement or no hormone therapy at all has raged... http://www.healthcentral.com/menopause/c/74726/44728/bioidentical http://www.healthcentral.com/menopause/c/74726/43736/perimenopause Mon, 06 Oct 2008 17:51:00 -0400 Sandy Greenquist Your periods are changing. They are coming closer together, and then farther apart, with more bleeding or less, more cramps or less and now you're passing clots. You may find your sleep is disturbed. You wake at 2 or 3 or 4 a.m. and are wide-awake, unable to get back to sleep. And your moods are suddenly an issue! Irritability, impatience, short fuse...weepiness, low mood, lack of interest and motivation.   At your annual check-up... http://www.healthcentral.com/menopause/c/74726/43736/perimenopause