Toni Hurst
Patient ExpertToni wrote for HealthCentral as a patient expert for Menopause.
Latest by Toni Hurst
How Clean Are Your Arteries?
Perhaps like some of you, my cholesterol was fine and dandy until recently, when my “bad” cholesterol (LDL) started to creep up and then skyrocketed as my body entered full-tilt menopause. I wondered why. I know that SOMETHING will eventually kill me ...
Do You Need A Hysterectomy?
(Part 1 of 2) An overwhelming number of women who ask questions or make comments on this site are questioning their doctor’s recommendation about a hysterectomy, or wondering whether their hysterectomy is causing their dire menopausal symptoms. It am...
Should You Be Taking An Aspirin A Day?
Menopause brings on so many changes that it’s hard to know what to do first. Address your hot flashes? Take care of your mood swings? What about those headaches? Actually, while menopause brings on a lot of physical changes, many of which can be anno...
Sex vs. Romance for the Menopausal Woman
I’m sure it hasn’t escaped anyone’s attention that Valentine’s Day is coming up. I remember when I used to like that day. I even looked forward to it. The romance. The anticipation. But in recent years, it’s been The Dread. Sometimes I feel like our ...
Mad As Hell - Can You Get Fired Because of Menopause?
I just read a newspaper article about a woman in the Midwest who says she was fired because of her menopausal symptoms, and if it’s true, I am hopping mad. Bad enough that we have to go through hot flashes, weight gain and mood swings, now we have to ...
Leaky Pipes and What To Do About Them
Most of us can deal with hot flashes (barely), the weight gain and the mood swings, but perhaps the MOST embarrassing and annoying aspect of menopause is urinary incontinence, “leaky pipes,” as some TV commercials refer to it. It happens at this stag...
10 Things to Know Before You Go To the Doctor
It’s December, and I know you’re all busy, but it’s also the month to see a doctor. For those of you who have Flexible Spending Accounts through you employer, or your partner’s employer, you need to use the money in that account by the end of the yea...
Urinary Tract Infections in Post-Menopause Women with Vaginitis Eased by Estrogen
Back in high school biology we all learned that there are many different organ systems in the body–the circulatory system, the respiratory system, the reproductive system, the urinary system and so forth. I think of them as having separate organs and ...
They're Baaaaack -- Yeast Infections Linked To Hormone Replacement Therapy
Two of the best aspects of menopause – and there aren’t many – are that you 1) stop having to deal with menstrual periods, which always came at the very worst times (like on vacation) and 2) for me, those recurrent yeast infections that I got in my 2...
New Test Can Predict Menopause
No sooner had I posted my last piece about women wanting to know if they are in menopause (and not being able to get precise answers) than a study was released by scientists at the University of Michigan that they’ve developed a blood test that can t...