Norah O'Donnell: What I learned from my doctor about menopause
Summary
Dr. Rachel Rubin explains menopause as a natural stop of ovarian hormone production, which causes symptoms like hot flashes and mood changes. She suggests vaginal hormones can prevent urinary infections in menopausal women and highlights the role of testosterone in women's health during menopause.Key Facts
- Menopause means the ovaries stop making hormones like estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone.
- This hormone loss causes symptoms such as hot flashes, poor sleep, mood changes, weight gain, and memory problems.
- Vaginal estrogen can prevent urinary tract infections (UTIs), which are common after menopause and can be dangerous if untreated.
- Fewer than 10% of postmenopausal women use vaginal estrogen, despite support from medical groups.
- Using vaginal estrogen could save Medicare between $6 billion and $22 billion yearly by reducing serious infections.
- Women naturally produce more testosterone than estrogen and need testosterone to make estrogen in the ovaries.
- Testosterone therapy can help some menopausal women with low libido and overall well-being, though no FDA-approved testosterone products exist specifically for women.
- Norah O'Donnell herself uses low-dose testosterone prescribed by her doctor.
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