Make the hormone connection... and let THE SEXY YEARS begin!
What are the differences between synthetic and bioidentical hormones?
Why do bioidentical hormones help women lose weight?
My memory is not what it used to be… can bioidentical hormones help me?
How can bioidentical hormones help you reinvigorate your sex life?
Will bioidentical hormones help with hot flashes and sleepless nights?
How can bioidentical hormones help fight the symptoms of aging?
My doctor knows nothing about these natural hormones… where do I go to find a doctor who can help me?
Do I need a prescription for bioidentical hormones?
What specific questions should I ask my physician about hormone replacement?
Where do I get bioidentical hormones?
Do men also go through a type of menopause?
How can bioidentical hormones help men regain the energy they had in their youth?
Discover the hormone connection: the secret to fabulous sex, great health, and vitality for women and men in my newest book.
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All my life I have prided myself on being a person who looks at life with a positive spin. I have refused to be a victim, whether faced with an alcoholic father, a teenage pregnancy and subsequent divorce from the father, the struggles of single motherhood with no consistent job, a tangled affair with a married man, a catapult into stardom only to be cut short by a scandalous contract negotiation, a fight to regain my career, dealing with the complexities of blending two families into one, even a battle with a life-threatening disease. Through it all I have searched for the lessons that life brings. My abusive father unwittingly taught me to fight and believe in myself, even when I felt no one else did. My son has been my greatest gift, and I believe he was sent to me to keep me alive through one of the most difficult periods in my life. An affair turned into my future husband, my lifelong partner and ultimate soul mate. The years I lived as a destitute mother have kept me grateful for all the blessings I now have in my life. When Three's Company ended, I was forced to look deep within myself and develop other areas of my career beyond being a television actress -- as a stage actress, an author, a lecturer, and ultimately a brand name. The hard years of blending stepchildren have paid off, as we now have a unified family that is my greatest joy . . . with six grandchildren! And cancer taught me about the enormous love that surrounds me, that I can overcome any obstacle, and to enjoy the sweet moments of each and every day.
I wasn't looking for another lesson in life, but you never know when it will arrive. Here I was, merrily handling the aging process and being grateful for the wisdom I gained in exchange for the crow's feet around my eyes. The children were grown with families of their own, and I had decided this was going to be the best phase of my life yet. I would grow old gracefully and teach those around me that we don't have to dread this time of life. Then, suddenly, the Seven Dwarfs of Menopause arrived at my door without warning: Itchy, Bitchy, Sweaty, Sleepy, Bloated, Forgetful, and All-Dried-Up. One by one they crept into my own private cottage in the woods and started to take over my life. For me, the first to arrive was Itchy. I developed this itch on my right calf that was so irritating, I wanted to scratch the skin right off my body. Then Bitchy came to my door. No longer was my PMS contained to one to two days a month -- it felt like constant PMS. Then I would swing from Bitchy to weepy -- for God's sake, what was wrong with me? Ding-dong . . . It's the middle of the night, and Sweaty has crawled into bed with me, Oh, yes, Sweaty brought embarrassing hot flashes and introduced me to night sweats where it seemed as if a faucet had been attached between my breasts. Of course, Sweaty brought about Sleepy because I was tired all the time. I would wake up so many times in the night and not be able to get back to sleep. Bloated crept in slowly. My once-svelte figure got thick through the middle section, even though I was following my weight-loss program that had worked so well for so many years! I can't quite remember when Forgetful arrived, but one day my brain stopped working. I considered myself a pretty focused woman until Forgetful came and I could not keep a coherent thought in my brain. I remember doing an interview, and I couldn't remember a single question to ask! Am I getting Alzheimer's? I wondered. Last, All-Dried-Up slowly encroached upon my happy marriage. This was probably the most unpleasant of the dwarf family. Sex was no longer on the top of my list . . . or on my list at all. My husband would give me that knowing look, and I would think, "Frankly, I'd rather have a smoothie."
Yes, menopause had hit me like a ton of bricks, and I was completely unprepared. My mother certainly never talked about it. I had no training for this! Our mates are just as unprepared. At first men may be sympathetic, but they quickly tire of the complaining, worn-out rag of a woman formerly known as the love of their life. To alleviate our symptoms, we seek answers from our doctors and get conflicting reports about hormone replacement therapy. Yes, it will take away the symptoms, but what are the risks? I don't want cancer, but I'm so depressed! Most conventional wisdom in our fix-the-symptom medical community leads women to synthetic hormones in combination with Prozac or Paxil (which is simply Prozac turned into a pink pill for women with PMD or menopausal symptoms) to help them through this passage. This is not a cure, by any means.
So why, you ask, would I call this book The Sexy Years? Doesn't sound so sexy yet, eh? Because I have found the elixir -- the juice of youth that has sent the Seven Dwarfs of Menopause off to the coal mines never to return! I handled this crisis like every other one in my life. I was not going to let it beat me. I would not go silently into the night and let go of the woman I wanted to be for myself and for my husband. So I fought for an answer that would work for me. I dug into research on the subject and talked to as many doctors as I could. One thing I have learned is that medicine is not black and white. No one doctor has the right answer for everyone: You must gather all the information and make the decision you feel is best for you. There are hundreds of ways to make brownies . . . you must find the recipe that you think tastes the best.
Personally, I have found my answer. What was it that sent those wretched dwarfs packing? Natural bioidentical hormones. As you will read in the coming chapters, I have learned that natural bioidentical hormones are the secret to handling this passage of life (not the synthetic hormones that only slap a Band-Aid on your menopausal symptoms and have garnered so much controversy in medical studies, and certainly not black cohosh and yams). Once I got my hormones balanced by actually replacing the lost hormones, I lost Itchy. My mood leveled off and I lost Bitchy. I got control of my body temperature and Sweaty went away. With balanced hormones Sleepy disappeared and I recovered the glorious ability to sleep through the night. Day by Day my body slimmed down, so I could say good-bye to Bloated. I regained my sharp thinking -- farewell, Forgetful. And the look in my husband's eye was returned with a wink and lovingly reciprocated, as I happily banished All-Dried-Up.
I am a testament that it is possible to take on this passage of life and embrace it. I will tell you that you do not have to take this transition lying down. You have choices! You have options! You have solutions! In this book I share with you my journey and several stories of what other women are dealing with so that you may find your own answers. I have interviewed cutting-edge doctors who have provided further information that natural bioidentical hormones are the way to go. This book gives you a battle plan to conquer this beast and come out the other side with a victorious song of praise.
It takes commitment to approach this time of life with grace, anticipation, and a willingness to really look at the truth about yourself, not only physically but on an emotional level as well. The amount of work you are willing to put into this passage will determine your happiness quotient -- but wouldn't all the work be worth it if, in the end, you knew your life would be the best it had ever been? I can't speak for any age group but my own; however, I do know each passage brings its rewards if you know what it is you want from your life. If you grieve for your once-perfect body and your twenty-year-old looks, this book will not help you. But if what you desire is confidence, extraordinary good health, happiness, peace, serenity, fulfillment, great looks, a fabulous body, lots of fun and a sex life like you've never had before, then by all means read on.
There is only one thing you need to know before you start reading, and it is that it's up to you. No one can help you into the next passage except you, and that is the challenge and the fun. What you resist persists; what you fear is what you draw to you. If you fear growing up, if you are afraid of evolving, you are doomed to be an immature adult. There is nothing more unattractive than an immature adult. These are the people whose lives have gone off track because they are foolishly chasing their youth instead of accepting change. But life is a flow, and we must follow it wherever it leads us. The happiest people are those who can put this into a positive perspective. Everything you think you have lost is really your opportunity to gain. It's looking at the glass as half full instead of half empty.
There is no need to dread menopause. The work I have done to understand this time of life has brought me to a place of absolute joy. I am balanced and on track, and -- no kidding -- this passage has become the most glorious time of my life. As you read this book, you will see that, across the boards, it is the women of menopausal age on natural bioidentical hormones who are enjoying the greatest health and quality of life. When you get your hormones balanced and actually replace the hormones you have lost in the aging process, you will experience the bliss, vitality, sexual vigor, and excitement that I have come to experience at this age. There is no reason to suffer through this hormonal passage, and so many women are suffering. Menopause is a challenge and it takes a lot of work to manage; but once you understand how to balance your hormones, it becomes simple. You'll wonder why you did not approach menopause this way in the first place. Honest to God! This period of my life, menopause and all, is the best I have ever felt.
Come with me on this exciting journey. I want to share everything I have learned in my search for answers. This is exciting information that you can pass on to your daughters, sisters and women in general. And let's not forget the men in our lives. Wait until you learn about male menopause and andropause. It's a very real passage that is highly misunderstood. In this book I will explain not only women's hormonal needs, but also men's need for sex hormones, testosterone, estrogen (yes, estrogen), progesterone, and DHEA; and this information is life-changing. We men and women are in this together, so let's help one another.
There is so much misinformation and ignorance about this time in our lives. As baby-boomers we have always demanded a better quality of life. After all, we are the generation who burned our bras; we demanded equality in the workplace; we are the first generation of women who wanted to understand the complexities of our feelings and used therapy as a learning tool. So now we've reached a time in our lives when women of prior generations suffered in silence. The silence has led to ignorance and confusion about menopause. But why shouldn't we demand optimal treatments and the best information available about this transition? Let's get it on the table. Let's let go of the shame. Let's make this the best time. Let's be creative about how we present ourselves at this age. Let's look at life as though the glass is half full. Then we can truthfully pass on to the next generation (by our example) the message that this is an enviable passage.
Imagine that you can enjoy your sexuality today in a way that will make those early years of intensity, new love, and overwhelming magic seem like child's play. You know why? Because it was child's play! At my present age the fears, the guilt, the embarrassment, and the worry no longer factor into my sexuality, because my life is on track emotionally and hormonally. I'm feeling frisky, and I want to tell you how and why. As I said, growing up is not for sissies. Achieving this bliss will require an honest look into the part you are playing in the drama of your life. It will require you to take an honest look at how you are managing your health. Once you get your hormones in balance, we will look to see what behavioral patterns you have created that are preventing you from becoming your happiest self, a process that requires absolute truthfulness to your self about yourself. What is it about you that you would prefer no one ever know? This is a good place to start. This is where healing can begin. These are the steps toward enjoying the sexy years.