The Women's Health Project stopped their study of women on conventional HRT early because of health scares, including of course cancer, primarily breast cancer. Bio-identical HRT on the other hand takes longer to show improvement, but I understand that there have been no cancer or other health scares associated with it. If I'm wrong, somebody here will contradict me I'm sure, and I'd be glad to know about it.

I was on Bio-identical HRT for a year or two after hitting a menopausal wall. Absolutely no energy, no joy of life, etc. It happened suddenly, up until then I was trucking along happily and suddently...bam. The bio-identical hormones took a few weeks to kick in and then I was back to my old self: good libido, weight loss, laughing, energy, and so on.

They are expensive, because not covered by insurance (not the actual hormones themselves, which are about $35 per prescription, but the consultation with a doctor). They are also tailored to the individual and that takes time to get right. For example, the testosterone in mine was too much at first. I understood what it must be like to be a 16 year old, horny, boy! But with some trial and error we got it just right.

On the other hand: I stopped the bio-identical hormones when I couldn't afford it anymore. Recently I needed a topically applied vaginal hormone and my GP prescribed a chemical form of estrogen. I was very wary, having researched man-made chemical hormones before and their results. But it was cheap, so I used it 3 times a week for 3 weeks. It worked great. Then I had a full blown period. I am 62 years old. It scared the sh#t out of me! My advice is don't take the conventional HRT, in fact run away from it. Save up your pennies and go for the bio-identical kind.