No Hormones, No Fear: A Natural Journey Through Menopause [Paperback]

Trisha Posner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 26, 2002

Five years ago, at the age of forty-six, Trisha Posner was surprised to learn from a blood test that she was in full-blown menopause. Her gynecologist urged her to begin hormones immediately, but, mindful of her family’s history of breast cancer, she refused.

No Hormones, No Fear is the story of Posner’s search for an alternative to the AMA’s sanctioned regimen of hormone replacement therapy. In a wonderfully engaging personal account, she reveals how she mastered menopause naturally, by developing a unique program involving exercise, diet, nutrition, and herbs. She not only successfully alleviated her symptoms but actually significantly improved her health and quality of life.

Now updated with the latest major medical studies, which raise troubling questions about estrogen replacement for millions of women, No Hormones, No Fear is an indispensable primer for women confronting the thicket of conflicting information about whether or not to choose hormones during menopause. Trisha Posner, through her own inspiring story, shows that today’s modern women finally have choices and can empower themselves by taking control of their health and lives.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Posner, a researcher and Webmaster (she has worked with her husband, Gerald, on several books), here chronicles an unconventional journey into menopause. Informed by her physician at age 46 that she was "in full-blown menopause"--and that, in order to avoid osteoporosis and a reduced metabolism, she required immediate hormone replacement therapy--Posner hesitated. When her doctor arrogantly dismissed her concerns about the risks of estrogen replacement (her mother and two aunts had had breast cancer), Posner was inspired to use her formidable research skills to look for alternatives. What she found was enough information to design a program tailor-made to naturally eliminate the negative physical aspects of menopause: hot flashes, diminished bone density and thinning muscle tissue. In clear and vivid language, Posner describes how she successfully experimented with herbs, vitamins, diet and exercise until she found a hormone-free combination that counteracted all these symptoms. The program, she asserts, made her body both leaner and stronger, improved the condition of her hair and skin and restored her libido. After her last medical tests, even her estrogen-pushing physician acknowledged that she was in excellent shape and had lost no bone density. This is not a medical text--Posner is careful to caution women that this program may not be appropriate for everyone--but it is an interesting and inspiring account by a woman who decided to take responsibility for her body and her health.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Two women who have experienced menopause share their personal stories along with advice for others. Posner, who had a family history of breast cancer, decided to write a book about her trial-and-error experience with nonhormonal approaches to treating the symptoms of menopause. Wanting to avoid both natural and synthetic estrogens, she researched and mapped her own course of treatment, relying on exercise, diet, and massive amounts of supplements. Written more like a autobiography than a medical book, her story isn't really that interesting, and Posner throws out some options like acupuncture because she "just felt it was not the way I wanted to treat menopause." An optional purchase, recommended only where there is a great interest in first-person health narratives. Women who really want authoritative help deciding what they should do will find better information in Moore's book. Moore also mentions her personal experience and does, in fact, recommend some of the same therapies that Posner uses, but this is advice coming from a medical practitioner. As a physician in private practice, she advocates starting small, using the least toxic treatments for symptoms such as hot flashes, migraines, and osteoporosis. She is open to all types of treatments ranging from homeopathy to hormone replacement. A more balanced treatment of menopause that includes allopathic and alternative therapies, her book is recommended for public and consumer health libraries.
-Elizabeth Williams, Houston Acad. of Medicine-Texas Medical Ctr. Lib.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Villard (November 26, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812967550
• ISBN-13: 978-0812967555
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.4 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #824,346 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #44 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Health, Mind & Body > Personal Health > Women's Health > General
  • #77 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Personal Health > Women's Health > Menopause

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Real Alternative To HRT, May 20, 2000

By 

Sandy Perlbinder (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: This Is Not Your Mother's Menopause: One Woman's Natural Journey Through Change (Hardcover)

The recent front page article in The New York Times questioning a major reason for hormone replacement therapy threw me into a panic yet again. A week later I read "This is Not Your Mother's Menopause." Trisha Posner's book was a god send for me as every passing day seems to bring another contradictory warning about breast cancer and hormones. Whether you are wondering if you should start HRT or go the natural route, or if you can't imagine being off hormones but can't deal with the uncertainty of being on and are rethinking or reassessing, this is one terrific book. A chapter called "the Vitamin and Herb Shop" was most informative. Homeopathy, an area I know nothing about, terrifies me almost as much as hormone replacement. Ms. Posner is very specific in her descriptions of the various herbs and vitamins that she uses, simplifying the task of planning an individual regime. This is a wonderful book, formidably researched yet full of charming personal anecdotes and very savvy girl talk. For those looking for a real alternative to HRT, read Trisha Posner's book.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A MUST BUY BOOK!, April 26, 2000

By 

namy goldstein - See all my reviews

This review is from: This Is Not Your Mother's Menopause: One Woman's Natural Journey Through Change (Hardcover)

I have read over a dozen books about menopause, including many I've liked including John Lee's book, and Susan Love, and Gail Sheehy, and I've learned a lot. But THIS IS LIKE NO OTHER BOOK ON MENOPAUSE I've ever seen. I got the book yesterday, started it last night expecting to read a chapter or two, and blew my night of sleep by being unable to put it down until I finished it (thank God it's small!)

I love the fact that instead of some celebrity or a doctor telling me what I should do with my body, this is by a regular woman who has been through the same thing I'm going through. There were plenty of moments when I just wanted to shout, "Yes, I've been through that." I love Posner's honesty in describing the problems we confront with menopause and the indecision she faced when it came to HRT. It's the same problem we all have - the conflicting studies and the worries about possible increased risks of breast cancer. We all resolve this in different ways depending on our tolerance for risk, but with her family history of breast cancer, she resolved it by embarking on this rather incredible research binge that resulted in her trying just about every natural remedy out there, ones we are all familiar with. And in the end she developed a program of supplements, a healthy diet, and exercise, that worked for her.

This personal account is so informative, because you get to see these natural cures not just in theory, but actually how they work with someone. When she stops taking her double dose of Vitamin E and Black Cohosh to see whether they really eliminated her hot flashes, there is a hysterical scene where she runs into a friend's kitchen over a Thanksgiving feast and sticks her head into a freezer. Sound familiar for any of us! There are plenty of scenes in here that made me laugh, and many that made me quite emotional. When she and her husband burn her remaining supply of tampons in a local hotel's fireplace, it's a sign of passage that makes sense. And when at the end of the book, she finds herself on the outside of a Paris landmark in a downpour, embracing the changes of menopause, it is impossible not to feel invigorated and inspired.

Not only did I pick up bundles of useful information that I intend to incorporate into my own routine (the chapter called "The Vitamin and Herb Shop" is worth the price of the book on its own!), but I feel so much better about myself and menopause after reading this book. Now I've given it to my husband who must read it, so he will better understand exactly what is happening now at this stage of our life (I loved the way Posner's husband became her partner in searching for a natural way through menopause).

DO YOURSELF A FAVOR. READ THIS BOOK!

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read this book - share this book!, August 1, 2000

By 

Anne S. Charles - See all my reviews

This review is from: This Is Not Your Mother's Menopause: One Woman's Natural Journey Through Change (Hardcover)

I've been around long enough that I can remember when women's health issuse weren't! Thanks to other women, prolonging our good health and successfully navigating menopause is getting easier. Now that the paramenopausal stage has been identified and is being written about in books like Posner's, "One Woman's Natural Journey..." we have more reliable information and we can choose to suffer less. Our partners can also welcome our enhanced sexual selves instead of also being expected to just accept our mood swings and physical tribulations. I'm working at enjoying my changes because books like this have allowed me to no longer be a victim to "the change". Posner's information on natural and herbal supplements can be coroborrated in various books and I have found a particular site, iHerb, that offers many links to these sources. I have also found iHerb to be a wonderful and cost effective source for my supplements. Check out their section on Women's Health and see what I mean.