Full Description
Years of involvement, firsthand experience and research at the Menopause Clinic of the Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, exist as the background to this book. The Clinic itself, however, as one of the first in the world to be established, if not the first, has a story and a lesson of its own to offer, and is therefore deserving of a brief description as the preface to the book. In 1967, shortly after Christiaan Barnard had completed the historical first human heart transplant at the Groote Schuur Hospital, I happened to be in West Berlin and was invited to visit a major international pharmaceutical firm. A new female hormone was mentioned, and thereby started my interest in the subject. Upon my return to Cape Town, I spent many hours in the large medical school library and completely surveyed the menopause literature to 1967. I was stunned by its general inadequacy and was bitten by a challenge to clarify what menopause really was, and to define the proper place of hormone replacement therapy.
Contents
1 Introduction.- The need to know.- 2 Historical perspective.- A look at yesterday to help you understand today and live with tomorrow.- 3 Changing populations and vital statistics.- The gradual demise of the 'youth culture' and the impact of ageing populations.- 4 Social, cultural and emotional aspects.- How the attitudes of others can affect your own response to menopause.- 5 Female structure and function.- The what, where and why — or the organs and how they work.- 6 True effects of menopause and role of replacement hormones.- What to really expect after menopause and where hormone treatment can help.- 7 Risks of hormone therapy.- The sobering side of the situation.- 8 The frequently prescribed sex hormones.- A bird's eye view of the hormones.- 9 Practicahties of the visit to the physician.- What to expect, what to do and what to ask.- 10 Surgery as a cause of early menopause.- The fate of the ovaries at hysterectomy — leave them or remove them?.- 11 Sexual activity after the menopause.- Do you or don't you and are there any limitations or risks?.- 12 An overall perspective.- Do menopause and ageing mean the same thing? What aspects are preventable and what do I do?.- 13 Life after menopause.- Now is the time to get up and go.- Appendix I The Groote Schuur Hospital weight reducing diet.- Simple but remarkably effective.- Appendix II Glossary.- Brief definitions of tongue twisters.- Appendix III Further reading.- Hopefully no longer necessary at this stage.
