Rating: 
Summary: Eye-opening
Review: A book full of surprises about something you thought you knew about, by authors who don't take current trends as gospel. Here is the real skinny on what passes for HRT--as opposed to genuine HRT--including some truths about women's health that even feminist health advocates won't tell you. The shocking part is that no one's told us these things before. A very important book for all women, young and old.
Rating: 
Summary: A compelling and startling account.....................
Review: A compelling account of documented research into the absolute miracle of healthy life and the betrayal of that miracle. What T.S. Wiley and Co. have done is assemble a coherant and detailed account of that oh so human theology of matching, mating, birthing and nurturing and it's effects,if not preeminence in relation to our fundamental good health.
A century of clinical studies, medical and pharmacological research information catalogued into a tale of biological wonder that is by turns, hypnotizing, infuriating and ultimately eyeopening.....On many occasions my eyes drifted from the page to ponder "My God is this true......."
T.S. Wiley, Julie Taguchi and Bent Formby are to be commended for their journey into this historical to recent record of research, with it's Byzantian complexity and encyclopedic cross referance, then to emerge with a story this vivid. Despite it's use of invective and at times inflamitory reporting, this book may over time and in the end, when all the judgemants are in and imitation works follow in it's wake, be as important an observation on our collective well being as Rachel Carson's "The Silent Spring".
Rating:
Summary: AWESOME BOOK!! In response to: Reader Beware!!!!
Review: A few questions for "Reader Beware":What pharmaceutical$$$$$$$$ company do you represent? Wyeth Ayerst..... aka:A reader from SingSing?????? Shame on you!!! Why do you state that the authors are simply against Wyeth Ayerst's PATENTABLE AND THEREFORE HUGELY PROFITABLE, PREMPRO, A POOR EXCUSE FOR HORMONE REPLACEMENT when in fact, this book is all about bio identical hormone replacement therapy instead of Wyeth Ayerst's DEADLY HRT DRUGS!!! You are chosing to miss the WHOLE POINT OF THIS BOOK! Not only have Prempro and Premerin FAILED to provide sustained health ...........It has caused the RAPID DECLINE IN WOMENS HEALTH!! WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO "FIRST DO NO HARM"? Shame on you again!! How do you sleep at night? The "stance" taken by the authors is that PROPERLY BALANCED AND RHYTHMIC, BIO-IDENTICAL HORMONES are not even the slightest bit similar to WIDLEY PRESCRIBED (CHEMICALLY ALTERED FOR PROFIT AND PATENTABILITY) SYNTHETIC, FAKE, and DANGEROUS PREMERIN AND PREMPRO!! WHO SAYS THE AUTHORS HAVE "NO PROOF" THAT ANYTHING AFFLICTING WOMEN IN OLD AGE IS ACTUALLY DUE TO ESTROGEN DECLINE AT MENOPAUSE? Quite the contrary as is revealed in this GREAT BOOK and numerous other studies....... Period. End of story. Why would Wyeth Ayerst hide and not make publically available , the evidence provided for licensing of Prempro? Pehaps because results showed a higher risk for cardiovascular events in women taking HRT? Please READ: Pharmaceutical Companies Concealed, Distored Data that Detailed HRT Risks: British Medical Journal, February 28, 2004 As far as single randomized double-blind-placebo-controlled clinical trials are concerned, I suggest Wyeth Ayerst front the money (OUR MONEY!) for such a independent test WHICH WILL NEVER HAPPEN BECAUSE IT WOULD DISTROY THEIR MONEY MAKING ABILITIES and expose the truth. This is ALL about MONEY AND PATENTABILITY IN THE GUISE OF "WOMENS HEALTH"$$$ In closing, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that women everywhere read this book and share it with all of their friends and loved ones. WE NEED TO GATHER TOGETHER TO MAKE THIS BOOK AND INFORMATION MAIN STREAM KNOWLEDGE FOR THE HEALTH/SAKE OF WOMEN EVERYWHERE........ NO MORE LIES!! Wake up Sing Sing! Read about the class action lawsuit being brought against Prempro!! Look online for "Prempro Class Action Information Center".
Rating:
Summary: AWESOME BOOK!! In response to: Reader Beware!!!!
Review: A few questions for "Reader Beware": What pharmaceutical$$$$$$$$ company do you represent? Wyeth Ayerst..... aka:A reader from SingSing?????? Shame on you!!! Why do you state that the authors are simply against Wyeth Ayerst's PATENTABLE AND THEREFORE HUGELY PROFITABLE, PREMPRO, A POOR EXCUSE FOR HORMONE REPLACEMENT when in fact, this book is all about bio identical hormone replacement therapy instead of Wyeth Ayerst's DEADLY HRT DRUGS!!! You are chosing to miss the WHOLE POINT OF THIS BOOK! Not only have Prempro and Premerin FAILED to provide sustained health ...........It has caused the RAPID DECLINE IN WOMENS HEALTH!! WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO "FIRST DO NO HARM"? Shame on you again!! How do you sleep at night? The "stance" taken by the authors is that PROPERLY BALANCED AND RHYTHMIC, BIO-IDENTICAL HORMONES are not even the slightest bit similar to WIDLEY PRESCRIBED (CHEMICALLY ALTERED FOR PROFIT AND PATENTABILITY) SYNTHETIC, FAKE, and DANGEROUS PREMERIN AND PREMPRO!! WHO SAYS THE AUTHORS HAVE "NO PROOF" THAT ANYTHING AFFLICTING WOMEN IN OLD AGE IS ACTUALLY DUE TO ESTROGEN DECLINE AT MENOPAUSE? Quite the contrary as is revealed in this GREAT BOOK and numerous other studies....... Period. End of story. Why would Wyeth Ayerst hide and not make publically available , the evidence provided for licensing of Prempro? Pehaps because results showed a higher risk for cardiovascular events in women taking HRT? Please READ: Pharmaceutical Companies Concealed, Distored Data that Detailed HRT Risks: British Medical Journal, February 28, 2004 As far as single randomized double-blind-placebo-controlled clinical trials are concerned, I suggest Wyeth Ayerst front the money (OUR MONEY!) for such a independent test WHICH WILL NEVER HAPPEN BECAUSE IT WOULD DISTROY THEIR MONEY MAKING ABILITIES and expose the truth. This is ALL about MONEY AND PATENTABILITY IN THE GUISE OF "WOMENS HEALTH"$$$ In closing, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that women everywhere read this book and share it with all of their friends and loved ones. WE NEED TO GATHER TOGETHER TO MAKE THIS BOOK AND INFORMATION MAIN STREAM KNOWLEDGE FOR THE HEALTH/SAKE OF WOMEN EVERYWHERE........ NO MORE LIES!! Wake up Sing Sing! Read about the class action lawsuit being brought against Prempro!! Look online for "Prempro Class Action Information Center".
Rating:
Summary: Don't start or reject HRT until you read this book!
Review: After trying a natural approach to Menopause symptoms (didn't work) then trying traditional physician recommended HRT(worked a short while) then going back to heavier doses of natural substances(black cohosh, wild yam, bla bla bla) which alleviated symptoms greatly, I was still confused and scared of cancer possibilities. This book exposes the manipulation of studies funded by Drug companies to get results they want to profit from HRT that harms more than it helps. It will inform you, educate you, and rid you of the fears that estrogen and progesterone promote cancer ( they do in conventional HRT, hormones not identical to your physiology) This book gave me hope that aging is not a possible early death sentence, my waist is not destined to hopelessly expand no matter how much I diet and excersise, and that my cognitive abilities are not a thing of the past, I really can remember that I put my car keys in the Fridge. It's all about natural beta-17 estrogen(like you use to produce) and natural(USP) progesterone . The reason they're not perscribed to you is because they are natural, and therefore can't be patented, ergo, no money for the Big Drug Co.s. This book ties in your body as an entire organism, and explains how hormones have to be in sync to keep you healthy. When your hormones are in sync, heart disease, brain disease(Alzheimers) and other ills of "old Age" can be greatly reduced. If you want to take charge of your own health, read this book!
Rating: 
Summary: Intriguing hypothesis, poorly argued
Review: As someone who believes in the superiority of bioidentical hormones to oral PremPro, I was disappointed that this book was not able to make its case more convincingly. It is very poorly argued and referenced-- if you actually check the references, you will find many of them to have little to do with the point being made. Also, the authors criticize the medical establishment for leaping to the conclusion that all estrogen is evil-- but then they leap to many conclusions of their own.
The hypothesis of this book is intriguing-- that it's not estrogen per se that causes breast cancer, it's low-level estrogen without the proper peaking and cycling of estrogen and progesterone. This hypothesis deserves to be properly addressed by a scientifically rigorous author.
If you have enough scientific training to be able to separate the baby from the bathwater, then I would say go ahead and read this book-- it will stimulate a lot of thinking. But if you don't have scientific training, be aware that this is only a theory-- an intriguing theory, but still just a theory.
For more details, I recommend reading the previous review "There are pearls in the muck."
Rating:
Summary: THE ONLY BOOK ON HRT TO READ
Review: Diana Schwarzbein is highly touted by Suzanne Somers, in her book THE SEXY YEARS as the master of bioidentical hormone replacement. Somers' radical weight gain is typical of Schwarzbein's patients. So are hair loss, insomnia, hot flashes, low sex drive, depression, mood swings, uterine hyperplasia and cancer. Schwarzbein has been sued multiple times by patients who developed cancer under her care. I'm grateful that women finally have bioidentical HRT, but it's not a perfect science and thoughtfulness and care needs to be taken when prescribing it. Suzanne Somers did a great service to many women by writing a book against synthetic HRT, but Diana Schwarzbein is definitely not the doctor to see for bioidentical HRT. And SEX, LIES AND MENOPAUSE by T.S. Wiley, Julie Taguchi, M.D. and Bent Formby, Ph.D. is the only book on HRT to read. After eight years on HRT, I have often wondered why I was doing it to myself as the ups and downs and all the problems didn't seem worth the purported benefits. But I've been on the Wiley protocol for eight months and now I'm finally enjoying the benefits of HRT. The Wiley protocol is the only bioidentical regimen that comes close to mimicking the hormones produced by a woman's body. I intend to continue the Wiley protocol for life. I hope Suzanne Somers wakes up and realizes what Schwarzbein has done to her and seeks out another doctor to prescribe the Wiley protocol. It's the only cancer preventative HRT protocol.
Rating:
Summary: One outrageous false claim, and it all falls down....
Review: Having just read the reviews of T.S. Wiley's previous book, "Lights Out," I understand why this book rants about artificial light creating an "endless summer" and "premature aging." As did another reviewer, I too found the rock and roll chapter titles and internal headings distracting and a bit like the premise of the book -- you can fool your body into thinking you're 20! No, you can't. Not with those rock and roll references, most of which are 30-40 years old. Not with those hormones that mean you never go through menopause. But what really made me think these people were just selling snake oil was a simple sentence, set off by itself, on page 64 (hardcover), which says, and I quote: "Then we may not have to die." Oh yes we do. We all do, whether we age naturally or drink horse urine by the bucketfull or rub yam extract on the inside of our thighs, we DO have to die. And the total lack of accounting for the millions of women who have had hysterectomies (no, it's not in the index) is plain negligence. There is some bogus information about evolution, and nothing about genetics. Both my grandmothers, who lived in the age of artificial light, who did not give birth to children in their teens, lived to be more than 90 years old. Oh, and one survived non-Hodgkins Lymphona through chemotherapy, which is also totally discounted in this book. The authors are also more willing to accept "scientific" studies done in the 18th century than studies done in the 20th. Get enough rest, and go be a nun, but don't think you'll live forever.
Rating: 
Summary: The Pearls Are In the Muck
Review: I agree with previous reviews. This book is deeply flawed. It is frustrating and confusing, has little to no organization, provides inconsistent support for often wild assertions and recommends a complex hormone replacement protocol while failing to provide much critical information. Yet the book is important and does contain some pearls of great value; despite its flaws, it deserves serious consideration. The book repeatedly exclaims that it is all about biology, not about politics. Then, it goes on to make numerous unsupported and extravagant claims. There are repeated anti-feminist rants (nearly every chapter), blunt statements that gay men are maternally inclined (designed by nature to take care of orphans in a stressed society) and "more creative" than the rest of us. (I will say that I was surprised and troubled to learn that Margaret Sanger was likely a eugenicist, though I still admire her efforts at making birth control legal and available). Without knowing the religion of the author, I would offer that the book presents the Catholic (or protestant fundamentalist) line on sex, birth control and feminism as scientific fact, citing studies that, while providing relevant evidence on hormone replacement, have nothing to do with the social commentary. For example, Wiley repeatedly states the world does not have an overpopulation problem, yet women everywhere are having fewer children. Not everyone would agree there is no population problem; certainly not anyone (like me) who has been to (or even flown over) massive population centers like Mexico City, Seoul, Tokyo, or parts of Southern California. In one paragraph she castigates population demographers for predicting crises that have not occurred (yet). Two paragraphs later, she is citing U.N. population predictions to "prove" a pet theory. Ms. Wiley falls into the intellectual fallacy of citing scientific studies and then making hypothetical leaps to unrelated situations. For example, the author cites a study reporting that women unconsciously use their sense of smell (picking up on male pheromones) to help identify and reject partners who are genetically incompatible (i.e., with whom she cannot reproduce ideally). The study also showed that birth control pills disrupt this inborn ability to choose the right mate. I read the same study and so far, the author cites the serious conclusions accurately. But, she then goes on, without any scientific support, to pin a global rise in infertility on the use of the Pill to avoid pregnancy, because it supposedly wreaks havoc with this female ability to choose a proper mate. She neglects, however, to consider that throughout recorded history, in most of the world and even in many parts of the world today, a human female has not been permitted to choose her own mate. Women were (and still are) sold, traded, or married off by fathers (or by families, in more "enlightened" environs) for political or financial gain. It could be said (with the same level of scientific support - i.e., none) that the infertility rise has its deeper roots in patriarchal religions that mandate male control over female reproduction. The book is full of similarly faulty logic. There is truth, however, in the author's assertions that nature favors those individuals at the peak of the reproductive prime. In both sexes, these are blessed with the best health, are the most alluring, the quickest and the strongest. Cycling hormones create the blueprint that nature reads to identify her favored ones. For that reason, I buy the assertion that reproducing the natural hormonal cycle, using substances as genetically close to those naturally occurring in humans as possible, can perhaps fool nature into bestowing some of the vigor of youth. And no, of course it can't keep us from death, but it can possibly improve the last half of our lives (the part that nature never intended us to have.) I agree too, that there is nothing romantic in "natural menopause." In my mind, it is simply decay. From nature's point of view, if we can't procreate, we're simply taking up space. So, I'm trying the natural hormone replacement protocol, but working closely with my nurse-practitioner to monitor the effects. I believe, also, that the author is also on terra firma when detailing how the unholy trinity of the pharmaceutical companies, doctors and insurers do not always (or even generally) promote effective remedies for wellness, especially for women. Wiley is not the first (nor most articulate) to describe their male-dominated and obsessive "pathologizing" of the female body and its functions in pursuit of power and profit. Ms. Wiley is absolutely correct when she asserts that true women's rights can't be addressed without considering the context of motherhood. What passes for "women's rights" in the US today, is simply a pretense to squeeze increased production out of the working population. We all must have "real" jobs to earn our keep because the work and benefits of childrearing are invisible to the global capitalist system. True women's rights must include not only the rights of education, physical autonomy and reproductive choice for women, but also the right to raise and care for our children in the healthiest manner possible.
Rating:
Summary: Hormonal Heresy
Review: I am a professional science writer. Time and again as I read this book, I marveled at how brilliantly the science was explained. This book is in the first tier of all books that translate complex scientific information so that a non-specialist can understand. If it shines in that general category, it is incandescent in the narrower category of books addressing menopause and related hormonal issues. It's "the" book against which all others on the subject should be judged because it is so very good, so very provocative. Its central argument favors bioidentical hormone replacement in a dosage pattern mimicking the hormonal cycles of young women. Even if the reader does not agree with that point of view, the book is a treasure trove of information vital to the biological life and, even more crucially, death of women in the developed world. If it has a flaw, it is the use of "menopause" in the title, which could restrict its readership to those over 40. This is a book for all women who need to know how their decisions with respect to pregnancy and lactation may relate to the when and the way of their dying.
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