Dear Dr. Pat, I read your medical advice to menopausal women, and I have a sense that you are not a big fan of hormone therapy. I am now forty-nine years old, and my last period was two years ago. I am very healthy and try to find the best information I can to make [...]

If I worked at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta, I would ask to be put in charge of monitoring the financially and self-promotion-driven epidemics of “BIO-IDENTICAL HORMONE SURGE,”  a phenomenon that pops up about every 18 months. These epidemics are marked by short-term visibility with a new book, usually by the facially [...]

Dear Dr. Pat, I am 44 years old and know that the symptoms that I am having are really related to menopause.  I am having less frequent bleeding ranging from 45-70 days this last year.  My periods are shorter and lighter. I am anxious, I am bad tempered, I have miserable night sweats, my sleep [...]

Dear Dr. Pat, I am 46 years old and have missed 4 menstrual periods this last year. In fact, I have had no period for the last two months. My periods were lighter and shorter as well all last year. I just lost my job and have a few months of severance and no debt. [...]

Dear Dr. Poyner, I have been using Vagifem, a vaginal estrogen, twice a week because I had pain with intercourse without it. This has worked really well along with a lubricant that I use when I have intercourse. I am 70 and have a pelvic sonogram once a year to make sure that the vaginal [...]

Someone was listening: Last night's Emmy Awards were a veritable festival of women over 40, with victories by Glenn Close (Damages) for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series; Jean Smart (Samantha Who?) for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series; and Laura Linney (John Adams) for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries. And Tina [...]

Department of "no kidding," Part One: We love it when scientists spend years and millions establishing what most of us already knew. Tasked with looking into the mystery of postmenopausal libido, Seattle researchers discovered after studying 341 peri- and postmenopausal women, ages 45-55: "Factors associated with diminished libido in midlife are complex but include depression, [...]

Successful techniques helping successful moms: Yesterday's Newsweek clip worrying about the surge in over-40 moms left out one of the reasons for that surge. After 20 years, IVF technology has developed, notes an Australian newspaper: Better media for culturing embryos and improved techniques to select those most likely to develop healthily were disproportionately beneficial to [...]

Too many to count: In Forbes.com’s newest power list, The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women, we weren’t surprised to see the likes of German Chancellor Andrea Merkel, Hillary Clinton and Condoleeza Rice.  But the bulk of the list is made up of women CEOs like Indra Nooyi, above, boomer women who have quietly slid in [...]

With Dad in tow, the mayor of Libby Drive looks ahead: August may be vacation time for many. For New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, 42, the weeks have been as packed as ever, between a recent summit on cyber-safety and a judge’s ruling on health insurance for nursing home employees. As many reporters [...]