I had a complete hysterectomy a number of years ago due to hemorrhagic tumors and was prescribed synthetic hormone replacement patches applied daily. They were not working, so the doctor instructed me to put on more and more patches daily. This failed to help and made me feel wooden as if I were no longer myself. I finally put the remaining hundreds of unused patches into the garbage and went cold turkey. I felt like myself again but experienced disabling nonstop hot flashes and weakness and could not even get up the stairs to my bedroom so I slept on the couch. My nutritionist referred me to a nearby naturopath, who prescribed bioidentical hormones. These worked immediately and I got my life back. I was able to return to my consulting practice of helping to create affordable housing for constituencies of public and nonprofit entities and was featured in a number of Who's Who publications. At age 72, I am now retired, slender, and active- doing yoga, gardening, and walking 1 to 2 miles a day- and no gray hair!