My story is similar to that of many women who have testified on this website - and yet unique. And it's precisely this uniqueness that compounding pharmacies are able to address. Since the years before menopause, I have suffered from a variety of symptoms that made my life miserable and affected me both physically and mentally. I have a large folder showing a history of failed treatments. My decision to take compounded, bioidentical hormones came after my bones showed a rapid degeneration. Still, it was not made lightly. I consulted several top experts in the field and compared their recommendations with dozens of studies (I do historical research for a living). Fourteen years later, I can say these hormones have turned my life around. Among other things, the physical strength I found during the five-year struggle of two of my sons with schizophrenia, and the untimely death of one of them, wouldn’t have been possible without the balance provided by these hormones and the careful monitoring of their dosage by my doctor and compounding pharmacist. I beg the FDA to take into serious consideration true life experiences. In a country where "my body, my choice" has become a rallying cry, it's hard to understand how it would not be applied to products that are allowing thousands of women to function at their best and, in turn, give their best to society.