My doctor recommended a total hysterectomy and oophorectomy when I was age 38. As a result, I required hormone therapy to prevent early onset menopause for many years. When my (male) gynecologist would no longer prescribe commercial brand hormones, I began to suffer not only the discomfort of hot flashes, but difficulty with anxiety, with focus and joint inflammation and pain that was very difficult to tolerate, due to hormone deficiency.
Bioidentical hormone therapy, that is individually compounded for me, allowed me to continue to work and support myself, and to continue to enjoy social activities which would have been impossible due to joint pain. As a woman, I feel that not only my quality of life but ability to survive was improved by this form of therapy. The quality of life issue for women should be taken very seriously, though they may be hard to appreciate by men or by those who have not yet experienced the need for hormone therapy. Women should not be needlessly subjected to suffering that would result if hormone therapy were removed. This form of necessary care should be preserved.