Summary-line: 3-May mfoley@arisia.Xerox.COM #female genital pain *** EOOH *** Return-Path: Date: Fri, 3 May 91 09:56:42 -0700 From: Mary Ellen Foley To: amacdona@weber.UCSD.EDU Cc: immune@weber.ucsd.edu In-Reply-To: Andrea MacDonald's message of Thu, 2 May 91 19:59:58 pdt <9105030259.AA01022@weber.ucsd.edu> Subject: female genital pain [ Andrea MacDonald asked how old I am, and mentioned that her mother has this problem, and the doctors say it's menopause and are suggesting hormone therapy ] I'm 33 years old. My pain problems started when I was 31.5 years old. I certainly HOPE it isn't menopause, although I've read that menopause can start as early as 30 in rare cases, and I know my mother had menopause at 40, which is still considered quite early. I've had irregular menstruation for 3.5 years, either absent bleeding or extremely heavy bleeding (twice going into hemorrhage, once ending up in the hospital). So maybe a link to irregular bleeding patterns exists -- something my doctors have considered, and for which they suggest going on the pill I really don't want to go on the pill, as I have other risk factors, but after 1.5 years, I guess it's time to do it, or else I can't really claim that I've tried everything. As regards hormone therapy for menopausal women, I have a doctor friend who believes that hormone therapy is a cultural response to menopause, rather than a medical necessity, for most women. She studied a population in San Francisco's Pacific Heights (very ritzy), and another in San Francisco's Mission District (most patients in this population were poor and Hispanic) and patients at her own middle-class practice in London. If people are seriously interested, I will put them in touch with her. This is not a medical study, really, more of a physical anthropologists viewpoint (she wasn't licensed to practice medicine in the US when she was here, although she is a licensed physician in England). [ She suggests getting the two of us together ] Absolutely! Don't suppose she's on email...? Mary Ellen