Hormone therapy has one of the most confusing reputations in medicine. Many women I see still associate it with a single, controversial early-2000s study — and are surprised to learn how much the guidance has changed since then, including a major update from the FDA in the last year. This guide is meant to give you the real, current picture so you can have an informed conversation with your physician, not to tell you what to do.

If you're in your 40s and you've started feeling different, you're not imagining it. Maybe your sleep isn't as restorative as it used to be. You're gaining weight around your midsection despite eating the same way.