Do women really need more nonhormonal options to treat hot flashes? Last February we asked you and the answer was a resounding yes. In addition, we learned that most of you had already tried to combat your symptoms without hormones. No wonder you said you need something more!

Here are the results of our poll, which we presented to the Food and Drug Administration Advisory Committee in April.

• 88.6% of respondents experienced hot flashes
• 49.4% of hot flashes were moderate, 34.2% were severe, and 16.3% were mild
• 89.6% of respondents believed women need a nonhormonal prescription therapy for menopause symptoms
• When asked why, 84.9% responded that it was because traditional hormone therapy (HT) was unsafe, 29.8% because they had experienced an adverse reaction to traditional HT, and 37.6% had a contraindication to HT
• Women had previously tried lifestyle changes (71.5%), over-the-counter products (52.8%), HT (41.3%), compounded HT (12.9%), other prescription drugs (10.8%), or nothing (10.7%) to combat their symptoms

Thanks to all who responded to the survey!

Do you take hormone therapy, birth control pills, or one of the other 85 medications listed here? If so, you must be careful to avoid too much grapefruit and grapefruit juice because they can cause your body to absorb higher levels of your medication.

Grapefruit contains natural chemicals that alter how the body processes certain medications, so that you can end up with much higher levels of a drug than intended. For some drugs, higher levels can lead to inadequate breathing and dangerous increases in heart rhythm. You can learn more about how grapefruit affects your medicines from the FDA.

If you are taking any medications by mouth, check the list to see if you should avoid grapefruit. Be safe!

There’s been a lot of talk about how “bioidentical” hormones and transdermal hormones (in skin patches or gels) may be safer options than the oral pill hormones used in the Women’s Health Initiative Studies. There’s been some research, too, hinting that transdermal estradiol (a bioidentical hormone in FDA-approved forms such as patches, creams or gels) and micronized progesterone (also bioidentical and government approved) might cause fewer blood clots. But we won’t know for sure until we see results from large-scale randomized trials, which may not be done anytime soon. Do different formulations of hormone therapy have different effects on blood pressure, cholesterol levels, progression of atherosclerosis, memory, or quality of life? The Kronos Early Estrogen Prevention Study (KEEPS) will answer many of these questions. Stay tuned because the results are coming soon. In fact, the first results from the trial will be presented at the NAMS Annual Meeting in Orlando in October.

If you no longer have a uterus, you can use estrogen alone and perhaps use it longer than women with a uterus (who have to use estrogen plus progesterone or a similar compound). For you, the risk of breast cancer doesn’t go up for at least 7 years. In women who need to take both estrogen and progesterone, it goes up sooner—after 3 to 5 years. It is also important to note that all women who are at increased risk for stroke, heart disease, or blood clots are generally advised not to use hormone therapy.