[Peri-menopausal and post-menopausal experience among women with and without hormone replacement therapy]

This qualitative study focuses on peri-menopausal and post-menopausal experience and its signs and symptoms for women with and without use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Empirical data were obtained through interviews with 11 women (range: 45 to 59 years) with or without HRT at different health clinics in the Municipality of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The analysis used the hermeneutic method. Most significantly, women who are not on HRT present peri-menopausal symptoms, but they "live with" such symptoms; meanwhile, women in use of isoflavone rely on alternative therapies for the bothersome symptoms; women using HRT report a feeling of wellbeing. The article suggests the importance of training health professionals to understand the peri-menopausal and post-menopausal periods as part of the aging process, and thus as a vital rather than pathological process.