I'm 38 and have been dealing with health problems for a while, one of them being thinning bones (I'm nearly at osteoporosis level, found through a DEXA bone scan), despite taking appropriate calcium supplements. My doctor just recommended taking more supplements. Went to another doctor who recommended I get my hormones measured. [By the way, many doctors resist doing this; however, the blood test is reliable and accurate--just make sure you know what stage of your cycle you're in so that you can understand the results of your tests.] Mine came back with progesterone being TOO HIGH (despite having most of the symptoms that Dr. Lee contributes to LOW progesterone), and my estradiol (estrogen) level was abyssmally low--nearly that of a post-menopausal woman! This explains a lot.

Dr. Lee likes to blame so many things in his book on "estrogen dominance" yet I think he's waaaaay off on many of his "scientific" conclusions. So many of them left me wanting to see his references and to ask how he came to those conclusions while discounting other obvious factors. In addition, p.333: "Some women who have irregular bleeding are prescribed estrogen by their doctors. There's really no good reason to give estrogen to women who are still menstruating... the very fact that you're menstruating indicates that you're very unlikely to be deficient in estrogen." WRONG, as my own case shows! [I'd recommend reading the book "Screaming to be Heard" by Elizabeth Lee Vliet, M.D.--much better science, and counters some of Lee's claims with evidence.]

I DO believe that woman can and do have progesterone deficiencies, but I would advise getting your hormone levels checked before doing any hormone therapy. Your body is unique, so don't go with a blanket recommendation because someone "thinks" you have a deficiency--get proof first! And please read some of the reviews written here--some woman have greatly benefited from Lee's book, while others clearly show his book did them a big disservice. [Also, I recommend getting the full-body (DEXA) bone scan, even if you're in your 30's. The ankle bone density can be highly inaccurate (mine came back normal, yet the DEXA shows I'm almost in osteoporosis).] Good luck!


A must-read for all women 35 and up.   April 6, 1999
 120 out of 123 found this review helpful

PREVENT A HYSTERECTOMY: I write this after just having had surgery (abdominal hysterectomy) two weeks ago ... and having come across the book only two weeks prior to surgery. If only two or three months ago I'd been aware of Dr. Lee's book, I truly believe my hysterectomy could have been prevented, nevertheless, refusing my doctor's recommended HRT, I tried the progesterone cream and was amazed with the immediate results: headaches were alleviated; improved mental acuity, energy, and skin tone. Had I known of the book's contents 15 years ago, I believe I would have saved myself from not only surgery and fibrous breast tissue, but numerous other debilitating ailments: migraines, clinical depression, fatigue, lack of concentration along with other symptoms which Dr. Lee listed due to estrogen dominance. My doctor did what he believed to be best for me, however, being conventional, he prescribed therapy which only enhanced the estrogen dominance, leading ultimately to excessive bleeding and anemia. Only after surgery was he able to tell me either my ovary or uterus was four times normal size -- hyperestrogen (loaded with it)! His recommendation had been a total hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oopherectomy (removal of uterus, cervix, fallopian tubes and both ovaries), however, he honored my request to save both ovaries if possible ... (even though only one remains). If not for Dr. Lee, I'd never have requested such. Even though I have regrets of not knowing earlier of this informative book, I am extremely thankful for the knowledge of progesterone cream application versus conventional HRT. I look forward to renewed life ahead! Thank you, Dr. Lee! ... P.S. I'm hunting for a doctor who practices alternative medicine.


THIS BOOK MADE ME SO ANGRY AT MY DOCTORS   June 12, 2000
 69 out of 70 found this review helpful

For years, I've suffered with so many strange symptoms and now I find out it is almost certainly my hormone levels. I've been through hell and back so would someone please tell me after (all the years of hospitals, psychologists, tests, pain and lost opportunities due to illness) WHY some doctor didn't have a clue?

I have all the classic symptoms and have for years. But I had to read a book to find out what was going on. Migraines, hair falling out, debilitating feet/leg cramps, dry skin, dry eye, depression, chronic fatigue syndrome, total exhaustion, muscle weakness, very low blood pressure, low thyroid, low adrenal function...do I need to go on?

I did the "spit test" recommended in the book and sure enough--my hormones are screwed up. I started on Progest cream (which I got at Whole Foods for $26) and within 5 days, my energy levels alone have risen dramatically and my hair has stopped falling out. I'm at day 20 in the cycle and still have feet cramps, have a migraine today but my new doctor (Dr. Sharma in Millburn NJ) tells me this stuff may take up to 3 months to show its total effects. She also wrote a prescription up which I'm going to have filled at Liberty Drugs in Chatham NJ which is exactly what I need.

Someone needs to start educating doctors. And women need to start insisting that we get better treatment.

I'm so disgusted...and so incredibly relieved.


Deceptively Dangerous   August 8, 2000
 67 out of 86 found this review helpful

I bought this book last fall and thought it was great. I'd just been diagnosed with an orange-sized fibroid and wanted to use natual remedies to avoid a hysterectomy. I also had bad migraines related to hormones and insomnia. I began using progesterone cream and adjusted my diet slightly to conform to Lee's advice. Nine months later my fibroid had increased 4 to 5 centimeters in all directions, my migraines were worse and my insomnia was no better.

A friend contacted one of Lee's lackeys via email. This woman wrote back that Lee never said that progesterone cream would shrink a fibroid and that "stress" was the main cause for many. If you read his chapter on the uterus and fibroids it most definitely implies that the progesterone cream will shrink a fibroid. "return for the ultrasound a year later, which WILL show that your fibroid has gone from the size of an orange to the size of a walnut."

How about going from the size of an orange to the size of a grapefruit, as mine did on Lee's regimen? I hunted all over the internet for any account by any woman who had found that progesterone cream had shrunk her fibroids and found not one. Even the case history in Lee's book involves a woman who was given Lupron injections, and her fibroid did shrink. But then what happened after the effects of the Lupron wore off? We are not told.

Lee's lackey was contacted again. Further mealy-mouthed backpedaling ensued. We were told that once a fibroid reaches a "certain size" it produces its own hormones and progesterone won't reduce it. Why doesn't Lee mention this little detail in his book instead of deceiving people like me who were taken in by his pretty talk?

The woman also recommended myomectomy over hysterectomy but made no mention of uterine artery embolization even when pressed. Why not? It's been available in this country for 6 years and France for 8. Lee criticizes other doctors for not doing their research. Why does this book with a January 99 copyright date not mention UAE?

I just had one and if I am lucky my fibroid will shrink down to about where it was last fall when it was discovered. How I wish I had never read this book and wasted my time on natural therapies that were worse than useless. If I'd gotten the UAE last fall, I could expect my orange-sized fibroid to go to the size of a plum.

However, I did not know that UAE existed. Had to find that out for myself on the internet. Lee could have written about it in his book. He could have mentioned that orange-sized fibroids are too big to shrink by natural means but he stated the opposite. He owes it to his readers to revise and correct the misconceptions he has disseminated.

By the way, the AMAS cancer detecting test he advocates in this book is completely discredited in the medical field. Why doesn't he know that?

I presume his comments re diet and environmental pollutants are accurate because I've seen them elsewhere, so the book is not a total waste. I wonder about his claims that progesterone rebuilds bone, or if they are as much of a lie as his other assertions.


Essential reading for all women pre or post menopause   January 30, 1999
 57 out of 57 found this review helpful

I have read this fine book as well as the earlier volume by Dr. Lee "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause". I feel that both of these books contain information that every woman and really every person needs to know. We live in a dangerous world. A world full of invisible or unnoticed chemicals that impact the reproductive and general health of all of us, especially those of us in the industrialized world. It is essential to know what is happening and how chemicals are changing our health. Forewarned is forearmed. Many problems that we are calling "normal" in today's world are not normal at all and speak to the need for balance of our hormones. Men and women will benefit from this information. Young women are not immune from the dangers in the environmentthat cause hormonal changes. Please read this. Don't have invasive surgery without first reading this book, it could change your life.