I'm Too Young to Get Old: Health Care for Women after Forty - Judith Reichman - Hardcover - 1st ed

If you're a woman over forty, you probably have questions and concerns about your health. Unlike your mother or grandmother, you do not want to go passively (or silently) through the next half of your life. "No one seems to care about out forty-something contraceptive needs. Pregnancy is the last thing I want at this point. What are my options?" "If I take the Pill and I'm over forty, am I at increased risk for cancer?" Or: "I know I've put it off, but I'm ready now, and I want to be pregnant--yesterday!" What are my chances--and the risks involved?" "I'm going through menopause, and I'm not sure I like the idea of taking hormone replacement therapy for the rest of my life. How do I know if it's right for me? What other choices do I have?" "I'm too busy to consult a score of specialists to keep on the 'proper' health track. Is there a single checklist I can follow so I know what tests to take and when?" In I'm Too Young to Get Old, renowned gynecologist Judith Reichman, M.D., creator of two acclaimed PBS series on menopause and health, gives women over forty the information they need to make their health care choices. Yes, we need to know what happens to our hormones, but that doesn't mean we should be defined in terms of our reproductive system. As Dr. Reichman writes: "My patients have matured with me, and most of us are now over forty. Many have struggled with their health as they aged, while other seemed to mature with vibrancy, pleasure, and an increasing appreciation of their lives. What explains these differences? We traverse a complicated passage: our hormones fluctuate, and so do our moods, body temperatures, and sleep patterns. We have to make choices about birth control, then hormone control. We should be concerned about cancer prevention and detection, heart disease, osteoporosis, joint problems, and thyroid problems. We want to control our weight and our wrinkles. And in the midst of all this, we are taking care of aging parents, aging children, or dealing with our mates' midlife problems (both physical and psychological) or possibly going through divorce, getting back in the job market, or leaving it, and wondering how we reached forty so fast." Dr. Reichman addresses all these concerns and more with clarity and wit. She tackles subjects often given short shrift: avoiding hysterectomy, coping with urinary incontinence, exploring sexuality from forty to ninety (see the chapter on "Sex, Hormones, and Rock 'n' Roll"), preparing for a health second half of life despite our abuses of the first half, and more. Written in a warm, accessible style and laced with the humorous perspective of someone who's gone through this stage of life herself, I'm Too Young to Get Old has all the authoritative, up-to-date information you need to take control of your future health.Reichman, Judith is the author of 'I'm Too Young to Get Old: Health Care for Women after Forty - Judith Reichman - Hardcover - 1st ed' with ISBN 9780812924176 and ISBN 0812924177.