I wouldn't take Premarin (made from pregnant mare urine), but I could (and did) take bio-identical hormones for several years. They lessened the symptoms of menopause and made me feel so much better. I still had night sweats, hot flashes, and mood swings, but they were far less overwhelming than without the hormones.

Oh, and here's a weird thing. Right around the time I started into menopause, I got the worst case of plantar fasciitis in my right food. I saw an orthopedic surgeon who had me wear a boot all day and night, but it didn't work. He tried so many things. Finally he put a cast on my right leg from the knee down to my toes for 6 weeks. Took it off and the pain was just as bad.

It just so happened that a few weeks later I saw a practitioner for the bio-identical hormones. One week on the hormones and the pain was gone! One of the many books on menopause that I read at the time said that one side effect some women get during menopause is heel pain and plantar fasciitis!