Estrogens are rarely considered as an implicating factor in depressive behavior. HRT is now almost universally recommended to menopausal women for a wide variety of reasons. The two most significant reasons women are encouraged to embark upon the HRT bandwagon are HRT's supposed contribution in preventing or lessening the effects of osteoporosis and of cardiovascular disease. It was progesterone not estrogen that was found in the osteoblast cell which is responsible for making new bone. She is convinced that HRT in the form of estrogen and progestins will increase the risk of osteoporosis.
Blood clots originate from sticky clumps of platelet cells in the blood.
She believes that blood clots in the bones can cause bone to break down, leading to osteoperorsis. Reports are now starting to come in, indicating that high-dose estrogens, particularly as experienced with estradiol implants, cause hypercoagulability, which means that the blood has a tendency to clot, increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke. Natural progesterone also seems to play a significant role in protecting women from cardiovascular disease. We know now that anovulatory cycles and lowered progesterone levels occur prior to menopause, and progesterone levels after menopause are close to zero. Estrogen on the other hand, falls only 40 to 60 per cent with menopause.