Do women need to use progesterone for endometrial protection with an intact uterus when using even a small dose of transdermal estrogen (such as vivelle dot)?

I can’t tolerate any kind of dairy and from what I noticed Vitamin D (sunshine) either. Symptoms include swelling of my lips and the corners of my lips crack open. Also, the area between my vagina and my rectum gets a rash and cracks open. Another symptom is that I get auras and almost black out if I eat dairy. I stopped all dairy and avoided most sunshine to try to keep my symptoms minimal.

Since I have practiced avoidance it’s much better, but there aren’t many things I can eat. I have been to a lot of different doctors who mostly say just avoid dairy, but that isn’t what I would like to do if I don’t have to. I need vitamin D since I already have osteopenia and am high risk for osteoporosis.

Thank you in advance for any thoughts you may have.

August 2014 - Dr. Holly L. Thacker discusses the relationship between untreated hot flashes and the increase in outpatient doctor visits and healthcare costs.

For more information on this study, read Yale University's press release.

Ruth Davis, Pelin Batur, MD, FACP, NCMP, CCD, and Holly L Thacker, MD, FACP, NCMP, CCD ABSTRACT After the publication of the Women’s Health Initiative, attitudes towards management of menopausal symptoms changed dramatically. One alternative that has received much media attention is the use of bioidentical hormone therapy (BHT). The media and celebrity endorsements have promoted a number of misconceptions about the risks and benefits associated with the various forms of BHT. This article will…

Laura Jeffers, MEd, RD, LD is an Outpatient Clinical Manager and the primary metabolic dietitian at Cleveland Clinic's Center for Human Nutrition. She has been a dietitian for nine years and has experience in weight management, allergies, gastrointestinal disorders, and general pediatric nutrition. She has been practicing metabolic nutrition for eight years and has been the Outpatient Nutrition Manger in the Center for Human Nutrition at Cleveland Clinic for the past five years. Laura Jeffers…

Allison Vidimos, MD is a physician in the Cleveland Clinic’s Department of Dermatology as well as a Mohs surgeon.She was appointed dermatology chairwoman at Cleveland Clinic in 2005 and retired from that position in 2024. She has encouraged volunteer efforts for the members of her department and this has resulted in many free skin cancer and hair loss screenings in the Cleveland community since 1991.An adoring mother, she and her husband, a Cleveland Clinic staff neuroradiologist, have two…

Pamela M. Peeke, MD, MPH, FACP, is known as the "doc who walks the talk." An internationally recognized expert, physician, scientist and author in the fields of nutrition, stress, fitness and public health, Dr. Peeke is a member of the Speaking of Women's Health National Speakers Bureau. She has been the keynote speaker for many Speaking of Women's Health conferences over the years. Dr. Peeke holds the position of Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Maryland School of…

Abby G. Abelson, MD, is interim chair of the Department of Rheumatology at Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. She is the rheumatology program director, chair of Workforce and Training at the American College of Rheumatology, and a course director of the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine. Born in Cleveland, Dr. Abelson earned her degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and completed her internship and residency in Medicine at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Cleveland,…

Tommaso Falcone, M.D., FRCS(C), FACOG, is Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine. He is presently Chief of Staff, Chief Academic Officer, Medical Director. Cleveland Clinic London. He is certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology in general obstetrics and gynecology, as well as Reproductive Endocrinology. He is also certified by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and the Royal College…

Nancy Foldvary-Schafer, DO, is director of the Sleep Disorders Center and Fellowship Program at Cleveland Clinic. She is associate professor of Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University and staff member at the Cleveland Clinic Neurological Institute with a joint appointment in the Cleveland Clinic Center for Specialized Women’s Health. Born in Chicago, Dr. Foldvary-Schafer is certified by the American Board of Clinical Neurophysiology and…

Brooke Gurland, MD is a general laparoscopic and colorectal surgeon in the Digestive Disease Institute at Cleveland Clinic. She has a special interest in evaluating and treating patients with functional bowel and complex pelvic floor disorders, including women with incontinence.She is board certified in general and colon and rectal surgery. Dr. Gurland is a recipient of the Jahnigen Career Development Scholars Award by the American Geriatric Association for a multidisciplinary approach to…

Michelle Inkster, MD, PhD, is a staff gastroenterologist at Cleveland Clinic's Digestive Disease Institute. She is board certified in gastroenterology and internal medicine. A wife and mother, Dr. Inkster feels women's gastrointestinal issues have been downplayed over the years, largely because most gastroenterologists were male and as a result she has seen that female gastro health issues were not receiving the attention that they deserved. As a female gastroenterologist, she sees patients…

Margaret McKenzie, MD is an assistant professor of Surgery at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University. She is the director for Medical Student Education, clerkship director in the Department of Ob/Gyn, and a staff member in in Cleveland Clinic's Ob/Gyn & Women's Health Institute. Dr. McKenzie maintains a busy clinical practice, yet maintains active in student education and residency as well as community education. Her passion is health care for mid-life…

MaryAnn Mays, MD, is the Director of the Neurology Residency Program and a physician at the Headache and Facial Pain Clinic within the Neurological Institute at Cleveland Clinic. She has many clinical interests, including migraine, menstrual migraine, women’s health issues pertaining to headache including pregnancy and menopause, tension headaches, cluster headaches and chronic daily headaches. Dr. Mays received her medical degree at the Medical College of Ohio in Toledo. She returned to…

Adele C. Viguera, MD, MPH, is director of research for women’s mental health of the Cleveland Clinic Neurological Institute. In addition to her research efforts, this mother of three continues to dedicate her time to teaching and mentoring psychiatric residents, fellows, medical students, and junior faculty. She enjoys listening to classical music and spending time with her family. Years of research, teaching and clinical activities have led Dr. Viguera to recognize that women have unique…

Andrea Sikon, MD, FACP, is the Chair of the Department of Internal Medicine and started the Primary Care Women’s Health Program for the Medicine Institute at Cleveland Clinic where she also started the enterprise’s Staff Mentorship Program. She is a National Certified Menopause Practitioner and Certified Densitometrist, practicing in both Internal Medicine and the Center for Specialized Women’s Health with clinical interests in Women's Health, osteoporosis, menopause, diabetes and…

If you have a pain in your left side, what could it be a sign of besides a pulled muscle?

No time to cook? This recipe is only 6 ingredients! Just open cans of corn and tomatoes, toss in shrimp for this simple yet superb tomato-based soup.

This delicious Quick Shrimp and Corn Soup recipe is from Holly Clegg's trim&TERRIFIC® Gulf Coast Favorites.

Read guest columnist Stetson T. Thacker, PhD’s column on how to get physically fit.

Those of you tanning or burning your skin this summer should stop — seek the shade, wear a hat and some sunscreen and, whatever you do, stay out of indoor tanning salons. It's a familiar skin-cancer prevention message, but it's coming from a new source: the office of the U.S. Surgeon General. Nearly 5 million people in the United States are treated for skin cancer each year, at a cost of $8.1 billion, the report says. About 63,000 cases are the most serious kind, melanoma, and about 6,000 of…