First let me mention that I am a retired librarian. 😊. I started HRT prior to the big study, back when you were encouraged to take hormones, especially with early menopause. After the study, both my primary care and my gynecologist (both women) said that the results were not definitive and we probably would not know for sure during our lifetime. My gynecologist said she planned to stay on hormone replacement her whole life. In recent years, as I mentioned, a liver enzyme started creeping up and my triglycerides took a sudden climb and both doctors said it’s the hormones. I did some research (librarians can’t resist) and learned that oral delivery was likely the problem and I convinced my doctor to let me give transdermal a shot. I think she was so impressed with the rather dramatic improvement in both labs that she is unlikely to suggest I stop HRT. Also, the reduction in the likelihood of blood clots with transdermal helped influence her. One more thing, I did experience some very slight bleeding for a few days the first few months on CombiPatch. I went through the whole diagnostic procedure with pelvic ultrasound and uterine biopsy and all was normal and the bleeding stopped. It was just my body adjusting to the change in delivery methods. So don’t be discouraged if that happens to you. Good luck.