Bookysue, I "get" why my primary doc fears hormones in general, HRT specifically: she had stage 3 breast cancer, double mastectomy, and reconstructive surgery two years ago. She's a real believer in daily exercise, good diet, healthy living in general, walks 2½ miles every day, so that's probably the most serious health challenge she's ever had. Even worse, she went to a surgeon a couple of hours away, the same doc to whom she'd referred many of her patients--and found that he was totally heartless, discharged her before she was well enough to leave the hospital, let alone be driven for two hours and dropped off to care for herself. So, I understand why hormones frighten her, even though I don't agree with anything anywhere near her level of fear. In addition, she's never had a patient with Meniere's, has no idea of the fun it presents! Further, an estimated 80% of the people diagnosed as having Meniere's actually have something else; Meniere's is THE magic diagnostic code for virtually any sort of inner ear disease that enables docs to bill insurance companies. There are very few people who have full blown cases of this damned disease, and far fewer of those that have it in both ears, meaning total deafness and total loss of natural ability to stay upright.