I am a dance practitioner in mid forties and for more than 4 years I have had very frequent soft tissue injuries. As I have had amenorrea due to low weight several times a doctor has linked the injuries with hormonal imbalance and recommended HRT. I also have osteoporosis and take calcium and vitamin D3. What test should I have to see the state of my hormones?

Your doctor can run blood tests to check the state of your sex hormones - LH, FSH, oestrogen and progesterone.

The issue for you is that if your weight is low enough to stop your periods then the hormone tests are pretty likely to come back extremely low (your body won't consider pregnancy as an option if there are barely enough resources to power it itself) and this won't necessarily mean you're menopausal but just not well enough nourished to menstruate.

I can see why your doctor would consider HRT, to give you some oestrogen to protect your bones. If you wanted to go the natural route you would need a natural oestrogen such as that provided by soya isoflavones. This would not, however, be as strong as HRT.

Eileen Durward