Hormone Replacement Treatment (HRT)

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Menopause (sometimes called “the change of life”) is a normal time in a woman’s life when her period stops. During menopause, a woman’s body makes less of the hormones estrogen and progesterone. Lower hormone levels may lead to symptoms like night sweats, hot flashes, and vaginal dryness along with thin bones. 

Some women choose to treat their menopause symptoms with hormone medicines sometimes called Hormone Therapy. There are different types of hormone medicines used during and after menopause: 

• Estrogen-Only Medicines 

• Progestin-Only Medicines 

• Combination Estrogen and Progestin Medicines 

• Combination Estrogen and Other Medicines 

Get a copy of the different hormonal treatments hand out below!

Side Effects 

Hormone can have side effects. Serious health problems can happen in women who take menopause hormone therapy. 

  • Hormone may raise their chances of blood clots, heart attacks, strokes, and breast cancer. 
  • For some women who are 65 years old or older, hormone medicines may raise their chances of dementia. 
  • For women who still have their uterus, taking estrogen-only medicines raises their chance of getting cancer of the lining of the uterus or endometrial cancer. These women need to take progestin to prevent endometrial cancer. 

Do not take hormone therapy if you: 

• have problems with vaginal bleeding 

• have or have had certain cancers such as breast cancer or uterine cancer 

• have or have had a blood clot, stroke or heart attack 

• have a bleeding disorder 

• have liver disease 

• have allergic reactions to hormone medicine 

Non-Hormone Treatments

Some women use non-hormonal medicines for their menopause symptoms. 

FDA approved a non-hormonal treatment for moderate to severe hot flashes associated with menopausecalled BRISDELLETM (paroxetine) 

FDA also approved a medicine to treat moderate to severe dyspareunia (pain with sexual activity) due to vaginal changes that occur with menopause called OSPHENA® (ospemifene).

Dietary Supplements, Herbs, and Other “Natural” Products – Things that Don’t Require a Prescription

Other women may decide to use products marketed as dietary supplements or over-the-counter “natural” hormone creams to help them deal with their menopausal symptoms.   These products may also have health risks. Don’t get scammed by products making false claims about miracle cures for weight gain, hair loss, wrinkles or other problems that happen during or after menopause. Get the facts.

  • Check with your healthcare provider for information about using these products.
  • Learn more about dietary supplements.

Here are 4 things to know if you are considering a complementary health approach for managing menopausal symptoms:

  1. Mind and body practices such as hypnosis, mindfulness meditation, and tai chi may help improve some menopausal symptoms.   
  2. Many natural products, such as black cohosh, soy isoflavone supplements, and DHEA, have been studied for their effects on menopausal symptoms, but scientists have found little evidence that they are helpful. There is also no conclusive evidence that the herbs red clover, kava, or dong quai reduce hot flashes.
      
  3. Natural products used for menopausal symptoms can have side effects and can interact with other botanicals or supplements or with medications. For example, rare cases of liver damage–some of them very serious–have been reported in people taking commercial black cohosh products. Also, concerns have been raised about the safety of DHEA because it is converted in the body to hormones, which are known to carry risks.
      
  4. Tell all your health care providers about any complementary health practices you use. 

The key here is that if you have symptoms caused by perimenopause or menopause, there are things you can do to alleviate them. Discussion with your primary care physician or gynecologist, to make a shared decision on what therapy is best for you given any risks you may have. Don’t suffer in silence, this is a natural process that leads to a new stage in your life that can be full of possibilities.

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