Risks and Benefits of Hormone Replacement Therapy

There are a number of risks and benefits of hormone replacement therapy that you should discuss with your medical doctor. In general, there are certain guidelines that doctors will look at to determine if you are the right candidate for Hormone Replacement Therapy.

Guidelines for candidates who may benefit from HRT:

• Premature menopause (before forty years of age).
• Surgical menopause (before age forty-five).
• Menopause induced by chemotherapy, drugs, or radiation (before age forty-five).
• Moderate to severe menopausal symptoms.
• Women who are unable or unwilling to lead a healthy lifestyle including nutritional diet, exercise, reasonable weight, relaxation, passion for living, minimal alcohol consumption, non-smoker.

Guidelines for candidates who may not benefit from HRT

• Natural menopause at fifty-one plus or minus five years.
• Mild to no menopausal symptoms.
• Few if any, risk factors for osteoporosis.
• Women who are willing and able to lead a healthy lifestyle as mentioned above.

In addition to these guidelines, you will also have to look at your personal social and cultural beliefs. It has been proven time and time again that what you think and believe about menopause and about hormone replacement therapy will affect how you experience them.

HRT is no longer only estrogen. Hormone Replacement therapy may include the other two classes of hormones, namely progesterone and androgen. In-depth discussion of these different types is beyond the scope of this website. Your doctor has to discuss with your options with you.

Certain conditions are an absolute no-no for certain hormone replacement therapies. If you have any of the following conditions, your doctor needs to be aware of them before prescribing HRT:

• Unexplained vaginal bleeding.
• Acute live, cardiac, thromboembolic, or renal disease.
• Pregnancy.
• Cancer of the breast.

Basically, what is being recommended today is that women, if they, under their physician’s guidance, should choose to take Hormone Replacement Therapy, they should take the lowest dose for the shortest time to provide symptomatic relief for women in perimenopausal state (not post-menopause). The treatment regime can always be adjusted as the person’s needs require.

Please remember that this is a general discussion about the risks and benefits of Hormone Replacement Therapy and your situation needs to be closely monitored by your prescribing physician.

To read more about Menopause Medications click here

To read about Bioidentical Hormones click here

Pfizer lost lawsuit and order to pay $58million : punitive and compensatory

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