At What Age Should A Woman Stop Taking Hormone Replacement
If youre a woman over the age of 30, you may not immediately recognize the symptoms of hormone deficiency in your life, which can include fatigue, decreased libido, weight gain, and more concerns often mistaken for a side effect of aging. Bio-identical hormone replacement therapy through the revolutionary pellet method is proven to help restore balance to hormone levels and decrease the symptoms of life stages such as menopause. For many women, BHRT is safe and effective for years of improved health. This hormone replacement treatment is proudly offered by Pellecome through our provider network,
Important Questions To Ask About Menopause Hormone Medicines
- Are hormones right for me? Why?
- What are the benefits?
- What are the serious risks and common side effects?
- How long should I use hormone therapy?
- What is the lowest dose that will work for me?
- Are there any non-hormone medicines that I can take?
Want more information about menopause? Check the FDA website at: www.fda.gov/menopause
The drug and risk information in this booklet may change. Check for the latest facts on each product listed in this booklet.
Side Effects Of Estrogen After Menopause
They may be benefits of taking estrogen after menopause, but check out this drawbacks:
1. Inceased Risks of Breast Cancer
It is already wide known that any therapy involving estrogen increases risks of breast cancer, especially in older women . Therefore, a woman who wants to consume estrogen therapy should consult her doctor to get precise dossage of estrogen that she has to take every day.
2. Expensive
In developing or third world countries, estrogen replacement therapy is very expensive, because most of the time it is not covered by social security or general insurance companies. Only rich people can afford artificial estrogen. It is really not economical and can lead to poverty.
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Oestrogen And Progesterone Therapy
Oestrogen is the main hormone prescribed to relieve menopausal symptoms, and for women who have had a hysterectomy, this may be all they need.
In women who still have their uterus, oestrogen alone can overstimulate the cells lining the uterus, causing an increased risk of endometrial cancer .
To remove the risk of overstimulation, women who have not had a hysterectomy need to take progesterone, or a synthetic form known as progestin, together with the oestrogen. Progestogens is the name used to refer to both the natural form of progesterone and the synthetic form, progestin.
Menopausal Estrogen Therapy Benefits And Risks Vary By Age Whi Analysis Suggests
Long-term follow-up data from the Womens Health Initiative provide important new information about the potential risks and benefits of hormone therapy to treat symptoms or conditions related to menopause, including its effect on breast cancer risk. The results were published April 5, 2011, in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Overall, the study found, among postmenopausal women who had had a hysterectomy, use of conjugated equine estrogens alone for an average of 6 years had little to no effect on the risk of death, coronary heart disease, colorectal cancer, and hip fractures, or on other serious health problems, compared with placebo treatment. Estrogen-only treatment was associated with a statistically significant decrease in the risk of breast cancer.
However, there were some notable differences in estrogen effects by age. Estrogen therapy decreased the risk of heart disease and mortality among women in their 50s but markedly increased these risks for women in their 70s. In contrast, the decreased breast cancer risk associated with estrogen use was seen regardless of age.
The findings reinforce the concept that estrogen affects many organ systems in the body and changes the risk of many diseases, said the studys lead investigator, Andrea LaCroix, Ph.D., of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. Depending on age group and hysterectomy status, the consequences can vary dramatically.
- Posted:May 20, 2011
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Added Benefits Of Hrt
HRT reduces the risk of various chronic conditions that can affect postmenopausal women, including:
- diabetes taking HRT around the time of menopause reduces a womans risk of developing diabetes
- osteoporosis HRT prevents further bone density loss, preserving bone integrity and reducing the risk of fractures, but it is not usually recommended as the first choice of treatment for osteoporosis, except in younger postmenopausal women
- bowel cancer HRT slightly reduces the risk of colorectal cancer
- cardiovascular disease HRT has been shown to reduce cardiovascular disease markers when used around the time of menopause.
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Can You Be In Peri
Yes, absolutely and this is the case with many women, you are not alone in this. I know it sounds counterintuitive to think that in spite of having low estrogen, a woman can experience estrogen dominance. Ponder on this scenario: most women who develop ER+ breast cancer are often in peri- and menopause. Their estrogen is low, yet they get breast cancer that is estrogen dependent . Why?
The answer is: too much estrogen isnt the problem here hormone ratios and metabolism are the defining issue.
To understand more, please see the three scenarios Estrogen Dominance can manifest:
This is how this can happen: even though your estrogen levels are low, the way you break down these estrogen , is unfavorable and you are producing too many dirty estrogens. It could also be that your progesterone is also very low and even lower than estrogen being another form of estrogen dominance.
Ive written a book on this topic Overcoming Estrogen Dominance.
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What Is Organifi Harmony
Organifi Harmony is a delicious cacao and chocolate-flavored superfood blend designed by some of the worlds top herbalists , for women.
Its not just for your time of the month! Harmony contains a daily dose of balancing herbs that supports you pre AND post menopause.
- After 15 days of consuming this: Increased energy!
- After 30 days of consuming this: Cycle regulation, aids in reduction of PMS symptoms, such as bloat, moodiness, breast tenderness.
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Best Lifestyle Habits To Increase And Balance Hormones Naturally
Exercise is a must, not only during menopause but throughout life. Moving your body improves blood circulation, stimulates hormone-producing glands and flushes out harmful toxins. Exercise also activates our lymphatic system and the liver, two of our main detoxifiers.
Its good to do a mix of different exercises and activities every day. You can do Pilates, Yoga, Qigong or take brisk walks in nature. If youre up for it, you can also do strength training. However, if youre stressed, it best to avoid extreme workouts because they can strain the ovaries and adrenals. As a result, they might produce lesser hormones.
Stress less! Stress is the mother of all diseases. In fact, stress can mess up our hormone balance big time. You see, cortisol is a stimulant hormone produced by the adrenal glands. Cortisol is helpful for short periods of time, but it can hyperactivate and overwork our body in cases of chronic stress.
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Insomnia Lack Of Sleep
Heres one thing we can all agree on: a good nights sleep is vital to living a healthy life. When our sleep cycle is tampered with, a simple day at work can seem like an impossible task. If you are experiencing disturbances in your sleep cycle, hormone imbalances may be the main force keeping you up at night.
Other side effects you may feel when hormones interrupt sleep include:
- Insomnia
- Hot flashes and night sweats
- Brain fog and memory loss
- Anxiety
As you can see, all of these are very negative symptoms of a lack of sleep and can be easily improved with hormone replacement therapy. So, how can you safely and effectively replenish your hormones through hormone replacement therapy?
Menopause Symptoms And Hrt
Menopause symptoms that may be relieved by HRT include:
- hot flushes and night sweats
- vaginal dryness
- hair loss or abnormal hair growth
- dry and itchy eyes.
Other therapies, including vaginal oestrogen products, antidepressants or other medications, may be used depending on the symptoms and risk factors. Seek advice from your doctor.
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The Psychology Of Menopause
Hormone shifts can affect moods. It can be disturbing to find yourself feeling uncharacteristically nervous or depressed or having memory lapses. Sometimes these feelings can even strain your relationships with others. It helps to know that the psychological effects of menopause are temporary. In all likelihood, youll soon get back on an even keel. Here are the most common psychological accompaniments of menopause.
Anxiety. Women who have never had a problem with anxiety before may become more self-conscious and worried about minor events. In some cases, panic attacks occur. Mental health professionals have a variety of effective treatments. Many people feel much better just knowing what the condition is. The most important piece of advice is not to let anxiety restrict your activities. When anxiety or panic disorders cause people to avoid stressful situations, the result can be an ever-tightening leash that keeps them from enjoying life. Anxiety can lead to avoidance of many aspects of normal life. Prompt treatment prevents this.
Poor Memory and Concentration. Some women find that menopause brings occasional memory lapses, often related to reduced ability to concentrate. This can be upsetting and annoying, but fortunately it seems to go away on its own with time.
Hrt And Surgical Menopause
So what is surgical menopause? It’s menopause that develops suddenly after the ovaries — the main producers of the hormone estrogen — are surgically removed.
The removal of the ovaries is called an oophorectomy. The procedure is often combined with a hysterectomy — removal of the uterus — but not always. And in fact, women who only have their uterus removed will not go into surgical menopause. Their ovaries are still making estrogen. They’ll go into menopause naturally when they get older, although sometimes a bit earlier than usual.
Estrogen plays a key role throughout the body. It affects the brain, the bones, the skin, the heart, the blood vessels, and more. While estrogen levels lower gradually during natural menopause, they plummet with surgical menopause. That sudden drop in estrogen can lead to menopausal symptoms that can be quite severe.
Hormone therapy after surgery — either with estrogen and progestin or with estrogen alone — is a way to counteract the supply of estrogen you’ve lost. Women who have both the uterus and ovaries removed usually just get estrogen replacement therapy alone. But women who have only the ovaries removed need both estrogen and progestin. That’s because estrogen alone can increase the risk of cancer in the uterus. Adding progestin removes this risk.
Rarely, if ever, will both ovaries be removed without the uterus. Often, only one ovary may be removed, which will negate the need for HRT at the time of surgery,
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What Is High Estrogen In Women
Symptoms of hormone imbalance manifest when certain hormones are over- or under-produced by the body. High estrogen levels are one of the most common hormonal imbalances found in women of childbearing age. Excess estrogen can manifest from a health condition, such as endometriosis or obesity, or in response to certain medications, like antibiotics or hormonal birth control.
Keeping Or Restoring Strong Healthy Bones
Osteoporosisthinning of the bone tissueis common, particularly among Caucasian women, after menopause. The cause is not an inadequate calcium intake, ordinarily. The problem is abnormally rapid calcium loss, aggravated by the following five calcium wasters:
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Taking Estrogen With A Progestin Vs Estrogen Alone
Treating menopausal symptoms with estrogen and progestin together is known as estrogen-progestin therapy or combined hormone therapy. Although estrogen alone improves the symptoms of menopause, it increases the risk of cancer of the uterus . Adding a progestin to the estrogen lowers the risk of endometrial cancer back to normal. Because of this, EPT is given to women who still have a uterus . EPT can be given 2 ways:
- Continuous EPT means the same dose of estrogen and progestin is taken each day. Women often prefer continuous EPT because it rarely leads to menstrual-like bleeding.
- Sequential EPT means different amounts of each hormone are taken on specific days. There are different ways to do this. For example, estrogen can be taken by itself for 14 days, then estrogen plus progestin for 11 days, then neither hormone for 3 to 5 days. Other schedules involve taking progestin only every few months. This lowers the amount of progestin that you are exposed to. Monthly regimens are also thought to result in hormone levels that are more like the natural menstrual cycle. Cyclical EPT can produce bleeding like a menstrual period, but it can occur less often than monthly.
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Does Hrt Increase The Risk Of Breast Cancer
Most types of HRT increase the risk of breast cancer. But the risk is higher for those using combined HRT, which uses both oestrogen and progestogen.
Vaginal oestrogens are not linked to an increased risk of breast cancer, whereas tibolone is.
Taking HRT for 1 year or less only slightly increases breast cancer risk. However, the longer you take HRT the greater the risks are, and the longer they last.
The risk of breast cancer due to HRT can also vary from person to person. Things such as what age you are when you first start taking HRT, other medicines you may be taking, and your general health can impact the risk.
People who begin HRT before or soon after the menopause may have a bigger risk than those who start HRT later.
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Side Effects Of Oestrogen
The main side effects of taking oestrogen include:
- bloating
- swelling in other parts of the body
- feeling sick
These side effects will often pass after a few weeks. To ease side effects, try:
- taking your oestrogen dose with food, which may help feelings of sickness and indigestion
- eating a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet, which may reduce breast tenderness
- doing regular exercise and stretching, to help leg cramps
If side effects persist, your GP may recommend switching to a different way of taking oestrogen , changing the medicine you’re taking, or lowering your dose.
What Are The Risks Of Taking Hormone Therapy
While hormone therapy helps many women get through menopause, the treatment is not risk-free. Known health risks include:
- An increased risk of endometrial cancer .
- Increased risk of blood clots and stroke.
- Increased chance of gallbladder/gallstone problems.
- Increased risk of dementia if hormone therapy is started after midlife. HT started during midlife is associated with a reduced risk of Alzheimers disease and dementia.
- Increased risk of breast cancer with long-term use.
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What Hormones Are Used To Treat The Symptoms Of Menopause
The hormones most commonly used to treat symptoms of menopause are estrogen and progesterone. . Often, these 2 hormones are used together, but some women are given estrogen alone. Its important to know which hormones you are talking about when looking at the risks.
Common estrogen preparations used to treat menopausal symptoms include conjugated equine estrogens and estradiol, but several forms or types of estrogen are available.
There are also many progestins available, but medroxyprogesterone acetate , is often used with an estrogen to treat menopausal symptoms. Some preparations contain both an estrogen and a progestin.
Androgens are also sometimes used to treat menopausal symptoms. This is not common, though, and because only a few studies have looked at this practice, it isnt clear how safe it is in the long run.
Tibolone is a synthetic hormone drug that can act like estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone in different tissues of the body. Because this drug isnt available in the US, its not discussed here.
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Do You Still Experience Hot Flashes Or Night Sweats Youre Not Alone
Going into this video interview, I had the perception that most women stopped experiencing night sweats when menopause ended. Julie assures us that these symptoms can continue well into our 70s. In the interview, she makes some specific suggestions, including keeping a food journal, reducing our alcohol intake and dressing in layers.
The bottom line here is that understanding how our hormones impact our bodies can help us to take control of our lives.
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