For many years hormone replacement therapy (HRT) served as a first-line treatment for managing troublesome perimenopause and menopause symptoms, which can be mildly irritating or severe enough to interfere with your daily life.
HRT use declined in the last two decades after safety concerns arose. However, subsequent research has shown that hormone therapy is safe and highly beneficial for many women.
When you’re considering HRT and have questions or concerns, speaking with a woman’s health specialist can bring much-needed clarity. Our board-certified gynecologist Allen B. Patterson, MD, can help you separate fact from fiction so that you can make the decision that’s right for you. Here are some of the latest facts about HRT to get you started.
Menopause is a natural phase of life, and every year more than two million American women reach this “change of life.” Some women are lucky enough to breeze right through with few noticeable symptoms. For many other women, however, the road to menopause is rocky. The abrupt decline in estrogen can cause:
This isn’t a comprehensive list of menopause symptoms, and women may experience many more symptoms not listed here. The effects of menopause can interfere with all aspects of life, including your ability to be productive in the workplace.
Millions of women in the workforce cope with disruptive menopausal symptoms, and work interference is one of the top concerns our patients mention. It’s important to know that there is effective and safe treatment. You don’t have to struggle with irritating symptoms.
In recent years, concerns around the safety of HRT have made some women hesitant to pursue treatment. A major turning point came in the early 2000s when the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) raised concerns about the potential for increased risk of breast cancer, stroke, and heart disease with HRT use.
However, more recent re-evaluations of the WHI data show that the risks were overestimated, particularly for younger women starting HRT in their fifties, or within 10 years of menopause.
Additionally, re-evaluations suggest that the type and form of HRT (such as patches or oral pills) can influence both the risks and benefits. For instance, transdermal estrogen (via patches or creams) is linked to a lower risk of blood clots compared to oral formulations but the risk of blood clot is very low in otherwise healthy women.
Understanding the latest research and tools is key in finding the most appropriate approach that’s right for you. A new era of HRT has ushered in new perspectives, and individualized approaches to helping women manage menopause symptoms in a safe and effective way.
Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, tailoring hormone therapy to a woman’s age, cardiovascular risk profile, and time since menopause is a safe and effective approach that opens doors to the many benefits of HRT.
The 2023 updated practitioners’ kit for managing menopause, which is endorsed by many international menopause societies, provides the latest guidelines for safely managing menopause with HRT. The toolkit emphasizes taking a comprehensive, multimodal approach to symptom management that includes HRT when appropriate.
Beyond the immediate relief of menopausal symptoms, HRT offers long-term benefits that extend into healthy aging. It helps protect against bone density loss, reducing the risk of fractures later in life. When started early, estrogen may have protective benefits for the heart in women without a history of heart disease.
Estrogen therapy also helps to maintain skin elasticity and hydration, offering some cosmetic benefits that are important to many women as they age.
Women spend about one-third of their lives in menopause. Life doesn’t end with your reproductive years. After your ovaries wind down estrogen production, you likely still have many years left to live — and you deserve to live them to the fullest.
If you’re dealing with troublesome perimenopause or menopause symptoms, or you simply don’t feel like yourself, schedule a consultation with our team to learn more about HRT and find out if you’re a candidate.
Rest assured that if HRT isn’t the most appropriate approach for your situation, Dr. Patterson will work closely with you to find a solution for effectively managing your symptoms and getting you back to feeling — and functioning — like yourself. Dr Patterson has been managing menopausal symptoms in his patients for over 40 years, so he has the experience and expertise to do this the right way!
To learn more about the HRT options available at Alan B. Patterson, MD, in oral Springs, Florida, give us a call today, or click online to schedule a visit at your convenience.
