Hormone therapy

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Uterus

Hormone therapy (HT) uses one or more female hormones, commonly estrogen and progestin and sometimes testosterone, to treat symptoms of menopause.

Symptoms of menopause include hot flashes, vaginal dryness, mood swings, sleep disorders, and decreased sexual desire. Hormone therapy comes as a pill, patch, injection, vaginal cream, tablet, or ring.

HRT; Estrogen replacement therapy; ERT; Hormone replacement therapy

Hormone therapy may help relieve some of the bothersome symptoms of menopause, such as hot flashes, vaginal dryness and pain with intercourse. The hormone estrogen protects against thinning of the bones ( osteoporosis).

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However, taking hormones may also increase your risk for:

• Blood clots
• Breast cancer
• Heart disease
• Stroke

You and your doctor should decide whether hormone therapy is right for you. The key is to weigh the risks of taking hormone therapy against the benefits that you might have from taking these hormones. Every woman is different. Your doctor should be aware of your entire medical history before prescribing hormone therapy.

At this time, short-term use (up to 5 years) of hormone therapy at the lowest possible dose to treat the symptoms of menopause still appears to be safe for many women.

BENEFITS OF HORMONE THERAPY

Perhaps the largest benefit women receive from hormone therapy is relief from:

• Hot flashes
• Night sweats
• Sleep difficulties
• Vaginal dryness
• Anxiety

Usually, hot flashes and night sweats are less severe after a couple of years, especially if hormone therapy is slowly reduced.

A woman's body produces less estrogen during and after menopause, which may affect her bone strength. Hormone therapy may also prevent the development of osteoporosis. For information on treating bone loss, see: Osteoporosis.

Studies have not been able to clearly show that hormone therapy helps with urinary incontinence, Alzheimer's disease, or dementia.

RISKS OF HORMONE THERAPY

BLOOD CLOTS

Doctors have long known that taking estrogen increases a person's risk for blood clots. Generally, this risk is higher if you use birth control pills, which contain high doses of estrogen. Your risk is even higher if you smoke and take estrogen. The risk is not as high when estrogen skin patches (transdermal estrogen) are used.