Hormone therapy

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Uterus

(Page 3)

Estrogen comes in the following forms:

• Nasal spray
• Pills or tablets, taken by mouth
• Skin gel
• Skin patches, which are applied to the thigh or belly area
• Vaginal creams or vaginal tablets, to help with dryness and pain with sexual intercourse
• Vaginal ring

Most women who take estrogen and who have not had their uterus removed also need to take progesterone. Taking these medicines together helps reduce the risk of endometrial (uterine) cancer.

Progesterone or progestin comes in the following forms:

• Pill
• Skin patch
• Vaginal cream

When estrogen and progesterone are prescribed together, your doctor will recommended one of the following schedules:

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• Cyclic hormone therapy is often recommended when a woman is starting menopause. With this therapy, estrogen is taken in pill or patch form for 25 days, with progestin added somewhere between days 10 - 14. The estrogen and progestin are used together for the remainder of the 25 days. Then, no hormones are taken for 3 - 5 days. There may be monthly bleeding with cyclic therapy.
• Continuous, combined therapy involves taking estrogen and progestin together every day. Irregular bleeding may occur when starting or switching to this therapy. Most women stop bleeding within 1 year.

Additional medications may be recommended for some women with severe symptoms from menopause, or women who are at very high risk for osteoporosis or heart disease. One of these supplemental drugs might be testosterone, a hormone that is more plentiful in males, to improve sex drive. Nonhormonal medications are sometimes used either in addition to, or instead of, hormone therapy.

HEALTHY LIFESTYLE

In addition to hormone therapy, a woman can take other steps to adjust to the changes in life during menopause. Eating healthy foods and getting regular exercise will help decrease bone loss, improve balance, and maintain healthy heart muscle.

CALLING YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER

It is important to have regular checkups with your health care provider when taking hormone therapy. If you have vaginal bleeding or other unusual symptoms during hormone therapy, call your health care provider.

Review Date: 09/11/2010
Reviewed By: Susan Storck, MD, FACOG, Chief, Eastside Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound, Bellevue, Washington; Clinical Teaching Faculty, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org).