Every woman goes through menopause in her own way. Some women go through menopause without having a single hot flash, while others have symptoms that are hard to deal with. Even though each woman’s experience is different, most of them have to deal with a number of uncomfortable symptoms as their estrogen and progesterone levels drop.
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can change a woman’s life if her menopause symptoms are hard to deal with. However, there is a lot of misinformation about HRT, so many women who could benefit don’t use it.
At Lasting Impression, we have used hormone replacement therapy to help menopausal and postmenopausal women in the greater Las Vegas area improve their quality of life, sexual function, and overall health and well-being. We want to help you sort out the facts from the myths about this effective and innovative treatment.
HRT Misconceptions
Many women who come to Lasting Impression are afraid of HRT because they want to go through menopause “naturally” or because they think HRT might be dangerous.
Hormone replacement therapy has gotten a lot of bad press because of just two studies done in the 1990s. These studies showed that women who use HRT may have a higher risk of breast cancer and heart disease. Newer studies, on the other hand, show that the risk seems to be much lower than what the first ones suggested.
In 2017, the results of an 18-year study of postmenopausal women in the Women’s Health Initiative were published. They showed that women who had taken HRT didn’t have a higher risk of dying from heart disease or cancer than women who hadn’t taken HRT, as long as the groups of women who hadn’t taken HRT were balanced.
What HRT Can Do for You
The most obvious benefit of HRT is that it has been shown to protect all women from getting osteoporosis. But the main reason women choose hormone replacement therapy is to fight the effects of menopause. If you’re a woman with a lot of hormone deficiency symptoms, HRT can help you stop feeling like your “life is being sucked out of you.”
HRT can help a lot with the following menopausal symptoms:
- Lack of desire
- Warm spots
- Wet nights
- Insomnia
- Weight gain
- Heavy or irregular periods
- Vaginal dryness
- Mood swings and a short fuse
- Depression
- Anxiety
- The heart beats fast.
- Insomnia
- Hair falling out and dry skin
- Loss of attention and focus
HRT could be very helpful for a woman who is going through all of the symptoms of menopause.
Not Everyone Needs Hormone Replacement Therapy
Even though hormone replacement therapy has many benefits, we still have to be careful when prescribing it because it may not be right for every woman or every case of menopause. In particular, you may not want to use HRT if you:
- A history of cancer in the breast, uterus, or ovaries
- How blood clots came to be
- Uncontrolled high blood pressure
- Liver sickness
Like all medicines, HRT can cause side effects, such as breast tenderness, headaches, nausea, and bleeding in the vaginal area.
Is Hormone Therapy The Right Choice For You?
You can figure out what’s best for you by weighing the risks of treatment against the good things it could do for you. If you are in the worst part of menopause, HRT could make a huge difference in your life. The best thing to do is always to talk to a woman’s health expert who knows how to treat the symptoms of menopause.
If you are going through menopause symptoms, the women’s health experts at Lasting Impression can help you look at your treatment options and decide if hormone replacement therapy is right for you. Today, you can call our Bergen County office or make an appointment online.