Menopausal hormone therapy is the solution for many conditions aging women face. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is a female hormone medication taken to replace estrogen the body stops making during menopause. Menopause is a stage in a woman’s life when certain hormone levels decrease and the menstrual period stops. HRT treats common menopausal symptoms including hot flashes, anxiety, fatigue, and vaginal discomfort.
Hormones naturally decline as you continue aging. However, there are certain conditions that may cause unusually low levels of sex hormones that may need treatment.
Facts About HRT.
1. HRT can relieve menopause symptoms
- Many menopausal women experience hot flashes, night sweats, sleep problems, vaginal dryness, mood swings, anxiety, decreased sexual desire, fatigue, and headaches.
2. HRT’s versatility can fit anyone’s lifestyle
- Women can take HRT either systemically or locally.
- Systemic forms include oral tablets and skin creams, gels, patches, and sprays.
- Women who only experience vaginal symptoms like dryness can take local forms of HRT,
3. There’s no hard rule for when to start HRT.
- HRT seems to be of most benefit when women take it soon after menopause symptoms start.
- Women with menopause from surgery, chemotherapy or radiation will start HRT right away.
- Women with early menopause before age 40 should talk to their doctors sooner rather than later because they're more likely to benefit from HRT than if they wait until they are older.
4. HRT offers a variety of benefits
- HRT also has other health benefits, such as reducing the risk of osteoporosis and colon cancer.
- If you have a family history of these conditions, you may want to seriously consider HRT.
5. HRT has risks, too.
- HRT effectively treats menopausal symptoms, but there are risks, including blood clots, heart attack, stroke, and minimal increased risk of developing breast cancer.
- Guard against these risks by not smoking, exercising regularly, and maintaining a healthy weight.
Basic types of estrogen therapy:
1. Systemic hormone therapy
- Systemic estrogen — which comes in pill, skin patch, ring, gel, cream, or spray form — typically contains a higher dose of estrogen that is absorbed throughout the body.
- Treat any of the common symptoms of menopause.
2. Low-dose vaginal products
- Low-dose vaginal preparations of estrogen — which come in cream, tablet, or ring form — minimize the amount of estrogen absorbed by the body.
- Low-dose vaginal preparations are usually only used to treat the vaginal and urinary symptoms of menopause.
Risks of Hormone Therapy?
- Increased risk of endometrial cancer (only if a woman still has her uterus and is not taking a progestin along with estrogen).
- Increased risk of blood clots and stroke.
- Increased chance of gallbladder/gallstone problems.
- Heart disease
- Breast cancer
These risks vary depending on:
- Age. Women who begin hormone therapy at age 60 or older or more than 10 years from the onset of menopause are at greater risk of the above conditions.
- Type of hormone therapy. The risks of hormone therapy vary depending on whether estrogen is given alone.
- Health history
Who can benefit from hormone therapy?
- Have moderate to severe hot flashes.
- Have other symptoms of menopause
- Need to prevent bone loss or fractures
- Experience early menopause or have estrogen deficiency.
If you take hormone therapy, how can you reduce risk?
1. Find the best product and delivery method
- Take estrogen in the form of a pill, patch, gel, vaginal cream, or slow-releasing suppository or ring that you place in the vagina.
2. Minimize the amount of medication you take
- Use the lowest effective dose for the shortest amount of time needed to treat your symptoms.
- If you're younger than age 45, you need enough estrogen to provide protection against the long-term health effects of estrogen deficiency.
- Lasting menopausal symptoms that significantly impair your quality of life, your doctor may recommend longer-term treatment.
3. Seek regular follow-up care
- See your doctor regularly to ensure that the benefits of hormone therapy continue to outweigh the risks, and for screenings such as mammograms and pelvic exams.
4. Make healthy lifestyle choices
- Include physical activity and exercise in your daily routine, eat a healthy diet, maintain a healthy weight, don't smoke, limit alcohol, manage stress, and manage chronic health conditions, such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure.
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) Treatments
There are several different types of hormone treatments. For menopause and sex hormone-related conditions, many women take either estrogen, progesterone.
Hormone therapies can be taken in several ways including:
- Estrogen cream, tablets, or rings inserted into the vagina
- Estrogen cream, lotion, or gel applied to the skin
- Progesterone cream applied to the skin
- Estrogen or estrogen-progesterone skin patch
- Estrogen or progesterone tablet taken by mouth
- Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) cream inserted into the vagina
Myerlee Pharmacy has established a reputation for efficient service and effective products over the years. If you are in Fort Myers, Florida, and experiencing perimenopause or menopause, compounded Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) from Myerlee Pharmacy may benefit you. Our team custom-fills proper dosage strengths, forms, and combinations prescribed by your physician to help mitigate your specific signs and symptoms.
Myerlee Pharmacy holds a Sterile Compounding permit issued by the Florida State Board of Pharmacy complemented by an International Standard Organization (ISO) Class 7 clean-room in compliance with the USP 797 guidelines.
Call Myerlee Pharmacy at 239-482-3022 or connect with us online for support in your treatment of Hormone Replacement Therapy or for prescription needs today.
