More serious risks HRT has also been associated with a small increase in the risk of blood clots and breast cancer. Learn more about the benefits and risks. Learn more about the benefits and risks of hormonal hormone therapy. The side effects of hormone therapy will depend primarily on the type of hormone therapy, the dose of the drug or combination of drugs, and your general health condition.
Fatigue is the general tiredness and lack of energy that can occur with hormone therapy. It makes a person feel more tired than usual and can interfere with daily activities and sleep. It usually gets worse when you are receiving other treatments, such as chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Fatigue may improve over time, but it can sometimes last a long time after hormone treatment. Nausea and vomiting may occur with some hormone therapy medications.
These side effects usually get better as your body gets used to the medication. Taking hormone therapy medications with food or before bed can help alleviate these side effects. Nausea and vomiting may also occur a few hours after radiation therapy to the abdomen. Weight gain often occurs with hormone therapy. It is caused by increased appetite, decreased activity, and fluid retention.
It's often difficult to control your weight when you're undergoing hormone therapy, but changes in diet and exercise can help. You can request a consultation with a dietitian to control your weight. Some hormone therapies may cause a decrease or loss of interest in sexual intercourse. It can continue while you are taking hormonal drug therapy, but it can sometimes be a long-term side effect.
It can be a permanent side effect if surgery or radiation therapy is performed to stop hormone production. Treatment-induced menopause may be permanent in women who have their ovaries surgically removed or undergo radiation therapy. directed to the ovaries. Treatment-induced menopause in women who have received hormonal drug therapy may be temporary.
For some women, it may be permanent, especially if they are close to natural menopause when hormonal drug therapy begins. The symptoms of treatment-induced menopause are the same as those of natural menopause, but they can be more severe because treatment-induced menopause occurs quickly. Some hormone therapies can cause hot flashes and sweating in both men and women. These side effects usually improve as the body gets used to the treatment or when therapy with hormonal drugs is stopped.
There are ways to control hot flashes. Taking hormone therapy medications at night may help some people cope with hot flashes. If hot flashes worsen at night, take your medicines in the morning. Check with your doctor or health care team before taking herbal products to treat hot flashes, as some may have hormonal properties that may affect a hormone-related cancer. Some hormone therapies can cause vaginal bleeding.
It is more common when you start hormone therapy for the first time or if you switch from one treatment to another. Hot flashes and sweating can be annoying. How often you have them and how long they last will vary from person to person. Talk to your healthcare team if you have trouble coping with hot flashes and sweating. There are treatments that can help.
You may also have other symptoms of menopause, even if you've already had menopause. For example, you may have vaginal dryness, mood changes, sweating, and decreased sexual desire. Some hormone therapies can cause hair thinning. Usually, other people don't notice it.
If you're concerned about thinning hair and want tips on how to cover it, you can learn more about thinning hair and anticancer drugs. Combined hormone therapy may increase the risk of developing breast cancer, but most studies show that the increase is small (less than 1 in 1000). The risk of breast cancer usually doesn't increase until after five years of use. There are several factors that determine the risk of breast cancer, in addition to hormone replacement therapy.
Hormone therapy can cause hot flashes in both men and women. During a hot flush, a person usually experiences mild to extreme heat all over the body, which can also be accompanied by sweating, blushing, and a rapid heartbeat. Certain antidepressants, called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), can ease hot flashes. Men with prostate cancer can take a type of hormone replacement known as progesterone to treat hot flashes.
Progesterone isn't safe for women or men with breast cancer. Supplements don't effectively treat hot flashes, and some supplements can be harmful. Some people who have hot flashes find hand-held ventilators and chills that lower body temperature helpful. Others have also reported that exercise, hypnosis, yoga or acupuncture relieve hot flashes.
Certain hormone therapies, especially aromatase inhibitors, can cause joint pain. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen, and antidepressants, such as duloxetine (Cymbalta), can improve joint pain caused by these therapies. Exercise, yoga, and acupuncture can also help ease joint pain. Fatigue may be due to cancer or treatment, including hormone therapy.
Fatigue is common among cancer survivors and can persist for years after treatment. Hormone therapy can affect memory and cognitive function. You should tell your doctor about cognitive changes so they can check for and treat your underlying causes, such as depression, sleep disorders, fatigue, and medication side effects. Limiting alcohol and drug use can improve your memory. Some research has demonstrated the benefits of yoga, exercise, mindfulness, meditation, cognitive training, and modafinil (Provigil), a medication used to treat sleep disorders.
These hormones are then altered in a lab to have the same molecular structure as the hormones the body used to produce before menopause. On the other hand, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) generally means that hormones are replacing natural hormones that the body no longer produces, especially in people between the ages of 30 and 40. Talking to your doctor and discussing the risks and benefits of hormone replacement therapy can help you understand your options and what's best for you and your health. Consider participating in a clinical trial that seeks new ways to control the side effects of hormone therapy. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) helps treat menopausal symptoms, such as vaginal dryness and hot flashes.
Hormonal drug therapy and radiation therapy can also cause temporary or permanent loss of fertility. Hormone therapy works by blocking the effects of certain hormones in the body or by stopping cancer cells from making or using hormones. It occurs because some hormone therapy drugs affect the cells that line the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Estrogen-only hormone therapy and combination hormone therapy (estrogen and progesterone) are the two main types of hormone replacement therapy. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is a medical treatment given to women to replace the decline in estrogen and progesterone levels that is common with the onset of menopause.
Menopause occurs when a woman's reproductive hormones naturally decrease and she no longer menstruates, which can cause undesirable or uncomfortable symptoms.
