Headaches usually only last a few days after starting treatment, as the body gets used to the medication. Try taking a pain reliever such as ibuprofen or paracetamol. If your headaches last longer than a week or are severe, talk to your doctor. You may need to change your dose or switch to a different type of hormone replacement therapy.
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) helps treat menopausal symptoms, such as vaginal dryness and hot flashes. Age, family medical history, personal medical history, and the severity of symptoms can affect your decision to take hormone therapy. Talk to your healthcare provider about the benefits and risks of HRT, the different forms of HRT, and alternative options. Hormone replacement therapy, or HRT, is a treatment that helps people with symptoms of menopause. Hormone replacement therapy replaces hormones that the body does not produce in sufficient quantity.
Once hormone levels rise, most people find relief from their symptoms. Hormonal hormone therapy can also help with bone loss (osteoporosis and osteopenia), a common condition in women who don't have enough estrogen. Whether you should consider taking hormone replacement therapy or not is something you should discuss with your medical professional. While hormone therapy reduces menopausal symptoms, it comes with risks.
You should discuss the risks and benefits of hormone therapy with your provider to determine if it's right for you. 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. The important difference is that HRT may have different risks depending on age. This form of hormone therapy combines doses of estrogen and progesterone (also called progestin, which is the name for all the hormones that act like progesterone, including synthetic ones).
People who still have a uterus need a progestogen. As you approach menopause, your ovaries shrink and stop producing estrogen and progesterone. The lack of a sufficient amount of these hormones in the body is what causes menopausal symptoms. Hormone replacement therapy works by giving you back lost hormones.
However, hormone replacement therapy has both benefits and health risks, which may be higher in some people. Your healthcare provider can help determine if the benefits of hormone therapy outweigh the risks. There is no single approach to HRT. Instead, your healthcare provider will develop a treatment plan that's unique to you, your symptoms, and your medical history. One of the main benefits of hormonal hormone therapy is that it alleviates annoying menopausal symptoms.
This can lead to a better quality of life and allow you to resume the activities you enjoy. If you're considering hormone therapy, it's important to learn everything you can from your healthcare provider. HRT should be an individualized treatment that your provider evaluates frequently to ensure that the benefits outweigh the risks. Side effects usually resolve on their own within a few months. In most cases, these side effects are mild and there is no need to stop hormone therapy.
If your symptoms bother you, ask your healthcare provider if you can adjust the dose or form of HRT to reduce side effects. Never change your medication or stop taking it without talking to your provider. Most people usually take hormone replacement therapy for five years or less. However, there's no set duration and it can vary depending on the severity of your symptoms, the type of hormone replacement therapy you're taking, and your preferences.
Your healthcare provider will continue to monitor you and reevaluate your treatment plan. If you develop a new medical condition while taking HRT, see your provider to discuss whether it's still safe to continue taking HRT. 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. Because early estrogen loss increases the risks of many conditions, including cardiovascular disease, people who lose estrogen before age 40 are at risk of heart disease if they don't use hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Contact your healthcare provider if you have menopausal symptoms that interrupt your daily life. Your healthcare provider can explain treatment options, including hormone replacement therapy.
It's important for your healthcare provider to help you understand the advantages and disadvantages of hormone replacement therapy and how they apply to your particular situation. The decision to take hormone replacement therapy is a very personal and complex one. It depends on many factors, such as your health history, your age and your symptoms. Health care providers know the risks and benefits of hormonal hormone therapy and know how to apply it to each individual case.
That said, there are times when healthcare providers don't recommend HRT after evaluating your situation. It's important to know that they're not against HRT because they want you to feel uncomfortable. Rather, they are aware of the risks and how those risks may apply to you. If your provider doesn't think HRT is the right treatment for you, discuss alternative options with them.
Bioidentical hormones are a type of hormone replacement therapy. Compared to other synthetic hormones, they more closely match the body's natural estrogen and progesterone. There are several FDA-approved options for obtaining bioidentical hormones. Sometimes, bioidentical hormones are combined in a pharmacy.
This is called a personalized composite hormone. Compound hormones aren't well studied and healthcare providers aren't sure about their long-term effects. For this reason, many providers don't recommend them. If you have menopausal symptoms that affect your quality of life, you may wonder if hormone therapy is an option for you.
The decision to try hormone therapy is a personal one. Hormone replacement therapy is complex and isn't for everyone. It's important to make the decision to take hormone therapy after talking with your healthcare provider. Talk about the risks and benefits during an office visit dedicated to this conversation.
You'll need time to answer all your questions and make the decision that's best for you. Be sure to talk about the pros and cons of different types and forms of hormonal hormone therapy. Even if HRT isn't right for you, there are other treatment options that your healthcare provider may recommend to help treat menopausal symptoms. When you first start hormone therapy, you may feel a little “baffled” and not quite like yourself. You may feel a little sick or nauseous, or you may have breast tenderness, swelling, or headaches, especially for the first few days.
You can see a full list of the side effects of the different HRT hormones here. When starting hormone therapy, women may experience gastrointestinal problems, such as bloating or nausea. These symptoms can last until the body adjusts to HRT. These side effects can be addressed by taking hormone therapy with food or by changing the dosing schedule. Combined hormone replacement therapy (estrogen and progestin) may increase the risk of heart attack, stroke, blood clots in the lungs and legs, and breast cancer.
Tell your doctor if you smoke and if you have or have ever had a breast lump; breast cancer; a heart attack; a stroke; blood clots or blood clotting problems; high blood pressure; high cholesterol or blood fat levels; lupus (an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks healthy parts of the body, such as joints, skin, blood vessels, and organs); or diabetes. If you are having surgery or going to bed rest, talk to your doctor about stopping using estrogen and progestogen at least 4 to 6 weeks before surgery or bed rest. 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 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 menopausal symptoms, 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. It will help you understand what effect you are most concerned about and what you hope to achieve with hormone replacement therapy. Quite often, side effects, such as headaches, swelling, or breast swelling, are transient and go away once a woman decides on hormone replacement therapy, usually in a couple of weeks. Medical consultation is important at the start of HRT and should be continued throughout treatment to evaluate its effects and make the necessary adjustments.
Starting hormone therapy at any age can have risks and side effects, such as an increased chance of suffering from certain diseases, such as blood clots or breast cancer. Progesterone-related side effects can often be minimized if the Mirena spiral (intrauterine system) is used as the progesterone group of TRH. This effect is temporary and wears off over time, but it's important to see a doctor if the condition persists. Keeping a diary can be useful, especially if you follow a sequential “bleeding” regimen, as it will help you to check if you only have adverse effects on the days you take the progestogen (the day of Utrogestan, the Evorel Conti patches in the Evorel Sequi box, or the oral HRT tablets containing progestogen, which will have a different color depending on your HRT).
To help with side effects, a GP might suggest changing the dose, the type of HRT you take, or the way you take it. The side effects of hormone therapy can be similar to menopausal symptoms, so it's possible that hormone therapy isn't causing them. For some women, their negative reaction to the components of hormone therapy is so severe that they cannot take it, while for others, the benefits of hormone therapy outweigh the impact of side effects. In terms of its effects, individual responses to HRT vary, but regular communication with a health professional is essential to monitor progress and make necessary adjustments to treatment.
A good time to evaluate both the degree of satisfaction with the prescription of hormone therapy and its effectiveness in treating menopausal symptoms, is a good time to evaluate whether you are satisfied with the prescription of hormone therapy or to change it. When starting hormone replacement therapy, it is very common to experience some initial side effects or initial symptoms, such as breast tenderness or breast enlargement. Like all medications, continuous combined hormone replacement therapy can cause side effects, but it's common for it to have no side effects or to have only mild effects.
