Hormone Therapy for the Treatment of Menopause

Once controversial, hormone replacement therapy is still the safest and most effective treatment for menopause.

Hormone replacement therapy, or HRT, is used to “replace” the hormones that a woman’s body isn’t making anymore. For decades, HRT has been the preferred treatment for women dealing with the worst of the typical menopausal symptoms.

What Is Menopause?

Menopause, or the so-called "change of life," usually occurs after the age of 45. It is the time in a woman’s life when she is no longer able to have children. While the exact age of the onset of menopause can vary, it is technically defined as the point in time 12 months after a woman’s last period.

The time leading up to that point is known as perimenopause. It is during this time when a woman tends to start to experience the well-known and debilitating symptoms of menopause – hot flashes, night sweats, trouble sleeping, moodiness and irritability, pain during sex, and/or depression.

These symptoms are caused by the severe hormonal changes that occur once a woman’s ovaries are no longer producing eggs. During her childbearing years, the ovaries produce and release the female hormones progesterone and estrogen. Just before, during, and after menopause, the production of this hormone significantly decreases.

In addition to the well-known symptoms of menopause such as mood swings, night sweats, and hot flashes, menopause can also cause:

• Fatigue
• Depression
• Crankiness
• Racing heart
• Headaches
• Joint and muscle aches and pains
• Weight gain
• Hair loss
• Changes in libido (sex drive)

Some women can live with these symptoms, or they do not last all that long. However, for most women, they can go on for years and will severely impact their ability to enjoy life. For such women, hormone replacement therapy, or HRT, can be quite effective in treating the most unpleasant and life-limiting symptoms of menopause. 

Is Hormone Therapy for Menopause Safe?

In the early years of HRT, doctors prescribed it almost as a matter of course for any woman entering menopause. However, a decade or so ago, HRT for women became a bit controversial. This was because many women, and even some doctors, came to believe that it caused an increased risk of breast cancer and heart disease.

This fear was largely created by a study known as the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI). The WHI looked at women who were prescribed HRT for menopause. WHI concluded that there seemed to be a link between HRT and an increased risk of developing breast cancer and/or heart disease.

However, upon more recent analysis, the WHI study has been found to be flawed, and many of its conclusions were wrong. In the many years since it was published, doctors have learned much more about HRT and how to safely prescribe it for maximum effectiveness, with minimal risks. Hormone replacement remains the most effective treatment available for treating the worst symptoms of menopause.

With what we have learned about hormone treatments for menopause, we are now much smarter about how and to whom to prescribe it. At our clinics, we look very closely at each woman as an individual, evaluate her symptoms and hormone levels, and prescribe just the right, safe and effective hormone treatments to get her back into her optimal balance.

Recent clinical studies of the latest hormone replacement therapies for women have shown renewed evidence that hormone therapy is still the right choice for many women, as long as doctors look closely at their overall lifestyles and risk factors. 

When Should I Start HRT for Menopause?

There is not a test you need to take to start on hormone treatment for menopause. You can usually start HRT as soon as menopausal symptoms are impacting your daily quality of life. Menopause comes at different times for different women. The average age right now in the US is 51.

However, the most debilitating symptoms can occur as much as ten years earlier. There have been some studies that say the younger you start hormone menopause treatments, the better your results may be. Ultimately, however, you are the best judge as to when it is the right time to speak to your doctor about the many benefits of HRT for menopause.

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is very effective in treating the most debilitating symptoms of menopause.

Is Low Testosterone a Problem for Women in Menopause?

Woman’s bodies produce and also need testosterone. Testosterone levels also significantly drop once a woman reaches menopause. As in men, testosterone in women is necessary for sexual desire and performance. It also plays a critical role in cellular metabolism, and therefore a women’s ability to maintain a proper lean muscle to fat ratio. Also, as in men, testosterone in women plays a role in cognition, mood, and maintaining healthy sleep patterns.

Also, as in men, testosterone levels drop as a woman ages. Therefore, low testosterone is also an issue among menopausal women.

Is Testosterone Replacement Part of Menopause Treatment?

Yes, along with the replacement of “female hormones” such as estrogen and progesterone, often testosterone replacement will also be part of the program of hormone treatments for menopause.

The goal of testosterone therapy in women is to not only raise their levels into the normal female testosterone range but to bring all of your hormones into proper balance. According to a Fact-Sheet from the Office on Women’s Health, “There is scientific evidence that supports the short-term effectiveness and safety of testosterone therapy for postmenopausal women with sexual dysfunction due to low testosterone.”

What Are the Benefits of Hormone Treatment for Menopause?

There are many benefits of HRT for women. Hormone replacement has been shown to reduce or eliminate the following menopausal symptoms:

• Hot flashes and night sweats
• Vaginal dryness
• Thinning of vaginal walls
• Urinary incontinence vaginal and bladder infections
• Insomnia and sleep disturbance
• Memory loss and other cognitive issues
• Painful intercourse and/or a reduced sex drive
• Mood swings
• Abnormal sensations, such as “prickling” or “crawling” under the skin
• Heart palpitations
• Hair loss or abnormal hair growth
• Dry and itchy eyes

What Is the Best Type of Hormone Replacement Therapy for Menopause?

One of the main reasons why the WHI’s conclusions have now been widely dismissed is because it studied only one particular type of hormone therapy that used a combination of synthetic hormones. There are several different types of hormone therapy used to treat women. The alleged risks of HRT found by WHI could not possibly apply to all women who are prescribed various forms of hormone therapy, including Bioidentical Hormone Therapy or BHRT.

Bioidentical hormone therapy uses hormones that are exact duplicates on the chemical and molecular level as those produced by a woman’s body. They are derived from all-natural sources, and therefore are safer, and better tolerated by a woman’s body. In fact, BHRT, as we prescribe it today, has even been shown to reduce the chances of heart disease and breast cancer in some women.

BHRT, as we use it today, is still the safest and most effective method we have to treat the most debilitating symptoms of menopause, such as mood swings, hot flashes, and night sweats.

HRT is generally safe and can have many benefits for women before, during, and after menopause. 

Now that you know more about hormone therapy and menopause, why not take a minute to contact us and learn more about how HRT can improve your quality of life.