Menopause

Menopause will cause your estrogen levels to drop and cause you to experience such symptoms as hot flashes and vaginal dryness. Hormone therapy can be used to treat the symptoms of menopause by raising the estrogen levels. There are two types of hormone therapy: estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) and hormone replacement therapy (HRT). ERT only uses estrogen and HRT uses both estrogen and progesterone. Research has indicated that ERT has been the cause of uterine cancer. This means that women who have already had a hysterectomy should be the only ones to consider using it. The risk of getting uterine cancer is eliminated if you use HRT because it makes use of both estrogen and progesterone. However, HRT can provide too much estrogen to women in early menopause that might still have a period and still produce estrogen. This is why doctors have recommended that a woman should only undergo HRT if she has not had a period for at least one year.

HRT is the most effective way to alleviate some of the symptoms of menopause including hot flashes, vaginal dryness, insomnia, urinary incontinence, irritability, and memory or concentration problems. There are many researchers who believe that HRT provides effective protection against heart disease and osteoporosis. This is an important consideration for post-menopausal women since heart disease and osteoporosis are the two main causes of death and disability among post-menopausal women.

HRT can also cause several side effects such as vaginal bleeding, bloating, nausea, headaches, and swollen breasts. A study showed that these side effects caused twenty percent of women to stop taking HRT within nine months. A Harvard study showed that women who are over the age of fifty-five and who have used HRT for more than five years has an increased risk of getting breast cancer. But the same study indicated that short-term use of HRT poses no danger to your health. There was a National Institutes of Health-sponsored study called the Women's Health Initiative that also indicates that long-term use of HRT can increase your chances of getting breast cancer.

Deciding whether or not to use HRT can be a tough decision. A woman must consider the severity of her menopausal symptoms. She must also compare the risk of getting heart disease or osteoporosis to getting breast cancer. It is generally accepted that as long as you do not have a family history of breast cancer, it is acceptable to use HRT for a short period of time to treat menopausal symptoms. Also, if you are at an increased risk of getting heart disease and do not have a family history of cancer, you might want to try HRT for the long term.

Another type of hormone therapy is the use of anti-estrogens. Like estrogen, anti-estrogens provide protection against heart disease and osteoporosis. The difference is that they do not increase the risk of breast cancer. The most well known anti-estrogen is raloxifene. Raloxifene operates by first attaching itself to estrogen receptors in the breast and uterus. Once they are attached, all estrogen is prevented from entering the breast or uterus. Raloxifene is effective in preventing cancer because tumors grow larger as they feed on estrogen. Raloxifene also does not have any of the side effects that HRT has such as bloating or swollen breasts. Unfortunately, it may make your hot flashes worse.

Another form of hormone therapy is the use of oral contraceptive pills. The FDA approves of this treatment for the perimenopausal symptoms, such as vaginal bleeding and hot flashes, in women younger than fifty-five years old. The preferred treatment for menopause is HRT because it uses lower doses of estrogen.

When a woman enters menopause, the ovaries produce smaller amounts of the male hormone testosterone. Replacing the testosterone can improve your libido, decrease anxiety and depression, alleviate breast tenderness, and prevent osteoporosis. The testosterone replacement can have some side effects such as mild acne and facial hair growth.