Menopause Hormone Replacement Therapy- Risks Involved in Hormones Replacement for Menopause

Menopause hormone replacement therapy involves supplementing the body with estrogen or a combination of estrogen and progesterone to cover up for the depletion during and after menopause.

Both estrogen and progesterone are produced by ovaries during normal period of adult women but menopause stops producing these hormones. This causes imbalance and typical symptoms of menopause such as depression, mood swings and hot flashes etc begin to surface.

Menopause hormone replacement therapy was used to bring the balance back so that the menopause symptoms can be minimized.

Menopause Hormone replacement therapy was widely acceptable and prevalent before 2002 when a large study Women Health Initiative (WHI) revealed some new insight.

Before we look at the Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) let us first understand the functionalities of estrogen and progesterone in a woman’s body.

Estrogen helps to consume and use of calcium and other minerals in maintaining bone strength and healthy levels of cholesterol. Estrogen also helps keeping the vagina healthy to fight with potential infection attacks.

Estrogen with progesterone helps in maintaining uterus wall thickness strong enough to prepare it to accept the egg for fertilization. Progesterone also helps in removing endometrial cells that otherwise could lead to cancer. Women without uterus don’t have these problems of endometrial cells.

Though taking estrogen and combine estrogen and progesterone therapy will help in treating all the menopause symptoms ranging from vaginal dryness to hot flashes, night sweats, bone density and depression etc., it has some adverse effects that need to be weighed in the new light of Women Health Initiative WHI study.

Menopause hormone replacement therapy will increase the risk of having endometrial cancer if the women still has her uterus. Another risk is of blood clot and stroke. A recent study has also shown increased heart disease risks with HRT.

More and more new information is coming out with newer researches. This should alert every woman about the possible severe side effects of menopause hormone replacement therapy.

A proper risk reward analysis should be done by discussing it with your gynecologists before deciding on going for it.

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Menopause Hormone Replacement Therapy- Risks Involved in Hormones Replacement for Menopause

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