When to start estrogen replacement therapy
Should You Take Hormones for Menopause - Pros and Cons of Hormone Replacement Therapy
you know menopause can be miserable
almost on a daily basis I encounter
women experiencing weight gain mood
changes difficulty sleeping and vaginal
dryness during this time period but
those who suffer the most tend to be the
ones with the severe hot flashes hands
down it can really interfere with the
quality of life and makes it difficult
to even function in some patients now
although there are other treatment
options besides hormone replacement
therapy or HRT truthfully nothing is
quite as effective as HRT but is it safe
I'll review the pros and cons in today's
video so that you can make an informed
decision when you discuss it with your
doctor well what's up healthy people I'm
doctor Madge the practicing
board-certified family medicine
physician in San Diego make sure to
subscribe for home treatment tips for
common medical conditions for you and
your family now what you need to know is
that the practice guidelines for doctors
primarily stem from a large
groundbreaking study called the Women's
Health Initiative or whi in the 1990s
that really changed the way that the
medical community viewed HRT
understanding the findings of this study
is vital to your decision-making briefly
it included over 27,000 women with an
average age of 63 who were either placed
on HRT or a placebo for an average
duration of 3 years then the rates of
various medical conditions were compared
between the two groups so here's a quick
summary of these findings for women that
still had their uterus and replaced on
estrogen progesterone HRT combo which
reflects the majority of women that are
seeking HRT okay so let's talk about the
cons first which is what everyone really
is concerned about first of all there's
an increased risk of heart disease and
for every 10,000 women taking HRT over a
one-year period only five extra heart
disease diagnoses were made and
so only five out of ten thousand but
nineteen extra cases among women in
their 70s so there's a huge distinction
depending on the age group as you can
see the second risk was breast cancer
now in comparison to heart disease for
every 10,000 women on HRT for one year
there were nine extra breast cancer
cases total now HRT increased the risk
progressively to about twenty four
percent overall even after stopping HRT
for some reason if you opt for HRT make
sure that you remain up-to-date on your
breast cancer screenings there is also
an increased risk of stroke and for
every ten pay women on HRT there are
nine extra cases blood clots and the
lungs there were three extra cases found
and there was increased risk of gall
bladder disease and urinary incontinence
by about fifty to sixty percent for both
alright so now let's talk about the pros
first of all besides the benefits of HRT
the study has found keep in mind that
one of the greatest pros of HRT is that
it's hands-down the most effective
treatment for hot flashes although not
the only option certainly also it
decreases the risk of hip fractures and
six fewer cases for every 10,000 women
that were treated for one year there was
decreased risk of colon cancer there was
only about 0.5 fewer cases but those who
did develop colon cancer it was
discovered at a more advanced stage in
the study and lastly it decreases the
risk of diabetes interestingly there are
sixteen to twenty one fewer cases per
10,000 women alright so here's the
bottom line
HRT is not recommended as a treatment of
menopausal symptoms for women aged 60 or
more
however most women who seek HRT are
typically in their late 40s to early 50s
anyways so for younger women in their
50s or for those less than 10 years
past menopause without risk factors who
have a uterus short-term use of
treatment no more than five years poses
little risk based on these numbers as
you can see now are you considering HRT
or are you already taking HRT share your
story with us in the comments down below
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actionable health tips for the busy
person who can't always make it to the
doctor's office please note that all
content presented is for informational
purposes only
it's not specific medical advice and you
should always seek to licensed physician
in your area for all health-related
concerns well thanks for tuning in stay
hot flash free and I'll catch you next
time
