Hormone therapy can ease menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes, vaginal dryness, and sleep disturbances. It can also help prevent bone loss and fractures and decrease cancer risk.

Estrogen can be taken alone or in combination with progestin. It may be a pill, skin patch, ring, gel, or cream. Click https://houseofaesthetix.com/ to learn more.

There are several different types of hormone therapy, and the one that’s best for you depends on your symptoms, medical history, and preferences. Your doctor can discuss the different options with you. Estrogen can be taken in a pill that you swallow or in a patch, gel, or suppository that is applied directly to your skin. You can also get a shot of estrogen. If you have a family history of blood clots in the legs or lungs (venous thrombosis), you should avoid taking oral estrogen.

If you have a uterus, estrogen must be given in combination with progestin to prevent endometrial growth that can lead to cancer. You can take progestin in the form of a pill, vaginal gel, or suppository. Oral estrogen raises your risk of heart disease, so you should avoid it if you have a family history of cardiovascular disease or diabetes. It’s best to start hormone therapy in the middle of your menopause transition so it can help you through a few years before your body completely stops making estrogen.

Women who are undergoing hormone therapy for health reasons should see their doctor regularly to make sure the benefits outweigh the risks, especially if they’re older than 60. This is the group at greatest risk for developing a chronic illness, and they need the most protection from long-term hormone use.

Those who have hormone-sensitive cancer, such as prostate cancer, may need to receive hormones before, during and after radiotherapy. This is called neo adjuvant therapy, and it can improve the chance that the cancer won’t return.

The timing of when to start hormone therapy is important for reducing your risk of breast cancer, heart disease, and dementia. Some research suggests that the benefits are greater if you begin hormone therapy in early perimenopause, but this is not confirmed by current evidence. In fact, some recent studies have found that hormone therapy reduces the risk of these diseases even if you start it many years after menopause.

Symptom relief

Hormone therapy can be used to treat certain types of cancer. Some cancers depend on hormones to grow, including breast and prostate cancers. Hormone therapy blocks the production of estrogen or progesterone, which starves the cancer cells of their fuel and prevents them from growing. Whether it is called endocrine therapy or hormone-blocking therapy, this type of treatment can be combined with surgery, chemotherapy and radiation.

It is also possible to use hormone therapy to relieve menopausal symptoms, such as hot flashes and vaginal dryness. This is called hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Typically, this is done with pills or a skin patch. It is important to get the right dose of hormones, and the medications are reevaluated regularly to make sure the benefits outweigh the risks.

The most common type of hormone therapy is combination therapy, with both estrogen and progestin. Estrogen can be taken by mouth in a pill or gel, or inserted into the vagina with a cream or ring. Progestins are added to reduce the risk of uterine cancer, which can develop when estrogen alone is taken. Some women benefit from taking the progestins in a tablet or implant, which means that little if any estrogen circulates in the bloodstream.

In some cases, doctors will use hormone therapy to shrink a tumor before surgery. This can make it easier to remove the entire tumor and can help lower the chances that the cancer will return after surgery. Similarly, some prostate cancers are fueled by androgen, so hormone therapy can be used to block androgen production.

Some cancers, such as metastatic breast cancer and some ovarian cancers, require hormone therapy to stop them from spreading. In these cases, the therapy is delivered as a pill or an IUD (intrauterine device). Hormone therapy can also be used in young women who have not gone through menopause. This can be done with drugs that stop hormone production, such as goserelin and leuprolide, or with surgery to remove the ovaries, which reduces the amount of estrogen in the body. Aromatase inhibitors are another way to block estrogen in post-menopausal women, and include the medications anastrozole, exemestane and letrozole.

Increased bone density

The bones of healthy people contain a dense framework of protein strands coated with calcium. They also have small holes to keep the bones light and springy. Bone density decreases with age, insufficient exercise and certain diseases and medications (including prolonged use of corticosteroids to treat asthma or arthritis; aluminum-containing antacids; and some cancer treatments). Low bone density increases fracture risk. Hormone therapy can boost bone density in postmenopausal women.

Healthcare providers often refer to hormone therapy as HRT, although the term is more specific when doctors prescribe estrogen for menopausal symptoms or to prevent osteoporosis. The treatment consists of estrogen and progestin, or other hormones that can balance the effects of estrogen.

Hormone therapy can ease hot flashes, vaginal dryness and thinning bones. It can also protect heart health, according to some studies. However, some research shows that the benefits of hormone therapy decrease if women start the treatment later in life.

The National Institutes of Health says that if a woman starts hormone therapy before the body stops making its own estrogen, she will most likely experience fewer symptoms and protect her long-term health. This type of hormone replacement therapy is called bioidentical estrogen and can be prescribed in different forms to provide the most benefits with the lowest risks.

Women who take estrogen-progestin therapy before the onset of menopause may have less hardening of the arteries and a lower risk for stroke. However, the treatment will not work if blood vessels are already diseased. It’s important for women to discuss their individual risk factors with a doctor before starting hormone therapy.

Despite some concerns, the National Institutes of Health says that hormone therapy can reduce the risk of bone loss and increase strength in older adults. In addition to estrogen, the NIH recommends eating a diet rich in calcium and vitamin D, staying physically active, not smoking, managing stress and avoiding other conditions that can affect bone health. For example, if you have thyroid or parathyroid problems, you should not take estrogen. Those who have other medical conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, endometriosis, gastrointestinal disorders or an overactive pituitary gland should talk to their doctors before starting the treatment.

More energy

If you’re tired of feeling exhausted, hormone therapy may be able to help. Hormone therapy targets the root causes of fatigue and helps to restore balance to the body’s natural hormone production. The bioidentical hormones used in this treatment are chemically identical to those produced by the human body, making them an effective and more natural solution.

Hormone therapy for fatigue can include thyroid hormone replacement therapy, which addresses hypothyroidism, a condition that can cause feelings of exhaustion and low energy. Estrogen therapy can also boost energy levels in women who are going through menopause. This is because estrogen helps to reduce sluggishness, improve sleep quality, and boost mood.

Having more energy can make a big difference in your overall well-being. If you’re struggling with chronic fatigue, talk to your healthcare provider about hormone therapy to see if it could be the answer. Along with hormone therapy, a healthy diet, exercise, and proper sleep hygiene can all help to improve energy levels. This is because the body works best when all of its hormones are in balance.