Hormone replacement therapy, or HRT, is a common medical treatment that can relieve symptoms of menopause. It is also sometimes used to relieve signs of aging in men. While hormone therapy can be helpful, there are also many health risks associated with it. For this reason, each person should discuss their decision to have hormone treatment with their doctor.
What is hormone replacement therapy?
Hormone replacement therapy is a treatment that consists of drugs prescribed to women by a family doctor. The drug is said to counteract the effects of menopause vitamin drip Scottsdale. These drugs contain female hormones like estrogen and progestin, an artificial version of naturally occurring progesterone. Hormone therapy can relieve many menopausal symptoms, including hot flashes and vaginal symptoms. Although it is usually used to treat women, some form of hormone therapy is also available for men to treat low testosterone levels.
History of treatment
Hormone therapy has been around since the 1930s when estrogen was used to treat hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms. In the 1960s, doctors found more reasons to use HRT and general practitioners began to prescribe them more often. For the next decade, doctors used hormone therapy to treat everything from hot flashes to depression. It was first approved by the FDA for the treatment of menopause. It was also approved for treating bone density loss in the 1980s. In 2002 it became clear that hormone therapy can cause serious health problems, and the frequency of prescribing has dropped sharply.
Benefits of hormone replacement
Short-term use of hormone replacement therapy has several advantages. Women seem to be protected from loss of bone density, colon cancer, and heart disease. Studies show that this reduces the chance of fractures and broken bones. The decrease in heart disease occurs when hormone therapy is started at the onset of menopause. Of course, the benefits also include a reduction in menopausal symptoms such as mood swings and sleep disorders.
Shortcomings of therapy
There are a number of side effects that have decreased the use of hormone therapy drugs by general practitioners over the past decade. Taking estrogen drugs without a progestin increases the risk of uterine cancer hormone replacement therapy Scottsdale. Long-term use of hormone therapy has been linked to abnormal mammograms, an increased risk of blood clots, and an increased risk of certain types of cancer. For some, the benefits may outweigh the risks of hormone therapy, although general practitioners usually only recommend it when menopausal symptoms are too difficult to manage.
Hormone replacement therapy has decreased in the past decade, although it is still an effective treatment for some people. HRT can relieve menopausal symptoms and reduce the risk of osteoporosis. Nonetheless, the side effects and health risks associated with the procedure require careful consideration of the therapy before deciding on long-term treatment.
