Hormone Therapy

Bothersome menopause symptoms like hot flashes, mood swings and trouble sleeping can keep you from living your best life. That’s why some women choose hormone therapy as a treatment to boost hormone levels. If menopause symptoms are holding you back, we’re here to help. You can count on our caring and knowledgeable team to listen, and to help you create a hormone therapy plan that meets your unique needs and goals.

What is hormone therapy?

Menopause symptoms are the result of lower levels of estrogen and progesterone, two hormones your ovaries produce that make it possible for you to become pregnant and carry a baby. Years ago, doctors routinely used hormone therapy to treat menopausal symptoms and help with women’s long-term health. However, studies show there are some risks associated with hormone therapy.

Hormone therapy mainly focuses on replacing the estrogen your body has stopped making during menopause to relieve symptoms, but there are some added benefits, such as helping with vaginal dryness that makes intercourse painful and reducing the risk of osteoporosis, diabetes and colon cancer.

There are two different types:

• Low-dose vaginal products minimize the amount of estrogen absorbed by the body and are used to treat the vaginal and urinary symptoms of menopause.
• Systemic estrogen comes in the form of a pill, patch, cream, gel, ring or foam. It contains a high dose of estrogen that’s absorbed throughout the body and can prevent many symptoms of menopause.

If you still have your uterus, you should take estrogen along with progesterone to decrease your risk of endometrial cancer. Estrogen taken alone has fewer long-term risks than hormone therapy that uses a combination of estrogen and progesterone.

Complications can include increased risk for:

• Bloating, headache, nausea and sore breasts
• Cancer, especially if you’ve already had breast or endometrial cancer
• Heart disease, stroke or blood clots

Talk to your doctor about whether the benefits of hormone therapy outweigh your risks. Together, you can create a treatment plan that’s just right for you.