Benefits of hormone replacement therapy
Symptoms of the menopause can be unpleasant and impact on your daily life. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is one of the ways you can alleviate these symptoms. In fact, HRT has more benefits for your menopausal health than simply reducing the unwanted symptoms of the menopause.
In future blogs we will look at complementary therapies and lifestyle options that can also help alleviate the symptoms of the menopause.
Hot flushes and night sweats
Hot flushes can be disruptive to your daily life, especially if you are working in shared spaces and cannot moderate your body heat by easily opening windows or stepping into a cooler environment.
A hot flush can last for a few seconds up to 30 minutes. Usually, they last around 4 minutes and are caused by the changes in the hormone levels of the body.
HRT is proven to effectively reduce the frequency and intensity of your hot flushes and night sweats..
Mood swings
While it is understood that up to 30% of women suffer from the pre-menstrual syndrome, the mood swings that are associated with it do not necessarily disappear with the onset of the menopause.
In addition, the dip in estrogen during the menopause can also cause these mood swings, along with fatigue, difficulty in concentration and irritability. This affects around 70% of women in peri-menopause (source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2440789/).
The good news is that HRT is known to help alleviate these symptoms of the menopause.
Bone density
Another consequence of the reduction of estrogen is that women are at greater risk of osteoporosis. Maintaining good bone health at this time of life is important to protect against suffering fractures.
HRT is known to increase your bone density, which is a significant benefit to the treatment. Additionally, this particular benefit of HRT continues long after you’ve finished taking it.
Premature menopause
For women who are entering menopause earlier in life, they are at a greater risk of developing osteoporosis, heart disease, and dementia. HRT is a way to reduce the risk of developing these when it is used until the average age of menopause (51 years old).
If you’re under 60 years old, HRT could be the right solution for your menopause symptoms. Risks for taking HRT are dependent upon your medical history. Your healthcare professional will always discuss these with you so that you can make an informed decision.
There are a number of ways in which you can take HRT depending on your personal preferences. You can read about which form is right for you on our blog here.