Potions, Patches and Pills

Well, hot flashers and night sweaters, the time has come to discuss what hormone therapy options there are for dealing with menopausal symptoms. Please review my blog called “What The Heck Is Perimenopause, Anyway?” to know which group you belong to, because the treatment choices are different.

Hormone therapy decisions are scary for most women. I am going to make it easier for you. Please review my blog called “Is Hormone Therapy Making A Comeback?” The secret to cracking the code starts with finding a healthcare professional who is an expert in this field. That is no easy task, as so many of you know. My best advice is to find a GYN-only, meaning a doctor who no longer delivers babies, or even a primary care specialist who is focused on this important stage of life. Surf over to www.menopause.org for a list of credentialed experts in your neck of the woods.

1. What is hormone therapy?

Hormone therapy refers to the use of estrogen, progesterone and testosterone to treat menopausal symptoms. It comes in the form of oral tablets and non-oral patches, gels, sprays and vaginal rings.

Women always want to know which hormone therapy is the best and safest one. The truth of the matter is that while there are some differences to consider, depending on your individual situation, you should consider that all systemic hormone therapy carries the same risk and benefit.

2. Are you a candidate for hormone therapy?

The answer to this question is “Yes” if you are a symptomatic menopausal woman within 10 years of your last menstrual period. You are not a candidate if you have a history of stroke, blood clots, heart attack, breast cancer and unexplained vaginal bleeding.

3. What are bioidentical hormones?

I am going to write an entire blog on this question. For now, you can watch my FAQ video.

4. What’s the difference between systemic and local estrogen?

Systemic estrogen means that your entire body will be exposed to the estrogen you are using to treat menopause symptoms. That turns out to be a good thing for the heart, bone, brain, colon, vagina, bladder, eyes, skin and a few more areas. Local estrogen means that only your vagina and bladder will experience the benefits of using estrogen therapy for the treatment of vaginal dryness and recurrent bladder infections. Please review my blog called “The Vagina Is Like Las Vegas, Baby.”

5. Does hormone therapy cause breast cancer?

Let me introduce you to the elephant in the room. Breast cancer causes the greatest fear in the hearts of womankind. Since this question is very important and the answer is somewhat complicated, I will just tease my next blog, “It’s All About The Breast.”

Are you dealing with any of these issues? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!