Menopause and HRT
My thoughts on HRT? Don’t let anyone force you to take it. By force, I mean guilt you, shame you...whatever.
HRT, along with every other choice women have to make over their bodies, is a personal one, and one that should not be taken lightly.
I was not offered HRT, but I never asked for it. I was simply told that because I smoke, they would not prescribe it. Fine. Don’t care. Wasn’t interested anyway.
But a lot of women are.
The internet people have a lot to say about HRT and a LOT of doctors are promoting it. Hmmm. Why are they promoting it? They offer it, we say yes or no. But why push it on women? Claiming it’s the best thing next to sliced bread, seriously?
So, let’s look at some research by what I consider reputable and responsible places.
University of Oxford – Please note that the UK and other countries appear to be spending more time and research on menopause than the USA. So here is what Oxford has to say:
https://www.ox.ac.uk/research/hrt-safe-use-menopause-what-science-says-0
The bottom line is that HRT works and it doesn’t. HRT has benefits and consequences. Did your doctor explain them to you? Have you done your research?
From the Oxford Article above:
“HRT can’t be described as safe or unsafe. Its effects vary depending on the types of hormone used, the form in which it is given (pills, or patches and gels), and the timing of first use (around menopause, or later). The safety of HRT can also depend on other things, such as body mass index. Factor in a woman’s family and personal medical history, and her individual experience of menopausal symptoms, and it is clear that one size cannot fit all.”
I think the Mayo Clinic is pretty responsible:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/menopause/in-depth/hormone-therapy/art-20046372
From the article:
“Hormone replacement therapy is medication that contains female hormones. You take the medication to replace the estrogen that your body stops making during menopause. Hormone therapy is most often used to treat common menopausal symptoms, including hot flashes and vaginal discomfort.
Hormone therapy has also been proved to prevent bone loss and reduce fracture in postmenopausal women.
However, there are risks associated with using hormone therapy. These risks depend on the type of hormone therapy, the dose, how long the medication is taken and your individual health risks.For best results, hormone therapy should be tailored to each person and reevaluated every so often to be sure the benefits still outweigh the risks.”
Now University Hospitals has a more positive take on HRT.
https://www.uhhospitals.org/blog/articles/2023/02/is-hrt-safe-for-menopause-new-guidelines-say-yes
From the Article: (They call HRT MHT for some reason).
“A woman and her provider should decide if MHT is right for her and work together to find the correct dose to effectively manage her symptoms. Determining the duration of MHT should also be a shared decision with no mandatory cut-off age.”
Lastly, from Harvard:
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/hsph-in-the-news/hormonal-therapy-menopause/
From the Article:
“But evidence accumulated since then suggests that the risks were not as alarming as they initially appeared, particularly for younger women, according to JoAnn Manson, professor in the Department of Epidemiology at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and other medical experts interviewed for a February 1, 2023, New York Times article. They argue that for healthy women under 60 who are experiencing troublesome symptoms, the benefits may outweigh the risks.?
Women under 60, not over, and you stop taking HRT after your symptoms end? How will you know when your symptoms end if you are on HRT?
From WebMD on the subject:
https://www.webmd.com/menopause/features/quitting-hormone-replacement-therapy
From the Article:
“If you’ve been on hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for a while to relieve menopause symptoms, you may be wondering, what now? Should you stop taking it? If so, when? And how do you go about it?
If you are healthy, most experts agree that HRT is safe to use at the lowest dose that helps for the shortest time needed. If you're 59 or older, or have been on hormones for 5 years, you should talk to your doctor about quitting.”
So ladies? I can only tell you what menopause is like without HRT. Do some of you want to chime in on why you started taking it, whether you like it or don’t?