Women who start hormone therapy at age 60 or older or more than 10 years after the start of menopause are at greater risk of suffering from the above conditions. You may be able to control menopausal hot flashes with healthy lifestyle approaches, such as staying cool, limiting caffeinated drinks and alcohol, and practicing regular, relaxed breathing or other relaxation techniques. There are also several over-the-counter hormone medications that can help ease hot flashes. When it comes to women's health, there are no dumb questions.
Do you have a question you want answered, but have you been too afraid or embarrassed to ask your family doctor? Or did you forget to ask while you were at the doctor's office? Now you can “Ask Dr. Jean”. This question has been answered by Dr. Sonia Davison, endocrinologist (hormone specialist) at Jean Hailes (pictured).
Regardless of what stage of life you are in, deciding whether and when to start hormone replacement therapy is a serious decision and not something you should make alone. For these patients, starting hormone replacement therapy at a relatively young age can help “prevent symptoms from worsening before they worsen.”. And because everyone is different, your medications or doses can vary greatly from those of your friends or those you may have seen on YouTube or read in books or online forums. A personalized hormone therapy treatment plan that is controlled by a doctor provides significant benefits for both men and women of all ages, if justified.
In some patients, hormonal changes occur sooner than expected, while others notice signs of menopause or andropause when they reach middle age. However, some people notice more significant symptoms as they age, which could be related to hormonal imbalances. If you have symptoms, you may wonder at what age you can start hormone replacement therapy. Starting hormone therapy at age 40, 50, or older may cause less drastic changes than those seen at the beginning of the transition at a younger age, due to cumulative lifetime exposure to testosterone and decreased responsiveness to hormonal effects as the age of menopause approaches.
By age 60, arteries tend to be stiffer and women of this age are at greater risk of cardiovascular disease, so starting hormone therapy may increase the risk of suffering from cardiovascular diseases or events. If your testicles are removed by orchiectomy or vaginoplasty, you can stop taking testosterone blockers and you can take a lower dose of hormones, but you should keep taking at least a minimum dose of hormones until you are at least 50 years old. While it is possible to make adjustments to medications and doses to achieve certain specific goals, to a large extent the way your body changes in response to hormones depends more on genetics and the age at which you start taking it, than on the specific dose, route, frequency, or types of medications you are taking. The risk of blood clots, heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, and cancer as a result of hormone therapy is minimal, but it can be high, especially for people with co-existing health problems or who start hormone therapy after age 50. Since most non-transgender women go through menopause with decreasing estrogen levels at age 50, this approach is similar to that followed during a woman's natural lifespan and may be especially useful for women with other health risks.
