Hormone replacement therapy comes in different forms, such as tablets, gels, patches and pessaries, and many women are confused by the options available. However, choosing the right dosage and administration of hormone replacement therapy will be of great benefit in helping you effectively treat menopausal symptoms. If your symptoms bother you, ask your healthcare provider if you can adjust the dose or form of HRT to reduce side effects. Estrogen levels in your body decrease during perimenopause and menopause, and once you've been through menopause, your estrogen levels will remain low forever, if you don't take HRT.
If you don't start to feel better after three months, or if your symptoms return, this is usually a sign that you need to adjust your dosage or even try a different type of hormone replacement therapy. Hormonal hormone therapy can also help reduce bone mass (osteoporosis and osteopenia), a common condition in people who are assigned female sex at birth (AFAB) who don't have enough estrogen. Because early estrogen loss increases the risk of many conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, people who lose estrogen before age 40 are at risk of heart disease if they don't use hormone replacement therapy (HRT). This type of hormone therapy could be described as “natural”, but it is not identical to the rest of the body, since it contains many types of estrogens that the body does not need.
Talk to your healthcare provider about the benefits and risks of HRT, the different forms of HRT, and alternative options. The optimal type of hormone replacement therapy is the same as that of the body: the hormones are the same as those that occur naturally in the body. If you have symptoms such as decreased libido and increased tiredness, it may be worth consulting your healthcare professional about trying testosterone as part of the hormone replacement therapy you are taking. If you develop a new medical condition while taking HRT, see your provider to see if it's still safe to follow taking HRT.
You want to alleviate vaginal dryness and pain from sexual intercourse and not suffer from other symptoms, such as hot flashes, that will not improve with this form of hormone replacement therapy. If you still have a womb (uterus), it's important to be prescribed a progestogen along with estrogen for HRT. However, taking progestogen or progesterone prevents this build-up, meaning there's no increased risk of cancer when taking hormone replacement therapy. Even if HRT isn't right for you, there are other treatment options that your healthcare provider can recommend to help treat menopausal symptoms.
HRT should be an individualized treatment that your provider evaluates frequently to ensure that the benefits outweigh the risks. It's important to know that they are not against HRT because they want you to feel discomfort.
