Why Hormone Replacement Therapy?
Hormonal imbalances are prevalent in women going through menopausal phase in their lives. The symptoms of menopause could include mood swings, stress, feeling weak, hot flashes and night sweats. When a woman is about to get into the menopausal phase or already is going through it, she will experience irregular or no menstruation. The ovaries cease to ovulate, the result of which there will be hormonal irregularities in the body. In such cases, Hormonal Replacement Therapy aims to deliberately induce bio-identical hormones into the body, so that the uncomfortable effects from symptoms of menopause are not felt.
Not Just For Women…
Hormone replacement therapy is not just for women. It can also help men who are undergoing deficiency of male hormones, a state known as Andropause. Like the symptoms of menopause, in Andropause too, mental stress, mood swings etc are experienced. Other than this the, male characteristics related organs and factors also get affected during andropause.
Judging the pros and cons
Every treatment comes with some benefits and side effects. Though Hormone replacement therapy can help patients with hormone imbalances, it is of most importance that its side effects be known before hand. Let us next get to know the on and off sides of this therapy.
What positive effects will the Hormone Replacement Therapy cause?
- Hormone Replacement Therapy is done in a personalized fashion. It is basically designed differently for each patient as per the state of the body.
- During the therapy, a woman would be subjected to both progesterone and estrogen because if only estrogen is given then it increases the production of endometrial cells. Unlike the normal menstrual times, these cells don’t go out of the body during menopause and hence will build up and turn into cancer.
- Hormone Replacement Therapy can also prevent osteoporosis from occurring since hormonal balance results in stronger bones.
- Menopause symptoms such as sleeplessness, stress, tension, mood swings, hot flashes and night sweats can be controlled by this treatment
- There have been studies that have shown that this therapy can even prevent diseases such as heart problems and colorectal cancer
- For men who are suffering from Andropause, Hormone replacement therapy will control erectile dysfunction, mood swings, obesity, bone strength, muscular strength, libido, lack of hair growth, etc.
- Bio-identical hormones are used in the therapy, which means that the hormones injected are similar to the ones produced by your body. So this makes it acceptable for the body.
What are the potential risks involved in Hormonal Replacement Therapy?
- During the Hormonal replacement therapy period, you can have side effects like head ache, acne, hypertension, nausea, bloating, water retention, irritability etc.
- Research says that there are possibilities of breast cancer, uterine cancer or blood clots in patients who undergo this therapy with high doses of induced hormones. The clots are more evident in women who smoke and are induced with estrogen.
- There are also conclusions from some studies that older women taking estrogen are prone to heart problems, gallbladder issues and strokes.
- Prostrate cancer, heart attacks, benign prostate hypertrophy etc are the risks that men might get into if this therapy is used for a longer span.
Customized Hormone Replacement Therapy
Every person going through menopausal phase has unique specific requirement of restoring depleted hormone levels. That means no tailor made HRT can work for all. Keeping this thing in mind, new individualized HRT strategy is being adapted where a proper individual diagnosis of hormone imbalances in undertaken. Based on its results, only small quantity of bioidentical hormones are induced. This is regarded as much safer treatment than its previous counterparts.
Thus, by understanding the risks and benefits, you can make an apt choice about whether or not you have to undergo this therapy.
