hormone replacement therapy, hrt…

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uterus, hrt, ert, estrogen replacement therapy, hormone replacement therapy, hrt, medication containing one, female hormones, commonly estrogen plus progestin, synthetic progesterone, women receive estrogen-only therapy, women, had uterus removed, hrt, often, treat symptoms of menopause "hot flashes", vaginal dryness, mood swings, sleep disorders, decreased sexual desire, medication taken, in the form of a pill, a patch, vaginal cream, early studies, many physicians, believe that hrt might be beneficial, reducing the risk of heart disease, bone fractures, osteoporosis, thinning, the bones, treating menopausal symptoms, results of a new study, the women's health initiative, whi, has led physicians to revise recommendations regarding hrt, whi, started in 1993, has enrolled 161, 809 women between the ages of 50-79 in 40 different medical centers, the study was intended to examine the health benefits, risks of hormone replacement therapy, the risks of breast cancer, heart attacks, strokes, blood clots, in july 2002, one component, the whi, studied the use of estrogen, progestin in women who had a uterus, was stopped early, the health risks exceeded the health benefits, main reason, stopping the estrogen-progestin study was, a 26% increase in breast cancer, in march 2004, a second component, the whi, studied estrogen-only therapy in women who no longer have a uterus, hysterectomy, was stopped early, was primarily, an increase, in the risk, strokes, information below includes detailed information, whi study, each risk, a summary follows, end, menopause symptoms, menopause, estrogen produced by a woman's ovaries drops, naturally occurring, low estrogen levels, symptoms that include hot flashes, sleep problems, mood swings, vaginal dryness, most women experience relief, hot flashes, sleep difficulties, vaginal dryness, a few weeks of taking hrt, short-term use, two to four years, hrt to treat the symptoms of menopause still appears to be safe at this time, hot flashes, night sweats, less severe after a couple of years, hrt is tapered gradually, heart disease, estrogen helps decrease "bad" cholesterol, increase "good" cholesterol, in the bloodstream, lower levels of "bad" cholesterol, higher levels of "good" cholesterol, a decreased risk of heart disease, researchers thought that hrt should lower risk by changing these levels, whi has shown, is not true, number of heart attacks actually increased 29% among women taking estrogen, progestin, put another way, whi researchers estimate that 37 of every women taking hrt, heart attack, 30 in not taking hrt, heart attack, heart estrogen/progestin replacement study, hers, published earlier in 2002 also showed no benefit on the heart of taking estrogen, progestin, women were followed, syears, hrt should not be given strictly, the prevention of high cholesterol, heart disease, generally, lifestyle changes, medications to lower cholesterol, control blood pressure, strokes, whi study showed a 41% increase in strokes among the women taking estrogen/progestin, every women taking hrt, 29, stroke, compared to 21 in women not taking hrt, an increased risk of stroke was also, in the estrogen-only therapy, blood clots/thromboembolic disease, increased risk of blood clots from taking estrogen has been recognized, generally, risk has been associated, the use of oral contraceptives that contain high doses of estrogen, further increased, women who smoke cigarettes, whi study confirmed an increase, in the number of blood clots in women taking estrogen/progestin, every women taking hrt, 34, develop clots in lungs, legs, 16 in not taking hrt, develop blood clots, osteoporosis, a woman's body produces less estrogen, after menopause, affect her bone strength, whi study showed that women taking hrt had 34% fewer hip fractures, 24% fewer fractures than women not receiving hormones, short-term use of hrt to relieve symptoms, time of menopause does little, prevent fractures in women, they reach 75-80 years of age, women who take estrogen to maintain bone density must continue taking estrogen, the beneficial effects on bones disappear, it is discontinued, considering taking hrt, prevent osteoporosis should discuss, physician individual risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, blood clots, breast cancer, supplemental calcium, increasing vitamin d intake recommended, women to help, prevent, treat loss of bone mass, lifestyle changes, adding an exercise regimen to routine, not smoking, in the prevention, treatment of osteoporosis, medications available specifically, prevention, treatment of osteoporosis, risedronate, calcitonin, etidronate, alendronate, breast cancer, whi estrogen/progestin trial was stopped primarily, a 26% increased risk of breast cancer found in women taking hormone therapy, every women taking estrogen/progestin, 38, develop invasive breast cancer, women not taking hrt, develop the disease, second component, the whi study, studied estrogen alone in women who no longer have a uterus, did not find any increased risk of breast cancer, uterine cancer/endometrial cancer, taking estrogen alone causes, lining, the uterus to grow, risk, endometrial cancer is six to eight times higher in women who take estrogen, compared to those who, progestin works to decrease the lining, the uterus, women who still have uterus, most doctors prescribe progestin, a synthetic progesterone, to counteract the effect, the estrogen, whi study, did not find any difference in endometrial cancer rates between the women who took hormones, did not, depending on the form of hrt, taking progestin, bleeding similar to a period, combination, of estrogen, progesterone, in the form of one pill, two separate pills, ovarian cancer, in another study, published by the national cancer institute in 2002, women who use estrogen therapy alone have an increased risk of developing ovarian cancer, risk increases, the number of years a woman uses estrogen, women who used estrogen, risk of ovarian cancer was three times that of women who, did not use estrogen, study, did not have enough women to assess the potential risk of an estrogen/progestin combination on the risk of ovarian cancer, colon cancer, whi study found a 37% lower risk of colon cancer in women who took estrogen/progestin than in women not on hrt, every women taking estrogen/progestin, develop colon cancer, women not taking hrt, develop the disease, relatively new finding, further studies, needed to confirm these results, gallbladder disease, several studies have shown, women who use estrogen/progestin therapy, at increased risk of developing gallstones, urinary incontinence, hrt has not been found to improve, reduce the incidence of incontinence after menopause, depression, women who suffer from common vasomotor symptoms of menopause, mood swings, sleep problems benefit from hrt, in the overall quality of life, no scientific evidence that hrt is helpful, in the treatment of major depression, alzhemier's disease, studies have not shown, hrt slows down the symptoms of alzheimer's disease, studies, ongoing, to whether there is any benefit to hrt, regard to other memory loss, side effects from hrt, all medicines, side effects associated, hrt, women taking hrt, experience water retention, bloating, nausea, breast soreness, mood swings, headaches, changing the dosage, form of hrt, help to alleviate these side effects, women have irregular bleeding, they start taking hrt, changing the dosage often eliminates this side effect, summary of risks/benefits, whi study shows relatively small increases, in the risk of heart disease, breast cancer, blood clots, stroke to an individual woman, entire population of postmenopausal women, number of years a woman on hrt, the number of strokes, heart attacks, breast cancer cases, blood clots appears to outweigh the protective effect of hrt on bones, women, still wish to consider hrt, short-term treatment of menopausal symptoms, key, weigh the risks associated, taking hrt against a particular woman's risk of heart disease, osteoporosis, taking hrt, every woman is different, entire medical history, evaluated individually, considering hrt, forms of hrt, hrt is available in various forms, pills, patches, vaginal creams, start on a regimen that is best suited, necessary to try more than one regimen, finding the one that works best, cyclic hormone therapy, recommended, therapy, estrogen is taken in pill form, 25 days, progestin added somewhere between days 10-14, estrogen, progestin, taken together, the remainder, the 25 days, no pills, 3-5 days, monthly bleeding, cyclic therapy, continuous, combined therapy is where estrogen, progestin, taken together every day, therapy is started, switching from cyclic to continuous therapy, women, experience irregular bleeding, most women stop bleeding, one year after starting this therapy, hrt is also available, a patch which is applied, abdomen, thigh, patch allows the estrogen to be absorbed, the skin, bloodstream, women prefer this method, not have to take pills, vaginal cream containing estrogen given to women, vaginal dryness, cream, the other forms of hrt, the cream, not relieve many, the other symptoms, does not appear to protect against bone disease, additional medications recommended, women, severe symptoms from menopause, at very high risk, osteoporosis, heart disease, one of these supplemental drugs might be androgen, a male hormone given, estrogen to relieve severe hot flashes, healthy lifestyle, taking hrt, things, women adjust, changes in life, menopause, eating healthy foods, getting regular exercise, help to decrease bone loss, maintain healthy heart muscle, calling health care provider, important to have regular checkups, taking hrt, have continual vaginal bleeding, hrt, unusual symptoms.