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The diseases related to the imbalanced hormones and the types of cancers that take the help of the human body’s hormones for its growth are treated by hormone replacement therapies. It also helps females get rid of the menopausal symptoms they experience in middle age. First, however, there are a few things that you must know about these therapies if you are thinking about choosing them for you. In this article, we are going to cover those details.
What are the types of hormone replacement therapies?
- Estrogen Therapy
The women, who have their uterus removed, are suggested to take estrogen alone, as they don’t have the risk of getting endometrial cancer. However, you can take it in many ways, as estrogen comes in pills or tablets, nasal spray, vaginal rings, creams, and patches. Estrogen may also be prescribed as a cream, vaginal ring, gel, or spray.
- Estrogen Progesterone Hormone Therapy (EPT)
This therapy is also called combination therapy; the patient takes both estrogen and progesterone in this process. This also comes in pills, patches, and creams. Taking both at the same time reduces the chances of uterine cancer and helps in the reduction of intense menopausal symptoms.
Alternatives to the hormone therapies
Some symptoms of early menopause can be treated by adopting some changes in your lifestyle and alternative medicines.
- Regular exercises to make your bone stronger, eat healthy food, avoid consumption of processed foods, alcohol, and coffee, and avoid smoking.
- Take vitamin C and D to improve your bone health and reduce the risks of fractures.
- Try to improve your sleeping routines, if possible.
- Keep yourself in a cool room; wear comfortable and breathable clothes and sheets while sleeping. You can also use gel pads to avoid night sweats.
- You can take alternate medicines which do not contain hormones, and they can help you with the hot flashes and night sweats.
- Try to keep you relaxed and calm; use stress relief techniques such as meditation and yoga.
Side effects of hormone replacement therapies
As this therapy blocks and reduces the process of producing hormones by the organs in the body, there are some possible hormone therapy side effects that you can experience. Different side-effects depend on the type of hormone therapy you are getting and how your body deals with it.
Some common side-effects include
- Headaches or migraine.
- Abdominal or back pain.
- Nausea.
- Vaginal bleeding.
- Mood changes.
- Diarrhea.
- minimum or negligible interest in sexual activities.
- depression or anxiety.
- swelling at the breasts or other parts of the body.
- leg cramps.
If you have any above-mentioned symptoms, contact your doctor, and they can give you alternate medicines to avoid such effects. There are also higher chances of heart diseases and strokes with the usage of HRT for a long period, and it also increases the chances of endometrial and breast cancer.
You must know when to stop taking hormone therapies. Many patients stop taking these when they stop facing menopausal symptoms. Consult with your doctor and stop when you do not need to take the medications.
