How Well Do You Know the Impacts of Hormone Replacement Therapy?

Over the years, many forms of treatment have been used to treat problems and complications that come with menopause but one common treatment that many know about is the hormone replacement therapy. This treatment is based on the assumption that it may be able to prevent discomfort brought by diminishing circulating progesterone and estrogen hormones as a result of menopause. To perform the treatment, a group of medications developed to artificially boost the hormone levels are usually used. These medicines often target hormones such as estrogen's, testosterone and progesterone since these are the main hormones that get affected during these phase.

There are different types of hormone replacement therapies that can be administered on a person one of them being, Bio identical hormone replacement therapy. This form of treatment is usually used to contain three types of estrogen hormones namely, estradiol, estriol and estrone. These estrogen's usually occur naturally in the body but during menopause, their levels are at times forced to drop and in the process, causing problems to the patient. Bio identical hormone replacement therapy is usually administered to the patient through topical application of the cream or gel solution of the hormones to the skin.

This often reduces concerns about adverse liver effects that are most often caused by oral medicines. However, as much as this treatment is able to replace the hormones in the body, research has shown that the replaced hormones cannot replicate the delivery system like of those hormones produced naturally by the human body. In addition to this fact, this form of treatment often increases chances of having to suffer from other fetal diseases such as cardiovascular diseases as well as breast cancer.

The other type of hormone replacement therapy is the one that uses proprietary mixtures of conjugated equine estrogen's. Conjugated equine estrogen's often contain estrogen molecules that are usually conjugated to hydrophilic side groups such as sulfate. To produce these estrogen's, the urine of pregnant mares is usually used. This type of therapy is most of the time used to help menopausal women deal with some of their problems. However, just like Bio identical hormone replacement therapy, conjugated equine estrogen's usually put the patient at a greater risk of suffering from cancers and other heart related diseases. Apart from these diseases, this hormone replacement therapy has been clinically proven to cause clotting of the blood especially in the veins. To administer it to the body, one can use oral tablets or pills, skin patches or at times, through a rare occurrence of using the injection among other clinically prescribed ways. As a way of minimizing chances of being severely harmed by this form of treatment, one is most of the time advised to consume small doses of the supplements whenever she decides to take them.

Due to the numerous risks and potential problems that come with hormone replacement therapies, a number of alternative options have been developed over the years. These options include, botanical non-hormone drug therapy (phytoestrogens), bio identical hormone replacement therapy and lifestyle changes. In order to reduce the risk of suffering from osteoporosis condition, changes in one's diet have to be done and in turn, increase calcium intake, engage in exercises and get to use drugs such as biphosphates, calcitonin or selective estrogen receptor modulators.

Wangeci Kinyanjui has been researching and reporting on Health Matters for years. For more information on hormone replacement visit her site at HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY