Hormone Replacement Therapy

Menopause is a natural stage in a woman’s life, but some women find it causes a variety of unpleasant and bothersome symptoms. If you find menopausal symptoms are reducing your quality of life, Rebecca Fredman, CNP, AGNP-C, of Ione Medical in Santa Fe, New Mexico, can help relieve the problem using hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Find out whether you would be a suitable candidate for HRT by requesting a consultation with Ione Medical by using our online booking feature today. 

What is hormone replacement therapy?

Hormone replacement therapy (or hormone therapy) uses hormonal medication to treat symptoms or medical conditions. Hormonal medications can be bioidentical or nonbioidentical. If a hormonal medication is bioidentical, it means that the medication has the same molecular structure as the hormones that are naturally produced in the body. 

What symptoms can hormone replacement therapy treat?

HRT is often used to treat common symptoms of menopause and perimenopause, including:

• Hot flashes
• Night sweats
• Vaginal dryness
• Painful sex
• Low libido

HRT can have many positive benefits beyond treating the above symptoms. Many women who use HRT in menopause and perimenopause experience improvement in sleep, mood, energy levels, and mental clarity. Starting HRT in perimenopause also offers protective benefits for bone health, cardiovascular health, and possibly neurologic health as well (studies are ongoing).  

If you are struggling with symptoms of menopause or perimenopause and want to learn how hormone replacement therapy might benefit you, please contact Ione Medical or use our online scheduling system to request a consultation today.

Why is hormone replacement therapy controversial?

The Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) is a long-term national health study funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, or NHLBI. The original WHI studies began in the early 1990s and concluded in 2005, and was designed to examine the effects of HRT in menopausal women.

The authors of the initial WHI studies concluded that HRT in menopausal women increased the risks of coronary heart disease, invasive breast cancer, stroke, and blood clots. 

It is important for women to understand that there were many significant issues with these studies and the way the findings were presented to the public.

Issues with the initial WHI studies include:

1)  How the data was presented

The data supporting the findings of the initial WHI studies were presented to medical professionals and the general public in a very unclear way, which emphasized certain types of statistics over others. This led to a significant overestimation of the risks associated with HRT that was not reflected in the actual data gleaned from the studies.

2) The age of the participants

The average age of participants in the initial WHI studies was 63 years old. This is significantly older than the age during which women would typically need (or benefit from) HRT.

It also stands to reason that women in their 60s may be at greater risk in general for heart disease and breast cancer.

We also now know that women in their 40s and 50s who use estrogen replacement may actually have a reduced risk for cardiovascular disease. It is now widely understood that the age during which women start HRT is important, and it should be started when needed, as opposed to years (or even decades) after perimenopause. 

3) They types of hormonal medication used in the study

The forms of HRT used in the study were not bioidentical, meaning they were not molecularly identical to hormones women naturally produce in the body.

Additionally, the estrogen used in the study was taken orally, which can increase the risk of blood clots due to being processed in the liver. Better and safer forms of HRT are now widely available, and an experienced clinician can help assess your personal risk and work with you to determine an optimal HRT regimen to address your symptoms and needs.

If you have questions or are interested in exploring HRT for yourself, please request a consultation with Ione Medical by using our online booking feature today.