For example, your estrogen production slows down as you get older. Some conditions can also affect your estrogen levels. If your estrogen levels are low, your doctor may prescribe hormone therapy to help replace your estrogen levels and ease symptoms. Some research suggests that long-term hormone therapy use may increase your risk for complications, however, including severe ones like cancer.
Talk with your doctor about this before you begin using hormone therapy. Learn more: What are the symptoms of low estrogen? Keep reading to learn more about the benefits and risks of estrogen, and which conditions may be treated with hormone therapy.
Your natural estrogen production changes over time. As you begin puberty, you will create more estrogen. As menopause approaches, your estrogen levels will begin falling. As estrogen levels fall, you will start having symptoms of menopause. Most commonly, these symptoms include:. For menopause, many doctors will prescribe an estrogen-containing medication. Replacing the declining estrogen with hormone therapy may help ease menopause symptoms. Estrogen can help maintain vaginal health.
When estrogen levels decline, you may experience changes to the tissue, lining, and pH balance of your vagina. That can cause several vaginal health issues, including:. The ovaries are responsible for producing estrogen. If they fail to produce the hormone or if they are affected by any other condition, hormone therapy may be necessary.
Sometimes, both the uterus and ovaries are removed. This is called a total hysterectomy. Estrogen may help decrease bone loss after menopause. However, new medications are better able to stop and reverse bone loss, so most doctors rely on those now.
In those cases, your doctor may recommend using estrogen to treat bone loss, or osteoporosis. Learn more about osteoporosis treatments ».
Hormone therapy is not without its risks. Progestin is added to estrogen in hormone replacement therapy to reduce the risk of uterine cancer in women who still have their uterus. Hormone replacement therapy comes as a tablet to take by mouth. It is usually taken once a day. To help you remember to take hormone replacement therapy, take it around the same time every day.
Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully, and ask your doctor or pharmacist to explain any part you do not understand. Take this medication exactly as directed. Do not take more or less of it or take it more often than prescribed by your doctor. Do not stop taking this medication without talking to your doctor. Activella, FemHrt, and Prempro come as tablets containing estrogen and progestin. Take one tablet every day. Ortho-Prefest comes in a blister card containing 30 tablets.
Take one pink tablet containing only estrogen once daily for 3 days, then take one white tablet containing estrogen and progestin once daily for 3 days. Repeat this process until you finish all the tablets on the card. Begin a new blister card the day after you finish the last one. Premphase comes in a dispenser containing 28 tablets. Take one maroon tablet containing only estrogen once daily on days 1 to 14, and take one light-blue tablet containing estrogen and progestin once daily on days 15 to Begin a new dispenser the day after you finish the last one.
Before taking hormone replacement therapy, ask your pharmacist or doctor for a copy of the manufacturer's information for the patient and read it carefully. This medication may be prescribed for other uses; ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information. Ask your doctor about taking calcium supplements if you are taking this medication for prevention of osteoporosis.
Follow all dietary and exercise recommendations, as both can help prevent bone disease. Take the missed dose as soon as you remember it. However, if it is almost time for the next dose, skip the missed dose and continue your regular dosing schedule.
Do not take a double dose to make up for a missed one. Hormone replacement therapy may increase the risk of developing endometrial cancer and gallbladder disease. Talk to your doctor about the risks of taking this medication.
Hormone replacement therapy may cause other side effects. Call your doctor if you have any unusual problems while taking this medication. Continuous—Low-dose estrogen and progestin are taken together every day of the month without any break. Vaginal bleeding often occurs, sometimes for up to a year when this schedule is first started, and can vary from light spotting to irregular menstrual-type bleeding. Missed Dose Pill form—If you miss a dose, take it as soon as possible.
However, if it is almost time for your next dose, skip the missed dose and go back to your regular dosing schedule. Do not double doses. Skin patch—If you forget to apply a new patch when you are supposed to, apply it as soon as possible.
Then go back to replacing the patch on the same day of the week as before. Do not apply more than one patch at a time. Also, your doctor may be able to change the amount of hormone you receive, the way it is taken, or the timing of the dose, in order to help minimize these effects: Bloating Breast tenderness Cramping Irritability Depression Return of monthly periods Swelling of feet and lower legs Rapid weight gain HRT can also cause some very serious side effects.
These serious side effects include the following: Endometrial Cancer For a woman who has not had her uterus removed via a hysterectomy , taking estrogen alone ERT can lead to cancer of the endometrium the lining of the uterus. Cardiovascular Disease Although HRT was previously believed to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, it appears that long-term use of HRT may actually increase this risk.
Other Uses for This Medication To treat the following: Osteoporosis caused by lack of estrogen before menopause Turner's syndrome —a genetic disease With every medication, there are important precautions to consider.
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