What Is Hormone Replacement Therapy?

Hormone replacement therapy has undergone many controversies, and even claims that it can completely stop menopause, but what is the truth? To understand how hormone replacement therapy works and why it is used, it is necessary to look at its origins, as well as how it has evolved.

New advances in the field of hormone replacement therapy are still occurring and today's women have many benefits that their ancestors did not. While it may not be perfect, there is evidence that HRT can help reduce the risk of some diseases.

Origins

• Hormone replacement therapy was initially started in 1930 as a means to assist women who were going through menopause. The female body has two main hormones that decrease once this process starts--estrogen and progesterone. Common symptoms include hot flashes, night sweats and fatigue.

  At first, hormone replacement therapy was only used to treat these symptoms and only approved by the FDA for this use. Estrogen replacement therapy was the most common, with progesterone therapy gaining ground after 1980.

Benefits

• It wasn't until after 1960 that other benefits of hormone replacement therapy began to come to light. Doctors found that patients on estrogen exhibited fewer signs of aging, such as wrinkles, and that other diseases could be prevented. Cancer prevention was seen as one of the main benefits of this therapy, as well as the reduction in the risk of heart disease.

  However, there was a downside to hormone replacement therapy. In some cases, giving a patient too much estrogen upset the delicate balance of the human body and had the potential to exacerbate some types of cancer, such as breast cancer.

Evolution

• Hormone replacement therapy began to evolve in the 1980s, and doctors began prescribing progesterone in addition to estrogen. In some cases, doctors also prescribed small doses of testosterone to assist women who were losing their hair during menopause, with some success.

  The health risks however will still present. Modern day estrogen, progesterone and even testosterone medications are derived from synthetic hormones, and while they are effective at imitating the natural function of regular hormones, they still were not considered to be perfect.

  Starting in the late 1980s and continuing until today, compounding pharmacies and even some over the counter medication companies began experimenting with natural forms of plant based estrogen and progesterone. Soy-derived estrogen and plant-based estrogen from wild yams is now widely used, and many physicians consider these natural forms of hormones to be safer, although no long-term testing has been done.

Effects

• Hormone replacement therapy is generally recommended once the symptoms of menopause start, and may even be given during pre-menopause, the stage where hormone production begins to slow. This therapy is also recommended for those who either undergo a hysterectomy, or in some cases, and endometrial oblation.

  Side effects may actually mimic those of normal menopause, including hot sweats and irritability, and doctors may need to adjust the amounts of hormones used to find the right balance for their patient.

Warning

• While most over the counter estrogen supplements are completely safe, there is some controversy over their dosing procedures. Typically provided as a cream formula that is rubbed on different spots of the body, there is a risk of having the medication in the cream "settle" on the bottom of the container.

  This can mean overdosing on estrogen on some days, while not receiving enough on other days. It is best to seek a doctor's advice and care before attempting any form of hormone replacement therapy.