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Can Hormone Replacement Therapy Help Late Menopause?

Hormone replacement therapy is probably something you’ve heard a lot about, but are there risks to using hormone replacement therapy for women who have entered into menopause late? What side effects come with hormone replacement therapy and are there additional things I need to know about it because I am in menopause late?

After we’ve spent years living with our bodies being a certain way, the gradual changes of perimenopause and then finally menopause can be confusing, uncomfortable and at times painful.  Women who go through menopause late tend to be healthier, non-smokers who’s mothers also went through menopause later.  There are higher risks of some cancers, including breast cancer, but there are other benefits.  Also, studies have shown that women who go through menopause later tend to have clearer nicer skin. 

Women who have more severe symptoms associated with menopause may need hormone replacement therapy.  When our bodies stop producing estrogen we can have all sorts of hormonal and chemical changes in our bodies.  Hormone replacement therapy is meant to replace the estrogen that our body normally makes naturally with estrogen which has been created in a lab. 

In addition to replacing missing estrogen, hormone replacement therapy can also prevent heart disease, osteoporosis and some hard-to-detect female known cancers. 

Before menopause a woman is at much lesser risk for heart disease than a man, however, after menopause, her risk will increase greatly, which means she almost as likely to have heart disease as a man. 

Estrogen treatments also reduce hot flashes, vaginal dryness and osteoporosis.  Hot flashes can be described as a sudden wave of heat, which starts at your chest and rushes up your neck and to your face.  Hot flashes which occur at night are known as night sweats.  Night sweats can cause irritability and sleepiness the following day.

Many women experience bladder and vaginal changes which can lead to burning, itching, painful intercourse and bladder infections (also can lead to bladder incontinence).  The bladder and the vagina can be extremely sensitive to hormone replacement therapy.  These symptoms can be kept under control by oral medications and prescribed vaginal creams.  Hormone replacement therapy can also help with vaginal dryness as it thickens the vaginal walls and stimulates the vaginal glands which produce vaginal lubrication, making sexual intercourse more enjoyable. 

There is a lot of evidence out there that hormone replacement therapy can reduce mood swings in menopausal women.  Mood swings include irritability, crying spells and feelings of sadness.  Hormone replacement therapy can also boost the effectiveness of some anti-depressants, which some menopausal women may be prescribed if their symptoms are particularly serious. 

As of now, I can find no evidence that taking hormone replacement therapy if you have entered into menopause late can harm you or that it will be less effective, however, this is something you should speak to your doctor about, especially if you feel you are having negative side effects with the hormone replacement therapy.  If this is the case, the dosage may be adjusted or medications switched. 

Tags: Estrogen treatments, Hormone Replacement Therapy, Late Menopause

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