Estrogen Replacement Therapy for menopausal and post menopausal women

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Women who are menopausal or post menopausal have a rapid decline in the production and presence of estrogen in their bodies. This can lead to a host of problems that are associated with the change of life. While menopause isn’t complete until there have been 12 consecutive months without a period, loss of estrogen can begin causes problems much sooner.

In some cases where a woman has had a hysterectomy that includes the removal of her ovaries menopause will be more abrupt. Estrogen replacement therapy has been used with a fair measure of success to combat signs and symptoms that are problematic for women who are experiencing menopausal related symptoms.  Some of the symptoms associated with the loss of estrogen include; night sweats, hot flashes, loss of bone mass and vaginal and urinary changes. Estrogen replacement therapy helps reduce the severity of these problems. It is the fluctuation of estrogen that leads to hot flashes for example, estrogen replacement therapy levels the flux of estrogen and the result is a decline in hot flashes and related night sweats. Further, estrogen replacement therapy offers some protection from bone loss which is common in menopausal women. Osteoporosis greatly increases the risk of fracture to hips and other bones, so estrogen replacement can be a good way to protect menopausal women from breaks.

There are some serious concerns over estrogen replacement therapy however. For instance, women who have taken estrogen for five years or longer may have a statistically significant increased risk of breast cancer. Another important finding is that women who use estrogen replacement therapy for long periods of time may have an increased risk of heart disease such as heart attacks. This is why estrogen replacement therapy has become so controversial. Women who are considering its use will need to weigh benefits verses risks before beginning estrogen replacement therapy.

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