WHAT IS HORMONE REPLACEMENT?
When you approach menopause, the estrogen levels in your body begin to drop. In some women, the drop is more dramatic than in others. Including both problems you can feel (hot flashes, vaginal dryness, gastric upset, mood changes, sleep problems, etc.) and problems you cannot feel (an increase in your "bad" cholesterol level, a decrease in the strength of your bones, etc.). In short, your hormonal profile becomes more masculine, and with it, your risk of major diseases like heart disease come to mirror men's risk.
Hormone replacement means just what it sounds like: giving back hormones that your body is newly lacking to try to reverse the problems associated with estrogen deprivation. About 10-15% of American women over age 50 take estrogen, but about a third of those who are prescribed it never fill those prescriptions. Still others go on and off hormone therapy, trying to manage the changes of menopause and to limit the side effects or possible long-term risks of treatment. We know little about the health effects of this kind of self-treating.
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General health
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