Is Hormone Replacement Therapy Good - Its Benefits & Risks

To replace a woman’s depleting hormone levels, synthetic estrogen and progesterone are designed called hormone replacement therapy. Hormone replacement therapy helps to relieve the dryness in vagina or pain during urination caused by menopausal symptoms.

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is helpful in easing the pain and the discomfort that a woman experiences while going through menopause when her hormones level decrease. During her reproductive years, a woman’s ovaries produce the hormones estrogen and progesterone which work to help in menstrual cycle, sexual characteristics and prepare the body for fertilization and reproduction. But when the age of menopause is reached, these hormones are produced less and less and thus, hormone replacement therapy is required to deal with the pain and the dryness and to make this period comfortable.

Benefits of Hormone Replacement Therapy

• It has been known by the research that hormone replacement therapy also helps in prevention of osteoporosis, heart disease and memory loss along with other diseases during menopause in women.
• Its helps in the normal functioning of the body when it does not produce enough hormones to ease pain and discomfort.
• Hormone replacement therapy in women helps in relieving many menopausal symptoms like pain in vagina and urinary tract as well as depression and insomnia.

Side Effects of Hormone Replacement (HRT)

• Recent studies have found that hormone replacement therapy holds may risks to health such as increased risk of ovarian cancer and cancer of uterine lining.
• It also may lead to breast cancer and gall bladder disease.
• It may increase the risk of blood clots in the veins.

Most of the side effects of hormone replacement therapy may vary from individual to individual but the common side effects are:

• Vaginal bleeding
• Nausea
• Fluid retention
• Weight gain
• Depression

Estrogen has been associated with the increased risk of endometrial cancer that is, cancer of the lining of the uterus. It may be said that it increases the risk of cancer in women who have family history of cancer.

Information from laboratory and physiological tests can offer reliable results. Before undertaking hormone replacement therapy, it is better to consult a physician and check out the effects and the way your body will respond to the therapy.