Hormone therapy, or HT, is a clinical treatment often used to treat the symptoms of menopause in women. It usually combines the female hormones estrogen and progestin, and in some cases testosterone. For women who have undergone uterus removal, estrogen therapy may be prescribed. The therapy is often prescribed in a pill form, or it can be injected, applied as a vaginal cream or placed on the skin as a patch. Like all medical treatments, hormone therapy has its own good and bad effects.
Relief from Menopausal Symptoms
According to MedlinePlus, a service of the National Institutes of Health, one of the good effects of hormone therapy for women is relief from menopausal symptoms. This means that by receiving these hormones, women experience relief from hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, anxiety and sleep difficulties. Mood swings and decreased sexual desire are some of the other symptoms that hormone therapy is successfully able to treat. Within a couple of years of beginning hormone therapy, women can expect hot flashes and night sweats to be less severe.
Prevents the Development of Osteoporosis
MedlinePlus notes that another positive effect of hormone therapy is that it prevents the development of osteoporosis. After menopause, less estrogen is produced by a woman's body. This has a negative effect on her bone strength. Hormone therapy can help prevent the bone loss that occurs after menopause and thus decreases the risk of hip fractures that are related to osteoporosis.
Heart Disease
Another benefit of hormone therapy as reported by MayoClinic.com is that when estrogen is taken early in the postmenopausal years, the risk of heart disease is greatly decreased. However, MedlinePlus says that estrogen therapy is best for women under 60 years of age. For women who are older than this, the risk of heart disease may actually increase.
Other Effects
MayoClinic.com also states that hormone therapy decreases the risk of colorectal cancer in women. MedlinePlus reports that hormone therapy has benefits in terms of improvement in urinary incontinence, Alzheimer's disease or dementia. However, hormone therapy has its own side-effects. These include retaining excess water in the body, bloating, nausea, and breast soreness. Women may also experience headaches and mood swings. Irregular bleeding may also occur when hormone therapy is started. Hormone therapy can also increase the risk of developing gallstones. Reducing the dosage or changing the form of therapy can lead to a reduction in these side effects.
