Medical Questions » Menopause Questions » Question No. 673
| Question: | Why can' t all women who have troubles with the menopause have hormone replacement therapy with oestrogen? Why can' t they stay on treatment until they are 60, 70 or indefinitely? |
| Answer: | The vast majority of women can take hormone replacement therapy with both an oestrogen and progestogen to overcome their problems. It is necessary to take both hormones to prevent some of the long-term complications of constant oestrogen use. Women who have had a hysterectomy need only take oestrogen.
There are a small number of women who should not use hormone replacement therapy, including those who have had breast or gynaecological cancer, blood clots or liver disease.
Most GPs are sympathetic to these women, who may suffer flooding, cramps, depression, flushes, headaches, irritability etc. etc. etc.!!!
There are a number of different types of oestrogen, and varying dosage regimes, and it sometimes takes a little trial and error to get the dosage just right for an individual woman.
Oestrogens also protect against osteoporosis, heart disease, dementia, skin ageing and improve the libido (sex drive) of older women.
There is a great deal of controversy about how long this treatment should continue, but there is no reason why they should not be continued beyond 70 years of age. Oestrogens are not a long term ' youth pill' , but can certainly help women through a difficult period in theit lives and prevent a lot of the complications of ageing.
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