Many of you might wonder what hormone therapy is. We can tell you that hormone therapy is a treatment that is used to supplement the body with the hormones estrogen and progesterone. These mentioned hormones are produced by the woman's ovaries. In the moment when ovaries do not produce enough amounts of these hormones, as in menopause, hormone therapy can be prescribed as a supplement in order to normalize the levels of estrogen and progesterone.
The normal question that arises now refers to the role of estrogen and progesterone. You should know that these two hormones have the mission to thicken the lining of the uterus, preparing it for the possible implantation of a fertilized egg. Estrogen also helps in using the calcium of the organism, which is an important mineral that helps building the bones, and also helps in maintaining normal levels of the boy cholesterol.
When women reach the age for menopause the ovaries reduce their production of these hormones. Menopause symptoms are also caused by the lowered or fluctuating levels of estrogen and progesterone. For example we can say that a low or fluctuating level of estrogen causes symptoms such as hot flashes or medical conditions such as osteoporosis. Getting to normal levels of these hormones through HT is a way of easing the symptoms.
Progesterone is used in women who still have their uterus. For these women, if estrogen is taken without progesterone, the chances for endometrium cancer increase. In the productive years, endometrial cells are shed during menstruation. When this does not happen, estrogen can cause an overgrowth of cells in the uterus which in most of the cases might lead to cancer.
Progesterone reduces the risks of endometrial cancer, making the endometrium shed each month. That is why women who take progesterone may have monthly bleeding. This bleeding can be stopped if progesterone and estrogen are taken together for a long period.
As we said before, estrogen and progesterone can relieve symptoms. Among these symptoms we can remember hot flashes, vaginal dryness that can result in painful intercourse, night sweats or dry itchy skin.
Even if there are studies that do not agree with hormone therapy we might say that the benefits of hormone therapy include a reduce risk of developing osteoporosis or bone breakage, improvement of mood, decreased tooth loss and lowered risk of colon cancer.
