Hormone Therapy in Menopause

At some stages of life, the production of estrogen in the ovaries may stop for various reasons. This may be the result of surgical removal of the ovaries or the use of certain medications. In addition, when women reach a certain age, the ovaries' production of estrogen may naturally stop. Along with the lack of estrogen, various problems also occur.

Here we call it östrogen deficient life stage menopause. Strogen is a female hormone mainly produced in the ovaries on both sides of the uterus. Additionally, less estrogen is produced in other tissues, which we will discuss later. As the child enters puberty, the ovaries begin to develop and produce strogen.
Hormones mixed with the blood enter the breasts, bones, large intestines, bladder, genitals and other tissues and show their effects there. Under the influence of hormones, the physical and psychological structure changes and the transition from childhood to womanhood begins.

Other Hormones Produced in the Ovaries

Another hormone produced in the ovaries is progesterone. These two hormones regulate the sexual and reproductive functions of women together. During the menstrual period, the level of strogen in the blood rises, then the level of strogen begins to decrease and the level of progesterone in the blood rises. At this time, ovulation occurs.

Passed; During the menstrual period, the level of two hormones drops and the tissues prepared for conception in the uterus are expelled from the body through bleeding. In this way, women will menstruate regularly.

When women reach a certain age, their ovulation function begins to decrease and strogen secretion is insufficient. For this reason, we see some changes in the body due to the lack of estrogen. This process; It takes 3-4 years on average. We call this process the perimenopausal period, namely the menopausepreparation phase.

Perimenopause Period

During perimenopause, women experience some menopause > issues. Irregular menstruation; months can pass without bleeding. Menstrual bleeding decreases from time to time and can sometimes manifest as excessive bleeding.
There may be hot flashes and excessive sweating during the menstrual period. During this period, the hormonal balance is completely disrupted, sometimes the hormone level rises too much, sometimes it drops too much. When hormones are too high, breast tenderness and pain occur during menstruation.

These pains will decrease with menstruation. Women whose breasts are not sensitive during the menstrual period may panic because of these pains. Especially in this period, breast pain is not important for breast cancer. Persistent pain in the same place and in the same breast should worry us about breast cancer.

What is Hormone Therapy?

While these problems that occur at the beginning of menopause may be very mild for some women, they can be severe enough to affect the quality of life in some women. One of the most common debates today is the application of estrogen therapy to alleviate the problems caused by menopause. While calculating the risk factors for breast cancer, we mentioned that long-term exposure to estrogen increases the risk of breast cancer.

But now this question is a bit of an exaggeration. Many women cannot use supportive hormones because of this fear, even if they really need it. However, we know that healthy women who use postmenopausal hormones live 20% longer than women who do not use hormones.

At menopause, use hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to replace insufficient hormones. For this, strogen or drugs containing strogen and progesterone are used. Most of the problems caused by menopause will end with HRT. Long-term use of estrogen alone can increase the risk of uterine cancer. For this reason, this effect can be prevented by giving progesterone hormone together with estrogen. If the uterus has been surgically removed, only östrogen is not needed.

Hormone Use

The use of hormones can prevent the problems caused by menopause (hot flashes, sleep disturbance, vaginal dryness, urinary tract diseases, psychological problems). Osteoporosis and resulting fractures are significantly reduced. Cardiovascular diseases decreased. In addition, hormone use can reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease (early stage dementia) and colon cancer.

Postmenopausal women using hormones generally prefer their health and body, education and intelligenceâIt is a group of women with a higher level, more active lives, and occasional alcohol use. And even if some women want to eat hormones, the body cannot use them because it cannot eat them. Strogen can be taken in the form of a pill, a patch applied to the skin, or through a nasal spray. Currently, the lowest and most effective dose is used.

This is different for every woman. Your doctor can adjust this dose. You can also use it as a vaginal cream to meet your regional hormone needs. If you are planning to use hormones, you should definitely do it under the control of a doctor. Before applying hormones, various laboratory tests are performed to examine various organ functions of the body. Before using hormones, you should definitely have a breast examination and mammography.