Hormones and Hot Flashes by Barbara Kantrowitz

Author:Barbara Kantrowitz
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Workman Publishing Company
Published: 2011-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

Time Frame

Q. I’m told that if I decide to use hormones, I should take them for the shortest possible time. How will I know when to stop?

A. That’s another mystery. You have to stop for a while and see if your symptoms return. If they do, you can choose to begin hormone therapy again. Some doctors say you should go off every six months; others say annually. If your doctor doesn’t give you some sense of how long you’ll be on hormones, ask about it.

Risky Year

Q. What if I choose to stay on hormone therapy for only a year just to get me over the hump? Since a shorter time is safer, wouldn’t this be something to consider?

A. It might not be. The women in the estrogen-progestin arm of the WHI had a slightly higher risk of blood clots and stroke in the first year of therapy. So, for an individual woman, the first year could actually be the most dangerous. Remember, those were overall numbers. For the youngest women in the study, the risks were lower than for the oldest women. Many researchers believe the blood clot and stroke risks were the result of preexisting but undiagnosed vascular problems. The theory is that the estrogen aggravated the condition, causing plaque that had accumulated in the arteries to rupture and form blood clots. This seems less likely to happen in younger, healthier women who start taking hormones around the time of menopause, when their arteries should still be relatively healthy. It’s important to talk to your doctor about your medical history, especially any history of cardiovascular disease.

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