Welcome to That Of Women.com

What Are the Risks And Benefits?

Once menopause becomes a reality, usually between the ages of 45 and 55 your body will begin to have a decrease in estrogen, which can cause many unpleasant problems and side effects. At this point the question becomes should you start an estrogen replacement therapy to combat this estrogen deficiency?

There are always going to be pros and cons to taking estrogen replacement and these should be discussed with your health care provider. Some of the risks are an increased chance of developing endometrial cancer and an increased risk of developing breast cancer.

But now let’s look at some of the benefits of using estrogen replacement therapy. Firstly using an estrogen replacement will help to relieve some of the unpleasant symptoms of menopause for example the dreaded hot flashes and night sweats.

Hot flashes and night sweats are only a temporary problem but there are some long-term problems that you should be aware of that are caused by the loss of estrogen. One of these is osteoporosis, which is when the bones become brittle and weak. The vertebrae can collapse as a result of the brittle bones and the sufferer will lose height and have a stooped appearance better known as a ‘Dowager’s Hump.’ Also a woman suffering from Osteoporosis is more likely to suffer from bone fractures. Estrogen replacement therapy started at early menopause can help to avoid this.

There is another long-term problem that is less discussed and that is the change that occurs in cholesterol when estrogen is lost. Basically the total cholesterol increases and the good cholesterol (the high density lipoprotein) decreases. One possible outcome of this is a person suffering from coronary artery disease, which could end with that person having a heart attack. Again estrogen replacement could help to avoid this.

So, as can be seen there are definitely risks and benefits to be considered before taking estrogen replacement. There are several studies that have been taken that have specifically looked at the life expectancy of women who have not taken estrogen replacement and those that have. Almost every study has shown that women taking estrogen replacement have an increased life expectancy.

This is mainly because the estrogen will lower the risk of heart attacks and can prevent osteoporosis, which will save lives.

Of course should you have a family history of breast cancer you should put more thought and research into whether or not you should take estrogen.

No related posts.