Considering Hormone Replacements
For many women menopause is a time in their lives when they may begin to consider whether or not to supplement their bodies with hormone replacements. The female reproductive system has the ovaries which secrete natural hormones called estrogen. There are actually two chemicals that are created by the ovaries. Estrodiol is the bodies own natural estrogen secreted by the ovaries while estrone not as strong a chemical is created by the ovaries and other cells.
These chemicals regulate the female system. At menopause the body simply begins to make less of these chemicals. For some women the loss of some of the amount of estrogen can cause hot flashes, vaginal dryness, mood swings, heavy periods and other symptoms that may become extremely uncomfortable. Hormone replacement has been shown to relieve some of these symptoms.
Forms Of Replacement Therapy
Many women take hormone replacement therapy and in the past it was given automatically to any woman complaining of menopause like symptoms. Hormone replacement supplements can be given in pill, patch or shot form. Some hormone replacement medicine is bioidentical. This means though it may have been created outside the human body it is identical in molecular structure to the chemicals created by the body.
Other hormone replacement supplements are synthetic meaning that they are created as well but their molecular structure is only similar to the actual molecular structure of real human hormones. For many this is confusing twist of words and it is important to speak with your health care provider about which type of supplements are best for you and what are the risks if any of either.
There are natural hormone replacement products that are made from yams that have hormones similar to those produced by the female body. Many of these can be found over the counter. There is a wide variety of information available on the web about the different products as well as many places to purchase them.
Risks Of Therapy
While hormone replacement therapy has been shown to relieve many of the symptoms of the change of life it has also be shown to have dangers as well. Hormone replacement products can relieve the discomfort such as moodiness, night sweats and period problems but can also bring on migraines, depression and risks for heart disease as well as strokes. Some long term studies have calculated the risks to be significant. Therefore it is extremely important to discuss your level of risks with your health care professional before purchasing any over the counter estrogen products or beginning treatment on your own.
