Hormone Replacement Therapy

We tend to associate HRT – Hormone Replacement Therapy, with women who suffer during menopause.  Still, HRT is also used for men whose testosterone levels have decreased as they get older.

We’ve all heard of Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), but how many of us know what it is and what it can do for people who are struggling with the effects of aging?

What is it?

Hormone Replacement Therapy is a medication used to treat menopause in women, as well as low testosterone symptoms in men, and to help protect long-term health in both sexes.

Menopause certainly doesn’t have a good reputation with its irritating symptoms like brain fog, weight gain, and hot flashes.  Some women are lucky and sail through this hormonal change in their bodies, which is thought to last at least 7.4 years (JAMA study), and known as the ‘menopause,’ whereas others are not quite so fortunate and need a bit of help with the hormonal symptoms.

As women approach menopause, HRT is used to replace hormones, including estrogen, which are at a lower level, during this hormonal period of your life.  The medications used contain female hormones to replace the ones their bodies no longer make after menopause and they are sometimes used to treat common menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes, mood swings, osteoporosis, and vaginal discomfort.  It’s also been used to prevent bone loss and reduce fracture in postmenopausal women.

HRT supplements for women include the most common hormones, including estrogen and progesterone, though other hormones, including testosterone and DHEA, are also sometimes used in replacement form.

Whereas HRT can be used to treat men with unnaturally low levels of testosterone, called hypogonadism, which is a dysfunction of the testicles that prevents the body from producing the right amount of testosterone.