Pros & Cons of Progesterone in Hormone Replacement Therapy:

Woman undergoes many milestones in her life and menopause is one of them. This is the phase when she is physically mentally, and emotionally disturbed due to various hormonal changes that take place in the body. The normal monthly cycles come to a standstill and her estrogen and progesterone levels drop down, thus resulting in different problems ranging from hot flushes, vaginal dryness, frequent fractures, and osteoporotic bone lesions. No wonder many investigations and studies are going on to study the efficacy of hormone replacement therapy to avoid these problems during menopause. But it is true that not all women can undergo hormone replacement therapy just for the sake of it. The physician has to assess the status of woman before commencing on either estrogen therapy, progesterone therapy or a combination therapy. Let’s see pros of progesterone therapy: (1) The risk of colon cancer is lowered significantly with progesterone therapy. (2) The cases of hip fracture are reported far less with progesterone therapy. (3) Progesterone can be said as the most effective treatment for treating hot flushes and vaginal dryness and itching. (4) The combination therapy containing estrogen and progesterone is capable of reducing the heart disease risk in these menopausal women, though it is also suggested not to commence this treatment just for the sake of reducing heart disease risk unless there are other complications of menopause existing along with. Cons of progesterone therapy: (1) Patient may suffer from bloating or enhanced irritability (2) Long term use may increase the risk of breast cancer (3) In women having problems of blood clotting, this therapy might be dangerous (4) Risk of stroke is also known to enhance. Therefore, only after careful assessment from an expert doctor one should commence with HRT that starts at minimal dosage!

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