“Treatment of bothersome hot flashes and night sweats
is the principal reason women use HT. Hormone therapy
also treats vaginal dryness and painful sex associated…”.¹

Umbrella

What may the Hormone Therapy and Menopause Symptoms Umbrella include?

Depending on the Source (DotS) this Umbrella may include:

Effective or Not

How effective is hormone therapy (HT) or menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) for the treatment of menopause symptoms?

In The 2023 Practitioner’s Toolkit for Managing Menopause: Management – Considerations for All Women At Menopause: Menopausal Hormone Therapy, published online 30 October 2023, the authors note:

What is VMS?

VMS can be an abbreviation for Vasomotor Symptoms or hot flushes and night sweats.

On page one in Deciding About Hormone Therapy: Potential Benefits, published July 2022, the North American Menopause Society (NAMS) elaborate on:

“Hormone therapy is one of the most effective treatments available for bothersome hot flashes and night sweats. If hot flashes and night sweats are disrupting your daily activities and sleep, HT may improve sleep and fatigue, mood, ability to concentrate, and overall quality of life. Treatment of bothersome hot flashes and night sweats is the principal reason women use HT. Hormone therapy also treats vaginal dryness and painful sex associated with menopause. Hormone therapy keeps your bones strong by preserving bone density and decreasing your risk of osteoporosis and fractures. If preserving bone density is your only concern, and you do not have bothersome hot flashes, other treatments may be recommended instead of HT”.³

Benefits and Risks

Can HT benefits and risks differ for different women?

On page one in Deciding About Hormone Therapy: Potential Risks the NAMS also note:

“As with all medications, HT is associated with some potential risks. For healthy women with bothersome hot flashes aged younger than 60 years or within 10 years of menopause, the benefits of HT generally outweigh the risks”.⁴

On page two in the Joint Position Statement By the British Menopause Society, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and Society for Endocrinology on Best Practice Recommendations for the Care of Women Experiencing the Menopause, first published online 10 June 2022, one of the recommendations is:

• “The decision whether to take HRT, the dose and duration of its use should be made on an individualised basis after discussing the benefits and risks with each patient. This should be considered in the context of the overall benefits obtained from using HRT including symptom control and improving quality of life as well as considering the bone and cardiovascular benefits associated with HRT use. Discussions with women should also cover aspects such as when to consider stopping HRT and how this can be done (by gradually reducing the dose of HRT). No arbitrary limits should be set on age or duration of HRT intake”.⁵

Health Care Provider

What if I choose to use HT for my menopause symptoms?

If you choose to use HT for your menopause symptoms, it may be in your best interest to also choose to talk to your health care provider about this.

On page one in Deciding About Hormone Therapy the NAMS explain:

Health Topics A-Z

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