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Hormone replacement therapy, commonly known as HRT, is the standard pharmaceutical treatment for menopausal symptoms. It is usually made up of two kinds of hormones — oestrogens and progestin (a synthetic form of progesterone). Levels of these hormones fall after menopause, and hormone replacement therapy helps relieve symptoms and has some long-term health benefits, such as osteoporosis prevention.

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is replacing hormones–usually estrogen and progesterone–which a woman’s body once made in sufficient amounts, but because of age or medical reasons, is no longer able to produce. Replacing these hormones back to physiological levels can restore normal hormonal cycles. By doing this, women will not only begin to feel younger and more vivacious, but will also reduce their risks of cardiovascular problems and osteroporosis.

Many women now taking estrogen or estrogen combined with progestins are able to discontinue their HRT. Please consult with a medical professional before doing so. It is possible that if adequate natural progesterone levels were present, any needed estrogen could be made from it. Because progesterone sensitizes estrogen receptors, it makes sense to supplement with progesterone rather than estrogen.

Male-to-female patients treated with estrogens can expect to experience: breast growth, some female-like redistribution of body fat, softening of the skin; a decrease in body hair, decreased upper body strength, decreased fertility and testicular size, less firm and harder to achieve erections. More importantly, most individuals report a relief from their gender dysphoria and a feeling of well-being.

HT prevents the bone break down that occurs at an accelerated rate during the early post-menopausal years, therefore reducing the likelihood of fractures. However, because of the small but significant risks of long term HT use, other alternatives should be considered if necessary in women not taking HT short term for menopausal symptoms. These include exercise, diet, calcium, and specific drug therapies for those women with fractures.

During menopause, a woman's body significantly reduces the production of estrogen. This decrease in estrogen may cause hot flashes, bone loss, vaginal dryness, and mood swings. To lessen the side effects, doctors may prescribe HRT. Recent use of combination hormone replacement therapy has been shown to increase breast cancer risk, with higher risk associated with longer use.

The benefit of recent studies regarding the usage of hormone therapy is that they have streamlined the risk/benefit ratio, delineated which women are the best candidates for it and carved clearer prescribing guidelines. Keep in mind though; that only one type of hormone regimen was used in the Women's Health Initiative and the average age of the women in the study was approximately 65.

Estrogen and progesterone (two of the hormones used in some forms of HRT) may increase a woman's risk for developing breast cancer. Patients should be aware that these hormones affect many tissues in the body and therefore before a patient considers HRT, it is prudent to discuss all the risks, benefits, and limitations of pursuing HRT with a medical doctor.

Hormone Replacement Therapy can be a lifetime commitment. Most studies have been done involving a minimum of six months therapy. Many have been and are conducted over longer periods of time. Benefits gained from HRT will gradually diminish if the therapy program is not continued. Many individuals on HRT obtain excellent results with a rotating or cyclical protocol of six months on HRT and four to eight weeks off. - (1*, 2*)

VAGIFEM® is a local estrogen therapy used vaginally for the treatment of atrophic vaginitis. Unlike some other hormone therapies that deliver estrogen throughout the body, VAGIFEM® provides estrogen directly to irritated vaginal tissues where it is needed, with minimal absorption by other organs of the body.

Hormone therapy is a treatment that is used to supplement the body with either estrogen alone or estrogen and progesterone in combination. Estrogen and progesterone are hormones that are produced by a woman's ovaries. When the ovaries no longer produce adequate amounts of these hormones (as in menopause), HT can be given to supplement the body with adequate levels of estrogen and progesterone.

Individualized strengths-based care acknowledges each child and family's unique set of strengths and challenges. Formal and informal supports are used to "wrap" services and supports around each child and family (rather than families "fitting in" to preexisting service structures). Issues of culture, gender, age, religious background and class are addressed in the individualized plan of care.

In order for an endocrinologist to consider hormone therapy or for a surgeon to perform sex re-assignment surgery, the individual must meet the DSM-4 psychiatric diagnostic criteria of gender identity disorder. This is determined and documented through a psychological evaluation. The results of this evaluation are communicated via a letter to the physician prior to initiating treatment. Prior to surgery, supporting letters from two separate therapists may be required by some surgeons.

Growth Hormone therapy is injected into the subcutaneous tissue (the fatty layer under the skin). Your healthcare provider will instruct you on the method of administration that has been prescribed for you or your child. Almost anyone can learn to administer Growth Hormone after receiving instructions from his or her healthcare team.

As previously stated, Hormone Replacement Therapy is used to restore your hormone levels to their optimum youthful levels. You need a blood test to determine your existing hormone levels, to see whether or not you qualify for HRT and what your replacement dosages should be. Since most of the hormones used in HRT are dispensed by prescription only, you cannot obtain them without a physician's prescription.

If you are taking Premarin, Provera, or Prempro, the drugs used in the Women's Health Initiative Study that has been so widely publicized in the last year, the answer is YES! Does that mean you should stop other hormone replacement regimes? NO! It means you should switch to non-oral human estradiol and human progesterone in a cream, gel, patch, or pellet form and monitor "free" estradiol and progesterone levels in the blood to assure correct dosage.

Hormones are substances secreted directly into the bloodstream and are produced by several glands and organs in your body such as the ovaries, testes, thyroid, pancreas, pituitary, liver and others. They travel through the bloodstream from where they are produced to where they interact with receptors to do the work for which they were intended. They initiate reactions in the body, whereas enzymes usually help to facilitate them.