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How do I take hormone replacement therapy? |
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What about natural estrogens? |
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How do I take hormone replacement therapy?
If you have a uterus: |
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Continuous combined - Estrogen and progesterone everyday |
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Continuous sequential - Estrogen everyday, and progesterone for part of the cycle |
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Cyclic combined - Estrogen and progesterone everyday, then a break from both |
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Cyclic sequential - Estrogen every day, then a break, and progesterone for part of the cycle, then a break |
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If no uterus:
Estrogen only and continuously, no need for progesterone |
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Consider transdermal estrogen if:
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High triglycerides |
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Gallbladder disease |
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Migraine headaches |
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GI upset |
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Compliance problems
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What about natural estrogens?
Phytoestrogens, also known as isoflavones are very weak estrogen agonists, and work best when
there is little circulating estradiol to compete with for receptor sites. |
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Diet:
Phytoestrogens are contained in soy food products, flax seed and some legumes.
Asian diets have about 10 times the amount of phytoestrogens as the average American
diet, and it has been suggested that because of this Asian women have fewer hot flashes,
hip fractures, and hormone dependent cancers than American women. |
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In all areas of postmenopausal health, more blinded randomized controlled
trials are needed to look at the actual benefit.
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