Category: Women’s Health

Estrogen Replacement Therapies its Pros and Cons

What is Estrogen replacement? For a guy, its one of those subjects that would least interest them to know. But for women, this is vital information that could be very vital for them.

Estrogen

For starters, oestrogen functions as the primary female sex hormone composed of a group of steroid compounds, named for their significance in the oestrus cycle. It may be existent in both men and women, but they are usually present at extensively higher levels in women of reproductive age. At such period, oestrogen support the development of secondary female sex features, such as breasts, and are also involved in the thickening of the endometrium and other aspects of regulating the menstrual series.

Sources of oestrogen include the ovaries, the corpus luteum, and the placenta. Smaller amounts of it are found in the liver, adrenal glands, and breasts. These secondary sources are known to be very beneficial to post-menopausal women.

Downfall of Estrogen

In the later part of a womans life, around the age of 50, her ovaries face the tide of menopause, a period when it finally ceases producing estrogens. For ladies who wish to avoid discomfort and the agony of health problems caused by diminished circulating estrogens, Estrogen Replacement Therapy (or ERT) is an option to choose. The treatment involves a sequence of drugs intended to synthetically boost hormone levels.

As the name suggests, ERT replaces hormones which the ovaries no longer produce, either through natural or surgical menopause, and provides relief from the horrible symptoms of menopause such as hot flashes and night sweats.

Types

There are certain substances that are used in the ERT: such as conjugated estrogens or conjugated equine estrogens under the brand name of Premarin; patch; estrogens made of singular estrogen compounds; drugs such as raloxifene and alendronate; herbal remedies such as Black Cohosh, known to help reduce menopausal symptoms; and other hormones involved such as progesterone or progestins,.

Pros and Cons

The ERT have its own share of pros and cons to the lifestyle of women. It really does change ladies lives in an overwhelmingly excellent way. But at the same time, one would have to weigh the consequences it provides before deciding to undertake such therapy.

However the consequences, advantages seem to outnumber them. The use of conjugated estrogens is usually known for significant drop in the occurrence of heart disease and osteoporosis, including a decrease of approximately 10% in the incidence of heart disease and stroke, over non-estrogen users.

The levels of PA-1 are discovered to plunge down by around 50% when an intake of Conjugated estrogens is done with or without the presence of progestins. PA-1 is said to be the vital inhibitor of fibrinolysis which multiplies in women after menopause and may risk a ladys life of cardiovascular disease.

If you really need it and if you have the right amount of money, why not undergo ERT? But always remember to weigh the pros and cons that ERT provides. It has a lot of incentives but the fact that it increases the risk of breast cancer; it is advisable for women whose ancestors had breast cancer in the past and those who previously had one, to stay away from ERT.

Estrogen as a Contributor in Signalling our Body Clock

As medical technology advances throughout the years, there has been much fuss in the medical field about estrogen.

Many studies and researches were conducted towards finding out the very nature of estrogen.

All of these undertakings agreed on one thing, estrogen is a primary component in the indication of the human body clock. It was found that it directly relates in the body cycle of a human being.

Estrogen, as defined in the modern medical dictionary- does not only pertain to a single compound but is rather made up of groups of steroid compounds.

While it is present in both male and female, it has higher concentrations in female, because it is the one responsible for the promoting of female secondary characteristics.

This includes breast development, and it is an important hormone that helps in promoting sexual vitality, relieving hot flashes, night sweats and other deficiency symptoms that go along with old age.

The female body produces three major types of this estrogen, these includes estriol, estradiol, and estrone.

Estriol is found to be the weakest among the three estrogens. Its high level of existence in the body denotes a less likely possibility of developing breast cancer.

As mentioned in the American Medical Journal Association dated in 1966, according to Dr. H.M. Lemmon, M.D. there is a higher concentration of this particular substance in the body of those women who does not have breast cancer.

It is very beneficial to the vagina, vulva and cervix. In cases where there is a related affliction to the mentioned parts, it is safest if the patient is going to use Estriol Estrogen preparation.

Estradiol is known to be the principal estrogen, it is helpful in carrying out reproductive functions and is produced in the ovaries. Because it is stronger than Estriol it is more effective symptomatic alternative than the latter.

Estrone on the other hand has the same function as the Estradiol, but it is considered to have a weaker effect.

The pituitary gland and the hypothalamus is the one responsible for producing these types of hormones, and acts as the lutienizing agent in controlling its production in the body.

As the menopausal stage occurs, it is usually characterized by a full year without menstrual period and the level of estrogen in the body gradually goes down. Decrease in egg production, low level of sexual desires, lower bone density and muscle firmness as well as skin integrity follows.

As the estrogen production starts to diminish in the menopausal period, this marks the transgression of the human cycle.

Lastly, this ultimately signals the descent of the human body clock as determined by the particular hormone-estrogen.

Beware of the Side Effects of Estrogen

Estrogen is considered a primary hormone for women. However, it is also present for men but the only difference is that Estrogen in women is of higher level than in males. Moreover, it is also an important component for the development and enhancement of the female secondary sex characteristics such as the breast and endometrioum.

During the menopausal cycle of the women estrogen plays a very vital role. This is the necessity of having an appropriate level of Estrogen to prevent the unnecessary disorders that may take place inside a womans body. Moreover, if the level of hormone is also imbalanced the risks of the menopausal symptoms will increase.

It is true that Estrogen is a natural body substance but it is coupled with side effects in the persons body. It can affect the growth of a person or the development of the reproductive system and the secondary reproductive systems.

Pregnant women are not advised to take medicines that are estrogen enhancer, because it is not good for the baby inside the womb of the mother. Usually, it leads to the miscarriage of the baby and may cause serious complications to the mother.

Estrogen medications are indeed helpful for women with menopausal disorders, but these are also risky, especially if not taken properly. One of the worst effects that it can bring to a person is the so-called endometrial cancer. This is often due to a prolonged intake of Estrogen. The risk will vary on the length of the treatment and the dosage of the Estrogen taken by a patient.

Since Estrogen therapy has the long term and the short term period, it must be noted that lower dose of medicine should be taken for the long term in order to reduce the risk. It is also necessary that you see your doctor at least twice a year while you are taking the medication to avoid complications.

Estrogen for post menopausal women can also lead to gall bladder disorder. You must be aware about the effects of estrogen medications while you are taking it. Consult your physician immediately if you notice that there is bleeding that takes place in your vaginal area.

In spite of the complications of estrogen, people also acknowledge its good effect such as lessening the risk of heart diseases and high blood pressure.

It always depends on you, if you want successful effect of your estrogen intake, be sure to follow the doctors advice properly.

Benefits of Estrogen Replacement Therapy

Maintaining the hormonal balance of a person is difficult. A woman is advised to take an estrogen replacement therapy to improve the level of estrogen that decline due to a disorder called hysterectomy after the menopausal period.

It is given for women who undergo either the premenopausal and postmenopausal period in their menstrual cycle. This is usually done in order to avoid possible discomfort and health problem brought by the imbalance estrogen hormone in the system of a woman.

The therapy is classified into short-term and long term relief. The short term relief usually lasts for one or two years. On the other hand, there is no exact duration for a long term relief because as long as the patient needs cure in order to lessen the risk, she will be recommended for a thorough treatment.

Estrogen replacement therapy replaces the hormones that are no longer produced by the ovary. It also provides relief for the unpleasant risks and effects that are brought by the symptoms of menopause in a womans body specifically the hot flashes and the night sweat.

Aside from merely using estrogen it is also sometimes associated with progestin. This is another type of hormone that is important during the menopausal period. It still varies on the doctors advice whether the patient still needs to have the progestin replacement.

There are some women who make use of herbal treatments for treating their hormonal imbalance. However, most of the doctors still prescribe the use of conjugated estrogen because this is proven to be more effective. Several arguments rise regarding the use of conjugated estrogen, but it was also studied that it can even help in reducing the risk of heart diseases.

Due to the great effect that has been brought by estrogen replacement therapy in curing other types of illnesses, this paves the way for the American women to support the use of estrogen replacement therapy to cure the disorder in their estrogen hormones. At present, the therapy is patronized not only in America but in many parts of the world.

For most women who are going through estrogen therapy, they are required to have salivary hormone testing to gauge the level of the saliva hormone as well. According to some studies, this is an important factor for recommending the dosage of medicines that will be given to the patient. Thus, it will prevent the person from overdosing on medication or lack dosage on the medications of the therapy.