Why does estrogen have a bad rap after menopause?

Hello Anonymous,

Thank you for your question. let me begin with the changes caused by fluctuation in estrogen levels during perimenopause.

During perimenopause, estrogen, which is the main female hormone, rises and falls unevenly. Menstrual irregularity, hot flashes and sleep problems, mood changes, vaginal and bladder problems, low libido, risk for osteoporosis, and increase in low density lipoprotein (LDL) or good cholesterol are experienced by many women.

Hormone therapy was once routinely used to treat these menopausal symptoms and protect long term health. That is no longer the case. Large clinical trials have uncovered health risks, particularly with estrogen.

Estrogen is typically prescribed along with progesterone because estrogen alone can stimulate growth of the lining of the uterus, increasing the risk of uterine cancer.

Hormone therapy, particularly estrogen combined with a progestin, can make your breasts look more dense on mammograms, making breast cancer more difficult to detect.

in general, if your physician thinks you will benefit from hormone therapy, the recommendation is to prescribe the lowest effective dose for the shortest amount of time needed to treat symptoms, unless you're younger than age 45, in which case you need enough estrogen to provide protection against long-term health effects of estrogen deficiency.

I hope that explains why estrogen, give in hormone therapy, gets a bad rap.

Regards,
Maryann