Perimenopause and menopause symptoms can be brutal. Most women and people assigned women to birth (Afab). And these symptoms can take years and are associated with an increased risk of serious health states over time.
The good news is that there are treatments that can help with symptoms, bone loss and other topics in menopause. Hormone therapy – treatment that replaces hormones such as estrogen and progesterone that fluctuate during perimenopause – is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and, according to the American College of obstetrician and gynecologists (ACOG), the gold standard for care.
However, misinformation about the safety of the hormone therapy approved by the FDA is still shared online, although treatment is safe for most people. The misinformation has led to an increase in interest in alternative hormone treatment options, namely increased hormone therapy (HT).
Composed HT is sometimes marketed as a “natural” alternative to hormone therapy approved by the FDA, since it can include hormones derived from vegetable hormones. In reality there are bioidentical hormone options approved by the FDA such as estradiol and micronized progesterone, and not all bioidentical hormones are reinforced.
In addition to the search for a “more natural” alternative for hormone therapy, people try to improve HT for tailor -made doses and alternative delivery methods that may not be an option with the hormone therapy regulated by the FDA. However, the lack of regulation means that you do not know exactly what you get.
What is an increased medication?
Compiled medication are prescription drugs that are suitable on your specific health needs. For example, if you are allergic to a type of dye in a medication, the composite version would be made for you without the dye. The procedure includes a specially trained pharmacist, which is referred to as a compounding pharmacist and which mix, change and/or combine specific ingredients for your needs that cannot be met with a standard, mass-produced drug.
The concern for increased medication is that commercial medication from the FDA approved and tightened medication are not the case. In the event of hormone therapy, tailor -made treatment sounds good, but the safety, efficiency and quality of the drug cannot be verified because it was not approved by the FDA.
Hormon pellets are, for example, a usual compound HT that is inserted under the skin every three months. However, the FDA does not allow hormone pellets to be increased as an increased drug, which means that dosage, quality and other important factors have not been tested. And pellets should dissolve over time – not to remove – what can be a problem if you have side effects or health problems.
“There is no data that suggests the early security or preferred benefits, [for compounded drugs]«, Said Lisa Larkin, MD, an internal medicine, doctor for women’s health and menopause and member of the Health Advisory Council of Healthywomen.
Read: Clinically: What you need to know about hormone therapy >>
Compound hormone therapy and social media
According to Larkin, her patients hear from sources on social media of increased HT – such as nutritional areas, aestheticians and menopause trainers who are in credible professions and yet do not have formal medical training in hormone therapy – and not from experts in hormone therapy. “You don’t have enough information to give you the truth. I think that people who do not prescribe the medication should not be [saying who] Should take prescription medication, ”she said.
Both hormone therapy and increased hormone therapy require a prescription from a health service provider. According to Larkin, people are looking for less serious sources – a medspa or certain telemedicine options – to tighten HT. “There are many places and possibilities of how people get composed products, and it is many times that testosterone – and very high doses,” said Larkin. “After a few years, the patients come on the composite testosterone that started to have the male effects of the testosterone and to get out of now [of it] Because they take care of it. ”
In addition to dosage concerns, the investigation shows that unregulated hormone therapy can lead to serious health consequences such as stroke, kidney failure and even death. The lack of evidence of the advantages of compound HT compared to the HT approved by the FDA has published professional associations such as ACOG and the menopause for the testimony of explanations against composed HT in favor of an treatment approved by the FDA, if available.
Talk to your health service provider
When scrolling through social media, it can be difficult to ignore advertising and contributions to alternative “natural” therapies to help with sleep, hot flashes and all the other mental and physical problems associated with menopause. However, if you can take hormones approved by the FDA, this is the way to ensure that you receive consistent, effective and safe hormone therapy.
There is a lot of misinformation on the health of women as a whole on the Internet. So talk to your health service provider about your options. “Be careful about who gives you the advice,” said Larkin.
This educational resource was created with the support of Kenvue, a healthy member of the Corporate Advisory Council.
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