Menopause is a state in which every woman around 50 years of age enters. It means that the reproductive time is over and the process of ageing and resting of the reproductive organs has irreversibly begun. During menopause, it slows down the production of estrogens, which has a huge impact on well-being and general physical condition and health. Fortunately, nowadays, women can count on estrogen replacement therapy, which significantly reduces the symptoms of ongoing menopause.

What are estrogens for anyway?

It is worth knowing that estrogens play a very important role in a woman's body. The basic and most well-known of them are those related to the functioning of the genital organs and thus: the whole menstrual cycle. However, this is not all that is responsible for these relationships in a woman's body. Estrogens also play an important role in the functioning of the lipid economy. They are responsible for the growth of "good" cholesterol, i.e. HDL, in the body, while reducing the level of bad cholesterol, i.e. LDL. What is more, estrogens also cause that cholesterol and bile are excreted much more efficiently from the female body. It is also important to regulate the calcium balance, which is very important for the prevention of osteoporosis. In addition, estrogens also act in the service of bones and cartilage, stimulating their growth.

What is estrogen therapy?

Treatment with estrogens is called hormone replacement therapy (HTZ). As you can easily guess, it is based on the external administration of estrogens, which are not enough in the aging female body. Menopause symptoms in women include, among others, characteristic sudden hot flashes and periodical headaches. Among the mood-related symptoms, women complain mainly about increased irritability, which manifests itself in anger or crying. As far as physical symptoms are concerned, a characteristic feature of menopause is vaginal dryness or even atrophy, i.e. a situation when the epithelium of vaginal mucosa begins to disappear.

Hormone replacement therapy - good or bad?

It is worth noting that hormone replacement therapy with estrogens prevents atherosclerosis, arterial hypertension and obesity, but in order for this to happen, there must be a number of factors, among which first of all, the age of the patient, and whether it cures some chronic diseases. As with any type of treatment, estrogen therapy can also have some side effects, but to avoid this, the patient must be under the constant care of a doctor who chooses not only the dose of hormones, but also the way in which they are administered. In estrogen therapy, it is extremely important that the therapy is started relatively early, i.e. when the first signs of menopause appear. The later the therapy is started, the higher the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Practice also shows that taking hormones in the form of tablets instead of patches glued to the skin is much less complicated and more effective.