Type of Patients Who Benefit from Hormone Replacement Therapy

Hormone replacement therapy has been successfully used to treat menopausal symptoms for years. Then, controversies concerning its link to breast and ovarian cancer made doctors stop prescribing HRT to patients. But that did not last very long, because further studies indicated that hormone replacement therapy is safe under strict medical monitoring.

And, as researchers discovered more benefits for other patient groups, HRT is now used to treat more health issues than simply the negative effects of the onset of menopause.

How Do Doctors Administer Hormone Replacement Therapy?

HRT Highlands Ranch specialists confirm that there are many ways of receiving HRT, depending on the symptoms, type of treatment and duration. Hormone replacement therapy drugs come in many forms, from pills to injections and even dermal patches.

The purpose of these treatments is to restore the normal level of female and male hormones. These are:

  • Estrogen and progesterone in women
  • Testosterone in men.

HRT Highlands Ranch specialist

Is HRT Recommended for Other Patients Except for Women?

The answer is yes, and this is exactly what we will discuss in this article. Hormone therapy is beneficial to other patient groups and helps them live a normal live. They can relieve the symptoms that decrease their quality of life and affect them both physically and at a psychological level.

Here is a breakdown of what kind of people might need HRT:

  1. Perimenopausal and Menopausal Women

Perimenopause is the period while the female body prepares for the onset of menopause. While for some women this is a smooth and natural transition, many experience negative symptoms, such as mood swings and vasomotor symptoms.

The vasomotor symptoms are hot flushes, night sweats and vaginal dryness, and they can vary in intensity from mild to severe. All these problems can be successfully treated with hormone replacement therapy after a complete evaluation and following a personalized course of treatment.

Doctors note that this type of treatment is even more successful if it begins at the very onset of perimenopause and continues for around 3-4 years, until the transition to post-menopause is completed.

  1. Older Men

Hormone replacement therapy with testosterone can help men over 70 improve their quality of life in several ways. HRT prevents muscle loss – a frequent issue for males at this age.

At the same time, physicians noted good results in using hormone replacement therapy for other health issue related to aging, such as:

  • Metabolic syndrome
  • Osteoporosis
  • Decreased sex drive
  • Increasing body fat.

In younger men, HRT is generally used to treat hypogonadism, a condition that causes the body to produce low levels of testosterones. Hypogonadism can cause reduced fertility and feminization (lack or facial hair, breast enlargement, etc.)

  1. People Undergoing Gender Reassigning Treatment

Gender dysphoria is a condition in which the person has a different gender identity from their physical sex organs. In most cases, patients opt for gender reassignment surgery complemented by hormone replacement therapy.

In this case, HRT is used to give the person features corresponding to their chosen gender, such as the disappearance of facial hair for transgender women.