Many women dread the idea of reaching menopause. While it's an unavoidable part of life if you're a woman, that doesn't mean that all of the negative side effects have to be tolerated. Many women opt to get hormone replacement therapy in order to supplement the hormones that their body is no longer producing as much of as menopause begins. If you're curious about what kind of benefits these hormones could provide you, here's what you should know.
Bone Density
One problem that women go through with menopause is weakening bones. While weight training, exercise, diet, and some medications can help to maintain or even increase bone mass, menopause has a negative effect on it. Women's bones tend to lose a considerable amount of mass after menopause is reached, which can increase the risk of experiencing bone fractures or osteoporosis.
By introducing more estrogen into the body to make up for what it's no longer producing, this symptom can be delayed, allowing your bones to stay stronger for longer.
Hot Flashes
One common problem that women report with menopause is the existence of hot flashes. These are a problem where the abnormal levels of hormones cause the body to heat up, then rapidly cool down. Hot flashes can be miserable for women, as they can cause severe sweating and discomfort. They also often strike at night, which can make sleeping difficult and may mean changing your sheets and clothing much more often in order to compensate for the amount of sweat your body is producing. Unfortunately, while antiperspirants can help to prevent sweat from exiting certain parts of your body, there's no way to stop the sweating entirely, unless you reduce hot flashes entirely with hormone therapy.
More Comfortable Sex
Finally, many women have more active libidos later in life, but this can essentially backfire, as intercourse is often uncomfortable or painful for women at this age. This is because the natural lubrication in the reproductive organs diminishes as the hormones shift. Women are also likely to experience a drop in the elasticity of the vagina, which can make penetration uncomfortable or even cause tearing. However, by restoring estrogen levels to their normal levels, these symptoms can be avoided or delayed, depending on what your doctor feels is best for you.
Hormone replacement therapy is a safe method of avoiding these symptoms and keeping your health stable. If you think it sounds good, then talk to a doctor. They can provide more information about hormone replacement therapy.
