The hormones prescribed at and after menopause have powerful effects on many body systems. The very fact that they can dampen down hot flushes and night sweats in a matter of days, improve vaginal and urinary symptoms just as quickly, and change the course of heart disease and osteoporosis over a longer period is an indicator of their potency as well as the breadth of their impact. Unlike medications used in many other therapies, they do not have a narrow function. HRT affects many body systems, and it would be remiss of us to gloss over its downside or the uncertainties about it.
While HRT causes no major side effects in a majority of women, some others experience unwanted results that are totally unexpected. Sometimes women accept the risks of HRT because of an anticipated improvement in their quality of life in the immediate or distant future.
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