North American Menopause Society Reaffirms its Positions that Hormone Therapy is an Effective Treatment for Menopause

The North American Menopause Society (NAMS) recently reaffirmed its position that hormone  therapy remains the most effective treatment for the symptoms of menopause

The position statement clarifies an important distinction between estrogen plus progestin and estrogen alone in terms of benefits and risks for the treatment of menopause related symptoms and the prevention of disease.  Their findings are good news for millions of women suffering the symptoms of menopause. 

The NAMS statement comes after a decade of debate and confusion surrounding hormone replacement therapy, which came under heavy scrutiny after health studies such as the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) linked hormone replacement therapy to increased risk of breast cancer and heart disease in women.

A video statement accompanying the position paper, Dr. JoAnn Manson, the current NAMS President and Professor of Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School called the findings “reassuring news for many women.”  She stressed that the key point of the statement is that hormone therapy should be individualized and that there is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to hormone therapy decision making, which should depend very largely on a woman’s preferences, the severity of her symptoms, and her personal risk factor.

Menopause is a normal, natural life event that usually occurs between the ages of 40 and 55, although some women reach menopause early (before 40) due to the surgical removal of the uterus and ovaries, chemotherapy or medical treatment, or other natural causes. 

Menopausal symptoms occur as a result of the imbalance and loss of the sex hormones: estrogen, progesterone and testosterone as well as thyroid.  These hormones work as a team, fitting together to determine our wellbeing, life perspective, weight, sexuality, mood, sleep, ability to focus.  Hormonal balance can also effect how much we enjoy life, how we age and how long we live.

When one hormone is imbalanced or just unavailable to the cells that need it for optimum function, the entire team suffers.  Symptoms of hormonal imbalance may include weight gain, restlessness, decreased memory, loss of libido, pruritus, rashes, erythema, insomnia, vaginal dryness, recurrent urninary tract infections, joint pains, urinary incontinence, hot flashes and mood swings, among others.

For more information on menopause and the recent statement by NAMS download the patient handout.

To find a local doctor that can help you relieve the symptoms of menopause and understand whether bioidentical hormone therapy is right for you, use RestoreMD's Physician Locator above, to find an expert bioidentical hormone doctor near you.

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