Your Health

Facts Women Must Know To Achieve Menopausal Symptom Relief

Posted 8/12/2010

(NAPSI) - Getting the facts about menopause can help make the transition easier, especially if you also have a chronic medical condition such as cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes. Many women living with a chronic condition mistakenly assume they cannot take menopausal hormone therapy. However, this may not be the case.

To help women learn more, The Female Patient®, a leading medical journal, launched a new edition of its multimedia program, The Buzz on Bioidenticals. The program is available online at www.thebuzzonbios.com and is supported by an educational grant from Ascend Therapeutics, Inc. You can also follow The Buzz on Bioidenticals on Twitter and Facebook to receive up-to-date information about menopausal hormone therapy. By visiting the program's site, you will find a new educational tool kit, including on-demand Webinar discussions with leading menopause experts, a digital edition of The Buzz on Bioidenticals magazine, tips from well-known experts and more.

Get the Facts

Many women in need of estrogen hormone therapy want a "bioidentical" product, which uses a form of estrogen (estradiol) that is the same kind a woman's ovaries naturally produce. Most women automatically think they must have a compounded product (one made at a local pharmacy and not FDA-approved) to have a product that is "bioidentical." This is not true. There are many FDA-approved menopausal estrogen therapies that contain estradiol and are therefore considered "bioidentical." There are significant advantages to FDA-approved products as they have demonstrated safety and efficacy through clinical testing and are held to consistent, high-quality manufacturing standards.

FDA-approved menopausal products are available with various delivery systems. Some are taken orally while others are absorbed via the skin (transdermal) or applied vaginally. While all hormone therapies have risks, studies suggest that FDA-approved, transdermally applied products (which all contain estradiol and are considered "bioidentical") may have fewer risks and several advantages over oral products, especially for women with a chronic condition. For example, oral hormones need to contain more estrogen than transdermals because some of the drug is not used when it passes through the liver, meaning that lower doses of hormones can be used in transdermal therapy than in oral therapy. Medical experts recommend women take the lowest effective dose of estrogen therapy possible, and for the shortest possible time, to relieve menopausal symptoms. Additionally, as only small amounts of medication enter the bloodstream with transdermal therapies, the products are also not associated with interactions from other medications you may be taking, which is often seen with oral therapies.

Clinical studies have demonstrated other advantages as well. A recent study conducted in France showed that transdermal therapy did not increase the risk of blood clots, while oral estrogen increased the risk four-fold. Transdermal therapy has also not been found to increase triglyceride levels, as researchers have seen with oral therapies, perhaps ultimately leading to coronary heart disease (and, in turn, increasing one's risk of having a heart attack or stroke).

"If you are experiencing menopausal symptoms, talk with your healthcare professional. It is important that you individualize your approach to hormone therapy based on your symptoms, risk factors and personal preferences to determine what options you have," says Margo Ullmann, publisher of The Female Patient. "Never assume you cannot take a particular type of therapy without having a discussion with your healthcare professional, as this may lead to unnecessary suffering from the symptoms of menopause."

A Closer Look at Bioidentical Hormone Therapy

1. You don't need to go to a compounding pharmacy to obtain a "bioidentical" therapy.

2. Most FDA-approved bioidentical products are covered under major health plans and can be obtained from your local drugstore.

3. A wide range of doses and formulations of FDA-approved hormone therapies are available, so there is no need to risk using a compounding pharmacy.

Visit The Buzz on Bioidenticals program at www.thebuzzonbios.com for more information.

"The decision to take hormone therapy -- and what's best -- is very personal, especially when also managing a chronic condition," explains Margo Ullmann, publisher of The Female Patient. "With this new edition of The Buzz on Bioidenticals, we hope to provide the tools to help women take charge of their health at menopause and achieve hot flash relief."