• Mood swings
• Depression and anxiety
• Irritability
• Irregular periods
But some women have trouble with the extra doses of estrogen from hormone replacement therapy. A 2002 study by the Women’s Health Initiative was troubling and raised concerns in the medical community. That study indicated that an added risk of heart problems, stroke, blood pressure issues and other maladies was tied to hormone replacement therapy.
Those findings led to a cutback in the number of prescriptions doctors made for HRT. But now, that stance is being reevaluated, as new evidence suggests that hormone replacement therapy for women early in menopause has less risk than for those who are post-menopause, which comprised a large number of the 2002 study subjects.
THE BEST CANDIDATES FOR HRT
Most woman are considered fully menopausal around ages 51 to 52, marked by the cessation of periods for 12 consecutive months and presuming there are no other factors, such as surgery to remove the ovaries and/or uterus, chemotherapy or radiation treatments that bring an earlier onset.