Exact Answer: Up to 12 weeks
The hormone replacement treatment is a great way to relieve the unpleasant symptoms of menopause. The treatment would be effective in treating symptoms such as sex drive, hot flushes, and vaginal dryness.
The woman would start feeling a difference within 6 to 12 weeks after the hormone replacement treatment. The treatment would work for replacing the hormone estrogen. There are mainly two types of hormone replacement treatment.
The full effects of the treatment would be felt and seen by the person after 3 months of the treatment.
How Long After Starting HRT Do You Feel A Difference?
| Hormone Replacement Treatment | How Long After Starting HRT Do You Feel A Difference |
| Minimum time | 6 weeks |
| Maximum time | 3 months |
The doctor would make a note of all the health conditions of the woman before starting the hormone replacement treatment. The age of the person would affect the effectiveness of the treatment.
The symptoms, the person is experiencing would be considered by the doctor to decide the type of HRT to be done. The women who are not allowed for HRT are mainly those having cancer. Women with blood clots are also not eligible for hormone replacement treatment.
Women who have menopause caused by medical treatment may be eligible for hormone replacement treatment. The treatment doesn’t use bioidentical hormones as they are not proven to be safe.
There are two most commonly used Hormone replacement therapy that can be done on women in their menopause. These are:
No Progestogen treatment- In this hormone replacement therapy, estrogen is used and not the progestogen. This therapy is mainly for women whose wombs have been removed. In this therapy, estrogen is only used for giving protection to the lining of the womb.
The women who had a hysterectomy in past years may get this type of HRT.
Combined HRT- This type of therapy focuses on both progestogen and estrogen levels. This therapy is done on women who have their wombs.
Continuous combined HRT- The women have to take both the level of progestogen and estrogen for around 28 days continuously. The person should not skip any single dose as it would affect the results of the treatment.
Sequential HRT- In this, the person has to take the progestogen and estrogen levels separately. In this, the person has to take estrogen-only for the first two weeks. Then the woman can take both progestogen and estrogen for new two weeks. The withdrawal monthly bleeds are very common during the sequential HRT.
Why Do You Feel A Differene This Long After Starting HRT?
The medicine for hormone replacement therapy would be in different forms. The form or dosage would depend on what kind of treatment the woman requires. The medication can be done in the form of patches. The woman has to apply the patches to the area below the waist.
These patches are great for both the complicated and normal symptoms of menopause. The tablets of hormone replacement treatment are taken once a day. The tablets can be available for people taking only estrogen or combined treatment.
The person would start observing impressive results of the therapy in 3 months. Hormone replacement therapy can be done using the gel form of medication. The person has to apply the gel to the upper arm.
The gel can also be applied to the inner thigh or shoulder where the area is clean. The muscles of the area should not break. The gel is available for the estrogen treatment and the person has to take progestogen separately.
The hormone replacement therapy may increase the chance of breast cancer in women who are above 50 years and are taking combined HRT. Women who are above 60 years may have a risk of cardiovascular diseases.
Conclusion
Women should never do hormone replacement therapy without the doctor’s recommendation. The doctor would be doing the whole body check-up of the woman before starting the therapy.
Deep vein thrombosis is another huge risk of hormone replacement therapy that every woman should be aware of. Hormone replacements therapy should not be done for the whole life as it has many risks. The doctor would ask the woman to have the therapy for 2 to 3 years.
References
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0090825807009778
- https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11920-014-0517-1.pdf
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