Hormone Replacement Therapy: Transdermal versus Oral Estrogen: MenopauseWize
Hormone replacement therapy comes in various forms, including pills, patches, creams, and gels.
Each formulation works differently and depending on how the hormone enters your body, it may have different benefits and risks.
For example, the pill form of estrogen can be effective for many women, but when we ingest any drug orally, it is processed through the liver, and in the case of oral estrogen this can give risk to a slightly higher risk of blood clots and hypertension.
Transdermal estrogen, on the other hand, is absorbed through the skin and is available in the form of patches, gels and sprays depending on where you live. Transdermal estrogen is delivered directly through the skin into the bloodstream. Therefore, bypassing the liver usually does not have the side effects that I mentioned earlier. And in general is considered a safer option for estrogen. PMID: 33506261
So, if you are someone who is currently on oral estrogen OR someone who is considering hormone replacement therapy, you might want to discuss transdermal estrogen with your doctor and perhaps switch over from oral estrogen.
Remember, if you have a uterus, you also need to take progesterone along with the estrogen to protect the lining of your uterus.
More about progesterone in my following post…
#menopausewize #menopause #perimenopause #hrt #hormonereplacementtherapy #menopausalhormonetherapt #mht #estrogenmatters #estrogen #progesterone
Dr Sukhpreet Patel is a registered MD (ObGyn) licensed to practice only in India. This channel is provided for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute providing medical advice or professional services. The information provided should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, and those seeking personal medical advice should consult with a licensed physician. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health provider regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read or heard on this channel. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room immediately. No physician-patient relationship is created by this channel or its use. Neither Sukhpreet Patel / NoPausingMe / MenopauseWize nor its employees, nor any contributor to this channel, makes any representations, express or implied, with respect to the information provided herein or to its use.