Menopause & perimenopause
Can hormone replacement therapy (HRT) stop menopause from happening?
No. We can’t stop menopause. Beginning two to ten years before your periods truly end, your ovaries will begin to fluctuate in the amount of hormones they produce. Ultimately, once in menopause, they will stop releasing eggs and slow their production of progesterone and estradiol (ovarian estrogen). This decline in hormone production can happen gradually for some and drastically for others. The fluctuation and eventual decline in hormone levels are often what cause the symptoms of perimenopause and menopause.
HRT can augment your levels of estrogen and progesterone (and possibly cut down on your symptoms), and it may even induce false periods, but it cannot cause you to produce eggs or allow you to reverse menopause.
There are various ways to take hormone therapy, with the two approaches being either cyclical or daily dosing. If you choose to take it in a cyclical or sequential fashion rather than daily, you will be introducing progesterone in the way that it would be released naturally during a 28-day menstrual cycle. This can induce withdrawal bleeding, but these are not necessarily true periods. On the other hand, if you opt to take a continuous or daily dose of HRT (estrogen and progesterone), the usual outcome is that you will not have “periods” (withdrawal bleeds). There may be some spotting or bleeding when HRT is introduced or changed, but this will usually subside within 6–12 months of daily exposure.
Replacing your body’s hormones does not stop menopause from occurring. It simply masks some of the important signals Mother Nature intends for you to receive. While this may be necessary for a short period of time relative to quality of life issues, we encourage you to view menopause as an opportunity to listen to your body and learn how to take better care of yourself. Without the masking effects of estrogen, it is the ideal time for you to take control of your own health.
For more information, read our articles on HRT (hormone replacement therapy).
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Original Publication Date: 02/23/2007
Last Modified: 08/17/2009
Principal Author: Marcy Holmes, NP, Certified Menopause Clinician