Hormone therapy carries some risks

When Leverenz was first prescribed hormone therapy last year, she kept worrying about the risks she’d heard about — then finally decided: “I can’t live like this anymore.”

With a combination of three medications, her anxiety lifted, her sleep improved, her joint pain and hot flashes went away.

“I just feel like myself again,” she said.

Doctors say many patients hesitate to try hormones, and they try to reassure them.

Women can use estrogen therapy for seven years – and estrogen-progestogen therapy for three to five years – before breast cancer risk goes up, according to the Menopause Society.

The group says both estrogen therapy and estrogen-progestogen therapy increase the risk of stroke, which goes away soon after stopping hormones. The risk of blood clots rises if you take hormones by mouth, but may be lower if you use a patch, gel or spray.

“A lot of these risks are small,” said Dr. Nanette Santoro, an OB-GYN at the University of Colorado. “And they have to be weighed against the benefit of symptom relief.”

Age, medical history and how long women stay on the hormones are also considerations. Many women take them for around five years, and those who’ve had a stroke or certain other conditions may be advised against using them at all.