HRT
Also known as menopause treatment
HRT, made easy.
Also known as menopause treatment
Secure delivery
UK clinicians
Given that there are so many treatments to choose from, pinning down the right HRT for you can be a bit daunting. We’re here to make it a whole lot simpler.
Talk to our experts about HRT, order HRT online and we’ll keep in touch with you to see how you’re getting on with your medication.
HRT, or hormone replacement therapy, is treatment that women take to help relieve menopausal symptoms like night sweats, hot flushes, vaginal dryness, poor sleep, brain fog, mood swings and lower sex drive.
How long you take it for can vary; many women take it for a year or two but some can take it for much longer than this. It’s a very individual thing. Certain types of HRT will also suit you more than others. Our clinician can talk you through the different options, and help you to decide which one is right for you.
As you enter the menopause, the levels of oestrogen that your body produces start to decrease, due to a shift in the balance of your sex hormones. This can cause symptoms such as hot flushes, night sweats and changes to your mood. HRT contains synthetic oestrogen, which makes up for the natural oestrogen that’s lost, and helps to tackle menopausal symptoms.
Combined forms of HRT also contain a second hormone: a synthetic form of progesterone. Without anything to keep it in check, oestrogen may increase your risk of getting endometrial cancer, as it can cause the womb lining to thicken more than it should. The progesterone in combined HRT offers protection from this, keeping the oestrogen in line and reducing the risk of womb cancer developing. It’s more convenient to take combined HRT as a pill or patch which contains both progesterone and oestrogen, but sometimes it’s better to take these separately.
If you’ve had a total hysterectomy though, because your womb has been removed, you’ll usually be prescribed oestrogen only HRT.
The menopause can also cause your bones to become more fragile and more prone to breaking. HRT can provide some protection against osteoporosis by helping the bones to stay strong. HRT isn’t a primary treatment for osteoporosis though, so if you’re looking to use it for this purpose, just let our clinician know and they can chat to you about it.
The major benefit of HRT is that it can help to ease many symptoms of the menopause (by as much as 75%, so quite a lot then).
The oestrogen and progesterone in combined HRT make a good team. The oestrogen helps to manage symptoms of the menopause whilst the progesterone helps to keep it in check and reduces your cancer risk.
And there’s the protection it can provide from osteoporosis too, when the bones in the body are more at risk of breaking or becoming brittle after the menopause.
How we source info.
When we present you with stats, data, opinion or a consensus, we’ll tell you where this came from. And we’ll only present data as clinically reliable if it’s come from a reputable source, such as a state or government-funded health body, a peer-reviewed medical journal, or a recognised analytics or data body. Read more in our editorial policy.
There are a number of different types of HRT available, and we can talk you through your options.
Tablets are one of the most widely used types of HRT. There are tablet options for both combined HRT and oestrogen only HRT, and you normally take them once every day. They do carry a slightly increased risk of blood clots and breast cancer than other forms of HRT treatment, but it is only a small increase (nine more women develop a blood clot for every 10,000 women each year). Because of this increased breast cancer risk, make sure you attend your breast cancer screening (mammogram) appointments.
If you find having to remember to take a tablet every day a bit inconvenient, skin patches may be a more low maintenance treatment for you and they’re safer for your heart than tablets. You stick HRT patches to your skin, and change them twice a week. They’re available as a combined HRT treatment or as an oestrogen only medication. Skin patches can be a strong option if you’re prone to side effects such as indigestion, and they don’t increase your risk at all of developing a blood clot, unlike tablets.
More and more women are starting to use oestrogen gel for menopausal symptoms, and it’s probably because it’s really easy to use. You just need to rub it onto your skin once a day. It doesn’t increase your blood clot risk either, but if you still have your womb, you’ll need to use an additional progesterone, to limit your chances of getting womb cancer.
They’re not particularly common, but you can also get a HRT implant, which releases oestrogen slowly into the body and doesn’t need to be replaced for several months at a time. You’ll need to take a separate progesterone though if you’ve still got your womb.
How we source info.
When we present you with stats, data, opinion or a consensus, we’ll tell you where this came from. And we’ll only present data as clinically reliable if it’s come from a reputable source, such as a state or government-funded health body, a peer-reviewed medical journal, or a recognised analytics or data body. Read more in our editorial policy.
How we source info.
When we present you with stats, data, opinion or a consensus, we’ll tell you where this came from. And we’ll only present data as clinically reliable if it’s come from a reputable source, such as a state or government-funded health body, a peer-reviewed medical journal, or a recognised analytics or data body. Read more in our editorial policy.
Have something specific you want to know? Search our info below, or ask our experts a question if you can’t find what you’re looking for.
Menopause hormone therapy: latest developments and clinical practice. Drugs in Context. NCBI. 2019; 8: 212551.
Use of hormone replacement therapy and risk of venous thromboembolism: nested case-control studies using the QResearch and CPRD databases. BMJ. 2019;364:k4810.
Short-term and long-term effects of tibolone in postmenopausal women.
Clonidine 25mcg Tablets BP - Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC) - (emc).
Table 1: Summary of HRT risks and benefits during current use and current use plus post-treatment from age of menopause up to age 69 years, per 1000 women with 5 years or 10 years use of HRT.
Table 1: Summary of HRT risks and benefits during current use and current use plus post-treatment from age of menopause up to age 69 years, per 1000 women with 5 years or 10 years use of HRT.
Use of hormone replacement therapy and risk of venous thromboembolism: nested case-control studies using the QResearch and CPRD databases. BMJ. 2019;364:k4810.
Table 1: Summary of HRT risks and benefits during current use and current use plus post-treatment from age of menopause up to age 69 years, per 1000 women with 5 years or 10 years use of HRT.
Oestrogen-only HRT patch. Change twice a week and reduce menopause symptoms up to 75%.
Simple treatment for menopause symptoms. Estradot is a HRT patch you change just twice a week.
Combined continuous HRT patch. Used it's been more than 12 months since your last period.
Combined continuous HRT pills, at a lower dose. Good if you're sensitive to hormones.
Combined treatment for menopause relief. Sequential pills for women who no longer have periods.
Sequential dose patch. Use to manage menopause symptoms if you still have periods.
Combined sequential HRT tablets. For treating menopause symptoms if you still have periods.
Oestrogen-only HRT patches and pills. For if you've had a hysterectomy, or used with progestins.
Combined HRT skin patch used by women who've had a year or more since their last period.
Like Elleste Duet, but continuous. Which makes it best suited to postmenopausal women.
The natural progesterone treatment. Taken alongside oestrogen to relieve symptoms of menopause.
Progestogen-only tablet to help symptoms of menopause. To be taken alongside an oestrogen for a combined HRT.
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Meet RuaraidhAlways read the leaflet that comes with your medication and tell us about any side effects you get.
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