Going off estrogen patch

When you quit HRT rapidly your body does not have the time to begin producing more of the hormone on its own as it does with gradually decreasing the dose. A time when stopping cold turkey is a good idea is when your body is having a severely negative reaction to the hormone that could be potentially dangerous to you and your health.

Many women begin estrogen replacement therapy to alleviate symptoms of menopause. When estrogen replacement therapy is stopped it is common for postmenopausal women to continue experiencing the menopausal symptoms they had before from the low levels of estrogen. Some of these potential side effects include hot flashes, night sweats, mood changes, higher risk of bone fracture, and others.

The intensity of the side effects varies between women, so while some may experience intense symptoms of menopause, others may have decreased symptoms than they had prior to beginning the therapy. Some women even report a decreased quality of life when hormone replacement therapy is stopped.

Getting off estrogen can also result in estrogen withdrawal, which can have impacts primarily on mood. Luckily, there are some things that can be done to help estrogen withdrawal symptoms including taking antidepressants.

Similar to estrogen, many men use testosterone during the aging process when their levels of testosterone naturally decrease. However, if you decide to stop testosterone replacement therapy, there could be some side effects. Testosterone withdrawal can result in muscle pains, joint pains, headaches, feeling tired, not being able to sleep, and anorexia. There are also effects on the brain and mood including labile emotions, irritability, and depression.

If you experience side effects you should reach out to your health care professional to see if something can be done to help. In addition, over time, you may begin to develop the same symptoms that you had previous to starting HRT. Since the levels of hormones are constantly changing in the body, the hormones that you previously took will not remain.

So, if you previously had issues with low muscle mass, slow hair growth, and decreased libido, it may be possible that you could experience these side effects again. Human growth hormone is taken by both adults and children with hormone deficiencies.

Human growth hormone is essential for the growth and development of all people and to maintain growth as well. Growth hormone is not something that is usually taken forever, at least at the same dose. Since growth rates change over the lifespan, GH is constantly being adjusted. When growth hormone is stopped, the growth will likely decrease within a short period of time.

Any other symptoms that were in existence prior to beginning the therapy will likely return such as low muscle development and increased fat stores. You may also notice insomnia and a decreased metabolic rate and cardiac output.

This needs to be carefully monitored by your healthcare provider to make sure your body is still performing important daily processes. There are also potential issues about how HRT affects the bone — does it actually make it stronger and healthier in the short or longer term?

I have not seen any data that convinces me of its long-term safety. I think a lot of assumptions have been made about bioidentical HRT just because it is chemically the same as our own sex hormones, and in a lower dose.

But if you are being exposed to levels higher than you would biologically expect to be at a given point in your life then logically that must invite some risk. In practice, I see women just as hooked on the bioidentical variation than on standard HRT.

If it is strong enough to make a difference, it is strong enough to run the risk of side effects, and to notice its withdrawal. The degree of difficulty will vary as each women and her situation is different. There is a lot you can do to ease the transition in terms of self-help. As a practitioner I have been supporting women through this process for years.

For some women, self-help strategies are enough. For those that struggle, we can offer extra support. There are many aspects to consider and if you are a colleague, or just really interested, you can read an article I wrote about HRT Withdrawal Support Strategies for Homeopaths. If you are taking HRT and thinking about stopping, prepare well and put as much support in place as you can. For those women who are on HRT and not ready to stop yet, I would suggest being as health-minded as possible.

Also paying attention to your emotional life and quality of life. Because when you stop HRT, issues can magnify. And exploring this will ease that transition. Menopause ; Duration of menopausal vasomotor symptoms over the menopause transition.

Moderate to severe vasomotor and sexual symptoms remain problematic for women aged 60 to 65 years. Kaunitz AM. Extended duration use of menopausal hormone therapy, Menpause ; JAMA ;