Hormone Replacement Therapy may be used to treat many common health issues. It can help with hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, and other symptoms of menopause. But can hormone replacement therapy cause anxiety? This blog will explain if anxiety and hormone replacement therapy are interlinked.
What Is Hormone Replacement Therapy
Hormone replacement therapy, or known as HRT, is a treatment that replaces the hormones that are no longer produced by your body after menopause. It can help reduce the symptoms of menopause and prevent bone loss.
Hormone Replacement Therapy is available as tablets, patches, creams, gels, vaginal rings, and injections. Oestrogen-only Hormone Replacement Therapy for women who’ve had their uterus removed, known as a hysterectomy. This type of Hormone Replacement Therapy can also be used to treat some menopausal symptoms if you don’t want to take estrogen and progesterone together.
There is also Oestrogen-Progestogen combination therapy for women who still have their uteri. It can be given as tablets, capsules, vaginal rings, or patches.
What Possible Side Effects Come From Hormone Replacement Therapy?
The possible side effects of hormone replacement therapy vary depending on a few factors, the particular hormone administered, and the amount of HRT you’re given. For example, some common side effects of estrogen replacement include an increased risk for blood clots, heart attack or stroke, stomach problems like bloating and constipation, and vaginal bleeding after menopause due to unopposed estrogen.
Symptoms Of Anxiety
There are a few symptoms of anxiety; you may experience a fast heartbeat, racing thoughts, trembling or shaking, sweating, shortness of breath or trouble breathing normally, excessive perspiration, upset stomach, dry mouth, and chills or heat flashes.
Anxiety is a scary feeling. It can make you feel out of control. Although it’s normal to feel anxious in certain situations, when worries, fears, and panic interfere with your daily activities, you may suffer from an anxiety disorder.
Are Hormone Replacement Therapy And Anxiety Connected?
It can be difficult to pinpoint the cause of anxiety disorders. Many factors lead up to the development of an anxiety disorder, but hormones are one of them.
There are several types of hormone replacement therapies, but most people are familiar with estrogen or hormone replacement therapy for menopause symptoms. Both men and women produce estrogen, but women produce less than men as they age. This can lead to uncomfortable symptoms such as hot flashes, weight gain, and vaginal dryness.
Now just like anything else, everyone is different when it comes to disorders. It’s not one size fits everyone. One woman on hormone replacement therapy may not feel any anxiety, while another may feel out of control.
There is no medical evidence that hormone replacement therapy makes a woman’s anxiety better or worse because the hormones tend to come from compound pharmacies that are more often than not tailored to your body. If you’re considering taking hormones to help alleviate the symptoms of menopause, there should not be any real concern that the hormones will make any anxiety you have worse or that the hormones will give you anxiety if you do not suffer from the disorder.
What Should I Do If I Experience Anxiety After Hormone Replacement Therapy?
If you experience anxiety after starting hormone replacement therapy, you must talk with your doctor as soon as possible. Your doctor may recommend stopping the treatment temporarily or permanently and switching to another type of hormone therapy. Sometimes, your doctor may recommend taking anti-anxiety medication to help with your anxiety symptoms while waiting for your body to adjust to its new hormonal levels after starting Hormone Replacement Therapy.