You’re nervous, you’re concerned, and you’re more than a little worried. Why? Because you’re not sure what side effects to expect if you undergo treatment.
While hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is associated with a number of common side effects, these vary depending on the specifics of your treatment. That is, the symptoms of hormonal imbalance vary wildly depending on the patient, and so do the side effects.
The majority of side effects that are common to estrogen, progesterone, or testosterone replacement therapies, for example, tend to improve over time. For these reasons it’s often worth persevering with treatment over a longer time frame in order to see how your body reacts.
Common side effects include:
- Acne
- Nausea
- Swelling
- Back Pain
- Headaches
- Indigestion
- Depression
- Leg Cramps
- Mood Swings
- Abdominal Pain
- Breast tenderness
- Bloating
Note: The side effects listed above tend to pass within a week or two, but if symptoms persist your GP may recommend that you switch to a different method of taking your hormones, lower your dosage, or change the specific medication you’re taking.
Can Hormone Replacement Therapy really cause weight gain?
It’s a commonly held belief that hormone replacement therapy can often lead to unexpected weight gain, but there’s currently no hard evidence available to support these claims.
Instead, women currently undergoing treatment often gain weight due to Menopause. As treatments tend to coincide with this time in a woman’s life, it’s easy to confuse the two, and blame one on the other.
Should I be worried about these side effects?
Instead of turning to Dr Google, request your free personalized hormone evaluation and then sit down with your GP or hormone doctor and ask them to bring you up to speed on the benefits, risks, and hazards involved if you were to undergo bioidentical hormone therapy.
Feeling under the weather? Here’s 3 easy ways to alleviate any side effects?
- Taking an oral hormone treatment? Taking your daily dose with food can help cut down on indigestion and nausea.
- Suffering from breast tenderness? A low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet can help alleviate your discomfort.
- Legs cramping? Regular exercise and stretching may lessen their occurrence.