Hormone therapy is a controversial, often misunderstood treatment for menopausal symptoms. Learn about the latest research and recommendations for using supplemental estrogen and progesterone...

Women who have menopausal symptoms, such as hot flashes and night sweats, have probably heard that using estrogen or other hormones can provide relief. But there are also side effects and risks to consider.

In a woman's body, during the menopause transition – the months or years right before her final menstrual period – levels of several hormones, including estrogen and progesterone, go up and down irregularly as the ovaries begin working less well. Those changing hormone levels can result in symptoms such as hot flashes.

After a woman's last menstrual period, when her ovaries make much less estrogen and progesterone, some menopausal symptoms might disappear, but others may continue or get worse.

To help relieve these symptoms, some women take supplemental hormones. This approach used to be called hormone replacement therapy (HRT), but is now referred to as menopausal hormone therapy (MHT). The term describes several different hormone combinations available in a variety of forms and doses.

How would I use menopausal hormone therapy?
Some women take the hormone estrogen to relieve menopausal symptoms, but only those whose uterus has been removed can use it alone. A woman who still has a uterus must add progesterone or a progestin (synthetic progesterone). This combination lowers the chance of an unwanted thickening of the lining of the uterus and reduces the risk of uterine cancer, an uncommon, but possible result of using estrogen by itself.

There are different types of estrogen, including conjugated estrogens or estradiol, which is the most important type of estrogen in a woman's body before menopause. It comes in many forms, including a pill, implant, shot, skin patch, gel or spray, or vaginal tablet, cream or vaginal ring insert.

Other hormones, progesterone or progestin, can also be taken as a pill or patch – sometimes in the same one as the estrogen – as well as a shot, intrauterine device (IUD), gel or vaginal suppository.