HRT? Should you go cold turkey and risk the heat?
A recent study of women who stopped using HRT indicates that women who gradually decreased their use of HRT had a lower rate of re-occurrence of their symptoms compared to women who just stopped.
The study published in the May/June issue of Menopause magazine looked at research gathered from the earlier Department of Veterans Affairs study.
According to abstract, of 836 participants who discontinued HT, 75% stopped cold turkey and 25% tapered. In bivariate analysis, taperers were more likely to report higher incomes, less smoking, and more use of alternatives such as vitamin E, other dietary supplements, and exercise or yoga for menopausal symptoms. They also more frequently reported discussions of menopausal symptoms with providers and used HT for menopausal symptoms and had longer median years of HT (P <= 0.05 for each comparison).
What can we learn? If you want to go off any hormone replacement program, a gradual transition is in order.
For sure taper off otherwise major symptoms like hot flashes and night sweats. For helpful hints to combat night sweats go to Help For Night Sweats. The tips have been a real lifesaver for many of my clients.