HRT - Medical Malpractice Lawyer
If you choose our lawyers to represent you in your Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) compensation claim, we will provide committed and vigorous representation on your behalf. You will receive a complete professional service from lawyers who deal with claiming compensation for HRT errors involving medical malpractice. If you would like advice at no cost without obligation from a medical malpractice lawyer just call the helpline or complete the contact form or email our offices and an HRT lawyer will telephone you at the first possible opportunity.
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Hormone Replacement Therapy - HRT Overview
Hormone replacement therapy used to be used on a regular basis to treat symptoms of menopause and to help with long term cardiac health. Then a number of large clinical trials revealed that hormone replacement therapy was filled with health risks. This meant that many women stopped taking hormone replacement therapy or HRT and it became an individual decision between patient and doctor as to whether to use this form of therapy.
HRT medication contains female hormones. They are designed to replace the hormones lost at the time of menopause. It used to be a common medication regimen for women who suffered severe side effects of menopause. It was also believed to counteract heart disease and prevent dementia.
After the adverse health studies, hormone replacement therapy was no longer used routinely to treat menopause. Doctors believe that this type of therapy may still be helpful for some women.
There are benefits of HRT that depend on how you take the medicines. The types of medication include:
- Systemic estrogen. This comes in a patch, pill form, cream, gel or spray form of the estrogen. This is the most effective treatment for hot flashes and night sweats. It can also take care of vaginal itching and dryness. The FDA also still approves of HRT for the treatment of osteoporosis. Bisphosphonates are preferred medications for osteoporosis by most doctors, however.
- There are low dose vaginal products. These come in a ring form, tablet or cream form. They are used to correct vaginal symptoms and urinary tract symptoms. The systemic effects are minimal and they do not have effectiveness in treating hot flashes or night sweats.
It is no longer recommended to use HRT simply for hot flashes and night sweats. It may be able to decrease heart disease risk when taken in the early months and years upon the onset of menopause. This was shown in a Danish study and in the KEEPS study in younger postmenopausal women. For those women who naturally experience menopause, estrogen is given along with progesterone to balance the estrogen. Women who have had a hysterectomy do not need to take the progesterone.
In taking estrogen and progesterone therapy, there are several risks to health that have been discovered:
- Stroke
- Blood clots
- Heart disease
- Breast cancer
A related trial of estrogen alone in women who had a hysterectomy didn’t show any effect on heart disease and breast cancer but with similar symptoms taking combination medication on stroke and blood clots. Breasts look denser when taking estrogen and progestin so that breast cancer can be more difficult to detect. If taken over several years, it also increases the risk for breast cancer.
Who might be a good candidate for estrogen replacement therapy? There are women who, despite the risks, are good candidates for estrogen replacement therapy. These include healthy women who have the following:
- Moderate to severe hot flashes or related menopausal symptoms
- Have osteoporosis unresponsive to other therapies
- Had premature menopause (before 40) or had the ovaries removed prematurely
Women who have early menopause and who didn't take estrogen therapy until past the age of 45 carry a greater risk of osteoporosis, early death, dementia, Parkinson's disease, anxiety, depression, dementia, and sexual dysfunction. Because early menopause lowers the chances of getting ovarian cancer and breast cancer, the protective benefits of estrogen replacement therapy definitely outweigh the risks.
Who shouldn’t have estrogen replacement therapy? Those women who have a history of ovarian cancer, breast cancer, blood clots in the deep veins of the leg or lungs, endometrial cancer, liver disease or stroke shouldn't take estrogen replacement therapy; women who have had a late onset of menopause or who aren't bothered by menopause do not need to be on estrogen replacement therapy.
HRT Medical Malpractice Lawyers
The medical profession which includes doctors, nurses and hospital technicians usually provides a caring service with a high standard of excellence however there are occasions when things do go wrong. Our litigation service is completely without charge and our medical malpractice lawyers will deal with your case using a contingency fee arrangement which means that if you don’t succeed in receiving a financial settlement then your HRT lawyer won't get paid.
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The author of the substantive medical writing on this website is Dr. Christine Traxler MD whose biography can be read here