{"id":88863,"date":"2026-03-02T11:12:53","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T18:12:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=88863"},"modified":"2026-04-13T10:11:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T16:11:28","slug":"hormone-therapy-menopause-signs-safety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/hormone-therapy-menopause-signs-safety\/","title":{"rendered":"The truth about hormone therapy. Do hormones reduce menopausal symptoms like hot flashes, mood swings and poor sleep?"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>
\"Most
Most healthy women under age 60 can safely use hormone therapy to ease symptoms like hot flashes and poor sleep. Studies show that for most women in their 50s, the risks of hormone therapy are low, and newer nonhormonal medications are available for those who cannot take hormones. Photo: Getty Images.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Menopause is having a moment, UCHealth\u2019s Dr. Nanette Santoro<\/a> likes to say. Conversations about hot flashes, night sweats and hormone therapy are everywhere, thanks to celebrity podcasts and endless social media posts, along with new government rules and research findings.<\/p>\n

And the biggest menopause news centers on hormone therapy medications.<\/p>\n

Leaders at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced that menopausal hormone therapy medications no longer require a \u201cblack-box\u201d warning<\/a>. That type of warning is the most serious safety alert for medications, and for more than two decades, many women have been afraid to use hormone therapy because they worried that the medication would increase their risk of getting breast cancer and heart disease.<\/p>\n

So, what is the truth about hormone therapy and cancer risk? How safe are hormone therapy medications? Do they help with challenging menopause symptoms? And what are the signs that you may need hormone therapy?<\/p>\n

To answer common questions about menopause and hormone therapy, we consulted with Santoro, who is also the E. Stewart Taylor Professor<\/a> of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine<\/a>. She is a nationally-recognized expert on menopause.<\/p>\n

The good news is that most women can safely take hormone therapy and find relief from hot flashes and other issues they may be experiencing, Santoro said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no need for women to suffer in silence with their symptoms,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMenopause is having a moment, and I think it\u2019s a good moment,\u201d Santoro told medical providers during an education session about menopause and hormone therapy at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s good to bring attention to the condition. It\u2019s universal for women.\u201d<\/p>\n

What is menopause, and when does the transition to menopause usually happen?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Menopause refers to the stage of life when a woman no longer has menstrual cycles. Santoro emphasized that this is \u201ca natural life passage.\u201d<\/p>\n

For many women, the symptoms associated with menopause \u2013 hot flashes, night sweats, mood changes, vaginal dryness and others \u2013 begin during perimenopause,<\/a> up to 10 years before they have their last period. During perimenopause, a woman\u2019s levels of the hormones estrogen and progesterone begin to fluctuate and decline as her monthly periods become irregular.<\/p>\n

Some women will notice they skipped a period, or their cycle becomes less predictable. This is the early transition to menopause.<\/p>\n

When a woman\u2019s periods start to last longer, or if a woman has gone two months or more without a period, she\u2019s getting closer to menopause. By the time a woman is 49, she\u2019s 95% likely to have her final period within four years, Santoro said.<\/p>\n

A woman enters menopause when she\u2019s gone one year without a period. Women also can go into menopause earlier if surgeons remove their ovaries or if they need chemotherapy or radiation treatments for ovarian or pelvic cancer.<\/p>\n

What is menopausal hormone therapy, and why do women use it?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Hormone therapy provides the body with estrogen and sometimes progesterone. Hormone therapy treats many of the symptoms of menopause, especially the dreaded hot flashes.<\/p>\n

Is hormone therapy, or HT, the same as menopausal hormone therapy?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Yes. For years, doctors and patients called hormone therapy hormone replacement therapy, or HRT, but most providers now avoid using the word \u201creplacement.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Dr.
Dr. Nanette Santoro<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt (the word replacement) implies that women without estrogen are deficient,\u201d Santoro said. \u201cIt also is used to create a fear-based narrative that sells hormones to women by putting them into a state of panic that they are losing something priceless when their ovaries produce less estrogen.\u201d<\/p>\n

These days, instead of using the term HRT, many doctors now call the medications hormone therapy, menopausal hormone therapy or female hormone therapy,<\/p>\n

And it’s important to know that about 25% of women shouldn\u2019t take hormone therapy, Santoro said.<\/p>\n

Who should not use menopausal hormone therapy?<\/strong><\/h2>\n