Hormone replacement after hysterectomy

Hysterectomies are quite common (maybe too common) and, as a result, over 30% of women in the U.S. age 50 or older have had one!

That operation may disrupt hormones or plunge a woman into menopause. But symptoms can be alleviated with hormone therapy (HT) — currently acknowledged to be safe to take for at least 10 years after your last period, although there’s still concern about an increased risk for breast cancer. However, for women without a uterus, bioidentical estrogen alone can be used and randomized studies found that it actually decreases the risk of breast cancer. And now an observational study suggests that staying on estrogen-only replacement for up to 20 years may be a safe, smart move (as we predicted in “YOU: Staying Young”).

Researchers followed 51 women who had hysterectomies along with removal of their ovaries and fallopian tubes and monitored their health for 20 years as they used a transdermal estradiol patch. They showed improved vertebrae density, their good HDL cholesterol went up and lousy LDL went down. In addition, they experienced sustained decreases in hot flashes, insomnia, muscle, joint and back pain, vaginal dryness, and urologic symptoms. More good news: Only one 60-year-old developed breast cancer (less than the three anticipated due to the age and size of the group). So, the researchers concluded “the use of longterm HT was not associated with breast cancer in our cohort.”

If you’ve had a hysterectomy and are interested in long-term HT, talk to your doctor(s) — and push them to look at the latest data.

Dr. Mike Roizen is the founder of www. longevityplaybook.com, and Dr. Mehmet Oz is global advisor to www.iherb.com, the world’s leading online health store. Roizen and Oz are chief wellness officer emeritus at Cleveland Clinic and professor emeritus at Columbia University, respectively. Together they have written 11 New York Times bestsellers (four No. 1’s).

King Features Syndicate