Hormone Therapy: is there a time limit?

Donna (age 60) asks:

My new doctor reviewed my chart and said I need to stop hormone therapy. Is there a time limit?

Hormone therapy is an individualized protocol. While there is no time limit, regular reviews with your prescriber are necessary.

The short answer, Donna, is no--there is no time limit.

Now here is what you need to know:

• Hormone therapy is a very individualized protocol that considers a number of health markers before your doctor prescribes. That means that the length of time an individual stays on hormone therapy is going to be unique to you! Example: My sister reached menopause at age 36. She is a healthy 66 year old today. Her timeline for staying on hormone therapy is going to look very different from mine (I started hormone therapy at age 48, I reached menopause at 49, and I have no plans to stop unless my health changes/requires it) and very different from yours.

• The North American Menopause Society (July 2022 Positioning Statement on Hormone Therapy; you can read it in full at Menopause.org) recommends a guideline for the best window of opportunity for women to START hormone therapy, and that is: within 10 years of menopause and under the age of 60.

• One of the key reasons for this when-to-start guideline is to maximize the window of opportunity to prevent bone loss and osteoporosis.

• Please understand: this is a guideline for when to start hormone therapy and not a deadline (again, everyone's protocol should be customized for them, and if you are 60+ and reading this thinking it is too late for you, I invite you to have an informed conversation with a women's midlife hormone expert before making those types of health decisions.)

• There is no guideline for when hormone therapy should be stopped (stopping hormone therapy will be a shared decision between you and your provider based on multiple factors and considerations.)

Member Question about Hormone Therapy

• Donna, have your doctor reach out to me for a list of reliable, credible resources OR direct them here: Page 784 Menopause, Vol. 29, No. 7, 2022: "Hormone therapy does not need to be routinely discontinued in women aged older than 60 or 65 years."

*LMP = last menstrual period

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LEARN MORE at NestMembership.com (now available for you to watch on-demand: www.YouDeserveToFeelAmazing.com + its many bonus resources--including my popular Hormone Therapy FAQ!

Menopause Hormone Therapy (MHT) refers primarily to progesterone and estradiol therapy.

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