Understanding HRT: The What, Why, and How of Hormone Replacement

Mysterious, transformative, and unavoidable: menopause certainly lives up to its reputation. This period is full to the brim with changes that can feel like a rollercoaster ride you never quite signed up for. While some of these changes can be empowering and life-giving, others can be difficult to navigate, adding increased tension to managing your wellbeing on a day-to-day basis. Fluctuating hormones can result in outcomes that feel well beyond your control (or your expectations).

This is where Hormone Replacement Therapy enters the conversation for many women, offering hope where there previously felt like a lack of autonomy or treatment pathways. For a multitude of women, HRT is a game-changer throughout their menopausal years – but far from a ‘magic pill’, HRT requires careful consideration, expert treatment, and a holistic approach to menopausal health management. We’re diving into the what, why, and how of hormone replacement therapy so that you’re equipped to make these decisions for yourself.

Starting at the beginning: What is HRT, and why do women use it?

As you begin to enter into your menopausal years, your body begins to experience its own unique mix of changes. From hot flushes that can feel like they arrive entirely out of the blue to mood swings that can be extremely challenging to regulate, these changes are clear signals from your body: something is changing, and your attention is required.

This is where HRT can step into the mix. Think of Hormone Replacement Therapy as a soothing assistant: where your body was naturally carrying its own workload of producing natural hormones before, HRT can share the load, introducing replacement hormones to help regulate what’s taking place within your internal environment. Here, HRT can help to replenish what’s naturally diminishing, including in your supplies of oestrogen and progesterone. 

There can be confusion around whether HRT is about ‘silencing’ menopause. In reality, choosing HRT is more about reclaiming the rhythm of your hormones, helping to provide equilibrium and regulation where menopausal changes are leading to extreme fluctuations and uncertainties. 

Confused about what HRT is and whether it’s right for you during menopause? At the Australian Menopause Centre, our expert team is ready to support you in every part of your menopausal health management needs.

How is HRT personalised?

Beginning an HRT journey is all about candid conversations, working closely with trusted healthcare experts to understand where you’re at in your menopausal journey, your body’s health history, and your individual healthcare needs. During this time, your healthcare provider can work as a matchmaker, pairing your individual needs with very specific forms of HRT. There is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to HRT – this highly personalised form of treatment needs to be customised to suit your lifestyle, your menopausal journey, and your individual health needs.

Of course, HRT isn’t an overnight solution. Once you begin this form of treatment, regular check-ins with your healthcare provider can help to tweak your treatment for maximised outcomes, making sure your journey is as best suited to your needs as possible.

HRT keeps good company

Far from a single solution, HRT often works best when it’s keeping good company – a balanced diet, a regular exercise schedule, and low stress levels. These lifestyle tools are crucial when it comes to giving your body the best support possible through the ebbs and flows of menopausal journeys.

A diet that’s loaded with calcium and vitamin D, for example, helps to complement HRT’s bone-strengthening abilities, while foods that are heavy in phytoestrogens (like soy and flaxseeds) can support you by naturally mimicking oestrogen’s effects on your body.

Regular exercise during menopause isn’t just about keeping fit. As menopause can accelerate ageing and other longevity-related concerns, exercise can help to protect your bones, heart, muscles, and more, fuelling the best health outcomes possible for the long term. Whether you’re turning to yoga to reduce your stress and increase your wellbeing, cardio to support your heart health, or strength training to reduce the risk of osteoporosis, these varying forms of exercise are necessary tools in your resource kit for fighting back against menopause’s health challenges.

Finally, the art of managing stress is now more important than ever. High stress has proven links to exacerbating menopausal symptoms like hot flushes and mood swings, creating even more challenges in managing your day-to-day health throughout this season. By building mindfulness, meditation, and stress-reducing activities into your day-to-day, you can keep your cortisol levels lowered and give HRT complementary support in managing your health. 

HRT with the Australian Menopause Centre

We’ve worked with Australian women for decades who often come to us with this common question: ‘is there a menopause treatment that works?’. With a team of leading menopause experts behind us, we’re glad to offer these women hope with the knowledge that body-identical hormone treatments can provide significant support throughout menopause. 

Whether you’re suffering from hot flushes, night sweats, low libido, poor sleep, a lack of energy, or more, these symptoms can be a sign that it’s time to book an obligation-free bulk-billed consultation with our team. 

We believe best practice menopause treatment should be patient-centred and specific for her needs. This is why our treatment options, dosing, and length of treatments are all based on the individual’s symptoms, circumstances, and expectations. 

The results? Certain forms of relief may arrive quickly, while others may take 1-2 months to reach a point of seeing change. With our regular check-ins and constant guidance, however, we give patients the peace of mind of knowing that they’re in the highest quality of clinical hands, moving towards a shared goal of relief from menopause’s irregular and unreliable symptoms. 

Conclusion

HRT can offer a transformative experience for many women in the heat of menopausal symptoms, but the highest quality of care is required to deliver personalised, patient-centred outcomes. That’s where our decades of supporting Australian women come into the mix, ready to offer you the same care. Find the support you need for every element of your menopausal journey at the Australian Menopause Centre.