MENOPAUSE

What is the right duration?

• Not indefinitely. Consistent with the guidelines of The North American Menopause Society and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists,^20,21 HT should not be prescribed indefinitely, but should be tailored to a woman’s need for treatment of bothersome menopausal symptoms.⁴

What if hot flashes reheat?

• More than half of the women with vasomotor symptoms at randomization to active conjugated equine estrogen+medroxyprogesterone acetate also reported these symptoms after discontinuing use of the study pills, concluded a study of symptom experience after stopping HT.²²

Because we cannot predict in an individual woman how long menopausal symptoms will persist, and such symptoms often return after HT is discontinued,²² women with bothersome menopausal symptoms and their clinicians should collaboratively decide on use of HT based on an understanding of all the risks and benefits of this therapy.²¹

Dr. Kauntiz has received funding from Barr Laboratories, Berlex, Johnson & Johnson, and the National Institutes of Health. He is a speaker or consultant for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals, Barr Laboratories, Berlex, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, and Procter & Gamble; and holds stock with Noven, Roche, and Sanofi-Aventis.