Treatments and Drugs for Menopause
Treatments and drugs for menopause are taken to alleviate or eradicate any of the 34 symptoms of menopause such as hot flashes, depression, osteoporosis, and memory lapses. So, menopause itself does not need to undergo any medical attention, but its signs and symptoms need to. In general, there are three approaches to treat these symptoms of which, the treatments and drugs for menopause is the last approach. This last resort is for those who are suffering from the symptoms of menopause, which are severe in intensity. Depending upon the prevailing symptom and its severity and frequency, a particular drug or treatment is prescribed by the doctor when the other approaches fail to show any improvement in you.
These treatments and drugs for menopause aim at mitigating the signs and symptoms and at avoiding or reducing severe conditions that might take place as you grow older. But, you need to bear in mind that these treatments and drugs for menopause come with several risky side effects. So, when you visit your doctor or a medical specialist, you need to also discuss on these side effects too. Listed below are the possible treatments and drugs prescribed in menopause.
- Hormone Replacement Therapy: This is the most common therapy in the United States of America. It might be very quick in fighting the symptoms of menopause, but it might also put you at a high risk of side effects and different types of cancer. Yes, this is true! But, there is no doubt that estrogen therapy is among the most effective treatment for alleviating symptoms like hot flashes. Considering your personal and family medical past, your doctor will suggest the lowest dose of estrogen required to relieve you.
- Low-dose Antidepressants: In case of hot flashes, Venlafaxine (Effexor) that is an antidepressant belonging to the class of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) has proved itself much effective in the treatment. Other SSRIs are also quite useful in treating the symptoms and include fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem), paroxetine (Paxil, others), citalopram (Celexa), and sertraline (Zoloft). Antidepressants are also useful in treating the menopausal symptom of depression.
- Blood Pressure Medications: Catapres-TTS, 0.1–mg patch and Aldomet of 250 mg are effective in the treatment of hot flashes.
- Mild Sedatives: In this category, Bellergal-S is used to treat hot flashes.
- Seizure Medications: These are used for reducing the intensity and frequency of hot flashes.
- Gabapentin (Neurontin): This drug is mostly used for mitigating the symptom of seizures. Besides that, however, it is also seen that the drug can reasonably control hot flashes.
- Clonidine (Catapres and Others): This drug is available as a pill or patch and is generally used to control high blood pressure. But, in the case of menopause, it significantly brings down the frequency of hot flashes. However, the disliking side effects of this drug are common to affect the patient.
- Bisphosphonates: These drugs are useful in the prevention or treatment of osteoporosis. Here, doctors might prescribe the nonhormonal medications such as alendronate (Fosamax), risedronate (Actonel), and ibandronate (Boniva). It has been noticed that these medications successfully mitigate the bone loss and risk of fractures. In addition, these medicines have also outweighed the estrogen therapy as the vital treatment for osteoporosis in menopausal women. This means that women suffering from osteoporosis do not have to worry about the estrogen therapy’s side effects.
- Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators (SERMs): These refer to a set of drugs involving raloxifene (Evista) that offer the same benefits of the estrogen therapy for increasing the bone density in postmenopausal women. And yes, these medicines do not carry any risks associated with the estrogen therapy. So, women with osteoporosis need not worry at all, as they have some alternatives against the risky estrogen therapy.
- Vaginal Estrogen: It is understood from the name that this is used to relieve vaginal dryness. Estrogen can be taken in via a vaginal tablet, ring, or cream. In this treatment, only a small amount of estrogen is emitted, which is taken away by the vaginal tissue. It is also useful to treat or alleviate a few urinary symptoms.
Kindly note that taking any of the above drugs and treatments need guidance from a doctor. So, never try to take these on your own.
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More Topics
- Complications in MenopauseMenopause is the ultimate end of the menstruation cycles. As menopause is characterized by the declined levels of the estrogen and progesterone, the body witnesses many simultaneous complications in menopause that are tough to accept and challenge. These complications are all related to the overall health of the body such as heart disease and osteoporosis.
- Home Remedies for MenopauseDo not misunderstand the title. There are no home remedies for menopause as such, but they are actually for its signs and symptoms. This is because menopause does not require any remedy, as it is a natural process. But, as this natural shift brings certain changes in the body, the body reacts to it by generating a myriad of symptoms, as high as 34. However, it is not necessary for a woman to pass through all of them.
- Alternative Treatments for MenopauseTreating menopause symptoms, rather menopause, involve a three-tier approach starting from the least risky to most risky options in terms of side effects. The alternative treatments for menopause make up for the second approach among the three, which bear little risk. They are regarded as the most effective options to deal with the menopause symptoms.
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