(NAPSA)—There could be good news for many women concerned about taking hormone pills to relieve menopausal symptoms. It may be possible to skip the pills and wear a patch. Better news: it may be just as effective, while leaving \ fewer hormonesin your system. A recent survey on women’sfeelings about hormone therapy was conducted by an educational Web ae Alternatives To Oral HormoneTherapy site, MenopauseRx.com.It discov- ered more than half of the women had bothersome menopause symptoms of hot flashes and night sweats despite taking oral medication. In addition, more than two- thirds also had mood andsleep disturbances and decreasedlibido. Yet, only 27 percent had ever tried a medical patch insteadofpills. The women surveyed also reported concern about the total dose of hormones they took. Recent research changed the way physicians and patients treat menopause symptoms. The current recommendations by the American College of Ob/Gyn advocates using hormone therapy for the relief of menopause symptoms at the lowest possible dose for the shortest time necessary. One advantageof topical therapy over traditional pill therapy is that the effective dose is usually lower. Estrogen patches (such as VivelleDot), for example, use less hormone because the medication is absorbed through the skin directly Most women don’t knowthat hor- monetherapy for menopause can be delivered through a medical patch. into the bloodstream to be delivered to the body. Pills require “extra” hormone because oral estrogen must be absorbed by the digestive system. As the estrogen is metabolized by theliver it is converted into a less active form before reaching the bloodstream. The skin delivers the hormone it absorbs moreeffectively. This can mean lower dosages of estrogen for the samerelief. What’s more, the patch releases estrogen evenly over time, main- taining a steady level throughout the day. This results in aroundthe-clock symptom relief. The pill provides a sudden increase in estrogen and then a drop-off; as a result, some women get erratic symptom relief. To learn more, visit www.Meno pauseRx.com/PatchTherapy.htm.
