Estrogen and Progestin (Hormone Replacement Therapy …

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pronounced as(ess' troe jen) (pro jes' tin)

Hormone replacement therapy may increase the risk of heart attack, stroke, breast cancer, and blood clots in the lungs and legs. Tell your doctor if you smoke and if you have or have ever had breast lumps or cancer; a heart attack; a stroke; blood clots; high blood pressure; high blood levels of cholesterol or fats; or diabetes. If you are having surgery or will be on bedrest, talk to your doctor about stopping estrogen and progestin at least 4 to 6 weeks before the surgery or bedrest.

If you experience any of the following side effects, call your doctor immediately: sudden, severe headache; sudden, severe vomiting; sudden partial or complete loss of vision; speech problems; dizziness or faintness; weakness or numbness of an arm or a leg; crushing chest pain or chest heaviness; coughing up blood; sudden shortness of breath; or calf pain.

Talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits of taking estrogen and progestin.

Combinations of estrogen and progestin are used to treat certain symptoms of menopause. Estrogen and progestin are two female sex hormones. Hormone replacement therapy works by replacing estrogen hormone that is no longer being made by the body. Estrogen reduces feelings of warmth in the upper body and periods of sweating and heat (hot flashes), vaginal symptoms (itching, burning, and dryness) and difficulty with urination, but it does not relieve other symptoms of menopause such as nervousness or depression. Estrogen also prevents thinning of the bones (osteoporosis) in menopausal women. Progestin is added to estrogen in hormone replacement therapy to reduce the risk of uterine cancer in women who still have their uterus.

Hormone replacement therapy comes as a tablet to take by mouth. It is usually taken once a day. To help you remember to take hormone replacement therapy, take it around the same time every day. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully, and ask your doctor or pharmacist to explain any part you do not understand. Take this medication exactly as directed. Do not take more or less of it or take it more often than prescribed by your doctor. Do not stop taking this medication without talking to your doctor.

Activella, FemHrt, and Prempro come as tablets containing estrogen and progestin. Take one tablet every day.

Ortho-Prefest comes in a blister card containing 30 tablets. Take one pink tablet (containing only estrogen) once daily for 3 days, then take one white tablet (containing estrogen and progestin) once daily for 3 days. Repeat this process until you finish all the tablets on the card. Begin a new blister card the day after you finish the last one.

Premphase comes in a dispenser containing 28 tablets. Take one maroon tablet (containing only estrogen) once daily on days 1 to 14, and take one light-blue tablet (containing estrogen and progestin) once daily on days 15 to 28. Begin a new dispenser the day after you finish the last one.

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Estrogen and Progestin (Hormone Replacement Therapy ...