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Mercy Medical Center's Dr. Terry Hoffman, OB/GYN

Mercy OB/GYN Dr. Terry Hoffman Discusses Whether Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) Is The Right Choice For Patients

Menopause can be a difficult physical and emotional life change, but for some women, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can help with uncomfortable symptoms.

Two and a half years ago, Robyn Moore said she had a hysterectomy, and after the surgery, she said it was hard to ignore the changes her body was going through.

"I felt that I was going crazy. I was crying, had excessive hot and cold flashes, I was moody and didn't want to work. I was depressed," she said.

Like many women, Moore was experiencing symptoms of menopause, so her doctor recommended she try hormone replacement therapy.

"Hormone replacement therapy is replacing what your body made before it went through menopause," said Dr. Terry Hoffman, OB/GYN of Mercy Medical Center.

According to Dr. Hoffman, there are different kinds of hormone replacement therapy based on what is most comfortable for the patient.

"There are gels, there are rings in their vaginas, there's pills, there's creams, there's combination pills. There's just so much stuff," she said.

Patients should know the risks, which can include blood clots, heart attacks, strokes and breast cancer.

"The way I do hormones when women want them and they've tried other things — over-the-counter stuff and it's not getting better — is to start them on a low dose and go up," Dr. Hoffman explained, noting that the amount of hormone replacement needed depends on the individual patient.

Following a good, sensible diet, exercising and taking a multivitamin daily can also help relieve menopause symptoms.

For Ms. Moore, HRT was an effective therapy.

"As opposed to 80 hot flashes a day, I was getting five hot flashes a day, and the medication was wonderful," she said.

For more information and to see Dr. Hoffman's interview on WBAL-TV11's "The Woman's Doctor," visit http://www.wbaltv.com/womansdoctor/19364453/detail.html