Some of these so-called bioidentical hormone preparations are U.S. The hormones are created in a laboratory by altering compounds derived from naturally-occurring plant products. Bioidentical hormone preparations are medications that contain hormones that have the same chemical formula as those made naturally in the body. There has been increasing interest in recent years in the use of so-called 'bioidentical' hormone therapy for perimenopausal women. It is currently recommended that if hormone therapy is used, it should be used at the smallest effective dose for the shortest possible time.īioidentical hormone therapy for hot flashes The decision in regard to starting or continuing hormone therapy, therefore, is an individual one in which the patient and doctor must take into account the inherent risks and benefits of the treatment along with each woman's own medical history. More recently, it has been noted that the negative effects associated with hormone therapy were described in older women who were years beyond menopause, and some researchers have suggested that these negative outcomes might be lessened or prevented if hormone therapy was given to younger women (prior to or around the age of menopause) instead of women years beyond menopause. Estrogen therapy alone, however, is associated with an increased risk of developing endometrial cancer ( cancer of the lining of the uterus) in postmenopausal women who have not had their uterus surgically removed. Later studies of women taking estrogen therapy alone showed that estrogen was associated with an increased risk for stroke, but not for heart attack or breast cancer. However, long-term studies (the NIH-sponsored Women's Health Initiative, or WHI) of women receiving combined hormone therapy with both estrogen and progesterone were halted when it was discovered that these women had an increased risk for heart attack, stroke, and breast cancer when compared with women who did not receive hormone therapy. Research indicates that these medications decrease the frequency of hot flashes. All available prescription estrogen medications, whether oral or transdermal, are effective in reducing the frequency of hot flashes and their severity. Hormone therapy (HT) or postmenopausal hormone therapy (PHT), formerly referred to as hormone replacement therapy ( HRT), consists of estrogens alone or a combination of estrogens and progesterone (progestin). Traditionally, hot flashes have been treated with either oral or transdermal (such as a patch) forms of estrogen. SLIDESHOW Menopause & Perimenopause: Symptoms, Signs See Slideshow About 40% to 85% of women experience hot flashes at some point in the menopausal transition.It is impossible to predict if a woman will experience hot flashes, and if she does, when they will begin.While not all women will experience hot flashes, many normally menstruating women will begin experiencing hot flashes even several years prior to the cessation of menstrual periods.The timing of the onset of hot flashes in women approaching menopause is variable. Occasionally, palpitations (feelings of a racing heart beat) may occur during hot flashes.Feelings of anxiety may accompany hot flashes.Excessive perspiration ( sweating) can also occur when hot flashes occur during sleep they may be accompanied by night sweats.Redness of the skin, known as flushing, may accompany hot flashes.Hot flashes are typically brief, lasting from about 30 seconds to a few minutes.Hot flashes can also develop as a side effect of some medications and sometimes occur with severe infections or cancers that may be associated with fevers and/or night sweats.

For example, the carcinoid syndrome, which results from a type of endocrine tumor that secretes large amounts of the hormone serotonin can cause hot flashes. They also occur in men and in circumstances other than the perimenopause in women (such as young women or during pregnancy) as a result of certain uncommon medical conditions that affect the process of thermoregulation. Hot flashes are considered to be a characteristic symptom of the menopausal transition. A disorder in thermoregulation (methods the body uses to control and regulate body temperature) is responsible for the heat sensation, but the exact way in which the changing hormone levels affect thermoregulation is not fully understood. The complex hormonal changes that accompany the aging process, in particular the declining levels of estrogen as a woman approaches menopause, are thought to be the underlying cause of hot flashes.