- Can HRT help depression?
It may, particularly if the depressed mood is caused by sleeplessness due to night sweats. However, oestrogen therapy used to treat severe depressive illness has variable results and, when there is severe depressive illness, psychiatric intervention and antidepressant medications are usually needed.
- I am taking oestrogen and progestogen, but I believe the progestogen component is having a depressing effect on my moods and libido. I feel better when I just take the oestrogen. Is this OK? Yes, you could consider this as an option, particularly if your withdrawal bleeds are light. However, there is no data to prove that oestrogen without some progestogen is safe for women with a uterus. In the long term you could be increasing your risk of developing cancer of the endometrium by five to ten times, that is, from around one in noo to around one in 200. To minimise this possibility, you will need a hysteroscopy and endometrial biopsy every six to twelve months or when any bleeding or spotting occurs.
It may, particularly if the depressed mood is caused by sleeplessness due to night sweats. However, oestrogen therapy used to treat severe depressive illness has variable results and, when there is severe depressive illness, psychiatric intervention and antidepressant medications are usually needed.
- I am taking oestrogen and progestogen, but I believe the progestogen component is having a depressing effect on my moods and libido. I feel better when I just take the oestrogen. Is this OK? Yes, you could consider this as an option, particularly if your withdrawal bleeds are light. However, there is no data to prove that oestrogen without some progestogen is safe for women with a uterus. In the long term you could be increasing your risk of developing cancer of the endometrium by five to ten times, that is, from around one in noo to around one in 200. To minimise this possibility, you will need a hysteroscopy and endometrial biopsy every six to twelve months or when any bleeding or spotting occurs.
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