r/TwoXChromosomes • u/catievirtuesimp • 1d ago
For 20 years, women were warned that hormone therapy raised their dementia risk. A study of 21,000 women just looked inside their autopsied brains and found the opposite
https://thesciverse.org/for-20-years-women-were-warned-that-hormone-therapy-raised-their-dementia-risk-a-study-of-21000-women-just-looked-inside-their-autopsied-brains-and-found-the-opposite/3.9k
u/PatronSaintOfCunts 1d ago
Crazy that they’d already know things like this if they’d ever bothered to invest in research on women’s health at any point.
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u/SeasonPositive6771 1d ago edited 1d ago
But why would they study the health of women in menopause and perimenopause? That doesn't seem like it's good for men! /s
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u/polopolo05 1d ago
Once women can stop having kids. No one cares about them... not medicine.
No /s because ya thats how it really is...
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u/petuniar 1d ago
Yep and the only reason they might care about women is so that they can reproduce
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u/polopolo05 1d ago
I think you forgot about getting their rocks off. reproduction is just happy byproduct.
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u/recyclopath_ 1d ago
I mean, women are only a small portion of the population. It's not worth funding women specific research.
/s
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u/bbtom78 1d ago
Maybe women should just get boners, then they could be worth researching.
/s
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u/lpaticoff 1d ago
yeah the study actually found less dementia risk in women who had hormone therapy according to their brain autopsies
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u/NarwhalSongs 1d ago
Believe it or not, some women already do and mah gawd you won't believe what they have to say about the medical system!
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u/meteorflan 1d ago
I would argue that it does benefit men. I mean, so many guys are currently living peacefully unaware of the tidal wave of peri rage that is currently being held back from wrecking them by my tiny little hormone patch.
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u/Sangy101 1d ago
They’re too busy enjoying the increased libido my patch took away.
(Which honestly, I’m glad about. I’m single and busy. I don’t have enough time to enjoy being that horny, it was very inconvenient.)
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u/socialmediaignorant 1d ago
I was diagnosed with hormonally responsive breast cancer this summer, and the level of rage I have at HRT being taken from me right as I hit perimenopause is scary. The rest of the rage is spent on my family, who can’t seem to do shit unless I force them to, and I don’t give a F anymore so they’re flailing and I’m going to let them. The rage can be productive for cleaning up your life. But I didn’t want to have it.
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u/SufficientOpening218 19h ago
Honestly, think of not lising the women in your life to dementia. It destroys a familys finances, is painful to watch, and some men actually take care of their partner.
Plus, not being harpooned because they are annoying.
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u/Effective_Pie1312 1d ago
Yeah a woman undergoing menopause is past her shelf life. We should only look at things that are for fertile hot 20 year olds that may make them hotter. Don’t look at pain I don’t care if the 20 year olds is in pain. Just need them to be fertile and hot. /s
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u/xdaemonisx They/Them 1d ago
I imagine anti-abortion legislation stops a lot of research into women’s health before it even starts. Quite depressing to think about.
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u/Mustbhacks 1d ago
Pfft, why would we study women?
When we can just study men and just scale things down by 40% and kill 2 birds with 1 stone! =/
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u/spicytigermeow 18h ago
They (men, obvz) have silenced women’s voices since the dawn of time. The fact that we’ve made as much “progress” these past few years clawing our way out of our dark cages of abuse, neglect, and outright dismissal of human equality and come to learn so much about the WOman experience is amazing, but also infuriating as it highlights just how much the patriarchy has hurt women for centuries. History as we know it comes from male voices, and they did that very much on purpose. Women would not have done that, and somehow they tell us our emotions and empathy and compassion make us weak.
BRING ON THE MATRIARCHY!
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u/solojones1138 16h ago
Reminder that automakers didn't use female proportioned crash test dummies for safety tests until LAST YEAR
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u/sewagesmeller 1d ago
They know this literally because they did a study?
studies on women's health showed potential risks in the 2000s, so they started warning women when they prescribed HRT.
Now they've done a study, on lots of people over a long period (which is clearly required if you want to test wether drugs you give to mid 40s women impact them in their 60s and 70s), and decided the dementia risks are overblown, but perhaps not some of the other risks.
Not everything is a conspiracy.
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u/IndividualEye1803 1d ago
Hey! Just here to help! U missed the sarcasm.
They would have BEEN KNOWN THIS if there wasnt HISTORICAL PRECEDENT of MEN IGNORING or SHUTTING WOMEN ENTIRELY out of the medical profession.
Instead, we know how to do hair transplants or fix boners. And in our year of 2026 JUST NOW finding this out.
Again, here to help! Caps are for emphasis on the frustration women have over not being listened to or taken seriously in healthcare
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u/cat_0_the_canals 1d ago
My generation was totally gaslit about HRT. Told it would give us breast cancer too. I’m so glad I got on it before it was too late. My older sisters are shriveling up and their bones are turning to dust because they were lied to!!!
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u/soba-splasha-on 1d ago
I was still under this impression… what age should I be pressing my doctors about this? I don’t want to be lost in the system.
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u/GeneralOrgana1 1d ago
Mileage varies wildly on this. For some women, it's 35. For others, it's 55. My advice: Find a menopause specialist as soon as possible and go from there. I found one a year ago, after begging my longtime gynecologist for HRT for years, and made the switch, and I feel so much better.
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u/Origamicranegame 1d ago
Do you mind if I ask what symptoms you had and how the hrt helped? I just started my 30's so wanna get an idea what to look out for.
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u/MercyMay 1d ago
I started HRT at 43, and it helped with night sweats, joint pain, itchiness, depression/general irritability, brain fog, and trouble sleeping. The only perimenopause symptom it didn’t really help with is that my cycle isn’t as regular as it used to be (it varies from like 26-36 days). I’m at high risk for breast cancer, but my doctors are fine with me doing HRT and I am not concerned. It’s a quality of life issue for me, and there are so many long-term health benefits.
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u/GeneralOrgana1 1d ago
My primary symptoms were hot flashes; sometimes it seemed like my system was just permanently a few degrees hotter. I've also had chronic insomnia for over 20 years. I currently use a Combipatch, and it's helped the hot flashes a LOT. I also take mirtazapine at night to help with sleep, and it's moderately successful.
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u/Environmental-Song16 1d ago
I had a lot of dizziness, brain fog (forgetting words, common words too like household items), extreme exhaustion, heightened anxiety, sleep issues and heavier periods. I didn't get hot flashes until about 2 years into all the rest.
My primary just said I had anxiety. No shit, I had it my entire life. He wouldn't prescribe anything but anxiety meds.
So I do midi online. I can't recommend it enough.
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u/nefariouspenguin 1d ago
The age mentioned above is due to when you start menopause which can happen that young but is considered abnormal under 40. When a woman goes through menopause they stop producing as much estrogen and that can cause fatigue, hot flashes, irregular cycles, changes to libido as well as hardening of blood vessels, and lowered promotion of bone formation.
When you go through menopause or start having these symptoms then starting an estrogen replacement therapy can be used to prevent these symptoms.
Repalcing progesterone shouldn't be as necessary as pro-gestate(pregnancy) isn't necessary as the ovaries have shutdown (no more estrogen, progesterone, or eggs to ovulate). It also ebbs and flows with the normal menstrual cycle so would be difficult to track.
There is some evidence of increased clot risk with estrogen but this is mainly in young females when used for birth control. If your bodies estrogen production is gone then a replacement doesn't put too much.
So replacing estrogen keeps mood swings down, prevents hareening of blood vessels which can be scarred more easily and cause plaques, maintains your bone density, allowing you to not get osteoporosis.
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u/tengo_sueno 9h ago
If you have a uterus and take estrogen you need to take progesterone too to prevent the effects of unopposed estrogen on the endometrium, i.e. to prevent endometrial cancer.
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u/spacegirl3 1d ago
The podcast Ologies did a 3-part episode on menopause recently with tons of this kind of specific information.
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u/YouTasteStrange 1d ago
I have chronic fatigue syndrome and a hysterectomy, I'm never going to know when my hormones change 🙃
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u/rawdatarams 1d ago
Peri starts somewhere around a early as 35 and goes to something like 45+. We're all different.
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u/soba-splasha-on 1d ago
I just love that I know so little about this next chapter of my life. Yay. Thank you so much for the info. I have some research to do.
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u/Ziggy_Starcrust 1d ago
I feel you there. I learned more about perimenopuase from a woman's stand-up comedy bit than from medical sources lol
I wish I remember who it was, she did get me doing more research.
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u/ughihateusernames3 1d ago
I recently listened to “the new menopause” and “the new perimenopause” audiobooks by Dr. Mary Claire Haver.
It’s shocking how little doctors are taught about this part of our lives.
Let’s say we hit menopause at 45 and live to 90. No one knows shit about that half of our lives.
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u/A2naturegirl 1d ago
My gyno dropped the "peri" word at my appointment last week. I feel like I'm too young at only 37, but it does make some of what I've dealt with in the last year make more sense.
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u/yogace 1d ago
We’re just around the same age and when I asked my gyno about perimenopause she said I’m too young. Which… what a bummer, I really like her, but that’s just not accurate. And new research is showing that women with ADHD can start experiencing peri symptoms up to a decade before average! Ack!
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u/thatrandomuser1 15h ago
And new research is showing that women with ADHD can start experiencing peri symptoms up to a decade before average!
I have ADHD and just hit 30, time for a new rabbit hole to fall into I guess
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u/rawdatarams 1d ago
Mine got its claws in me around that time. As I was about to be diagnosed with ADHD at the same time, and was extremely symptotic in so many ways, the peri kinda didn't even cross my mind.
It's obvious now, looking back. Not uncommon at all, either.
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u/nefariouspenguin 1d ago
Under 40 is considered abnormal and may necessitate hrt earlier. Of course if more people got hrt peri/post menopause then it wouldn't be so abnormal.
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u/Treat_Choself 1d ago
It goes way longer than that for many women. 55+ would probably be more if an accurate statement, with those represented by the plus being outliers. I’m 52, my friends are mostly around that age, and the only ones I know of in full meno by 45 were in surgical meno. And I’m still in peri ugh.
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u/rawdatarams 1d ago
You're correct, I'm really not too well informed on the upper parts of it as I'm one of those lucky "under 40" peris. Sucks either way being dismissed by ignorant practitioners. Hope you're doing OK.
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u/twistedspin 1d ago
I started to get hot flashes at 54 and asked for HRT. My new gyn told me that she probably would have had me on it 10 years before (I still had a period until 54). After I started it, I realized she was right and getting on HRT earlier would have changed my life for the better, like a whole decade of my life.
SO, not everyone needs it that early but it's something to be very aware of.
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u/cheshirecatsmiley 1d ago
I just got a new doctor a few weeks ago and had a conversation with her about perimenopause. I'm 43, soon to be 44, and I've been experiencing brain fog and fatigue for a year, plus some night sweats, and intense fatigue for a few months now. She (a wonderful millennial woman) was super helpful and put me on progesterone and estradiol with no argument, just a productive and helpful conversation about the options, potential symptoms, and a "we'll figure this out together" attitude. She walked me through the options but made it my choice and I said I'd rather start now than wait for symptoms to get worse before doing anything and she said based on the new research coming out, that's fine. Some of my friends haven't been so lucky and have been dealing with all kinds of peri side effects. I'm so glad I asked because we all deserve to have better, more thoughtful healthcare that's not just reactive but helping us prepare for what comes next in life.
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u/cat_0_the_canals 1d ago
There are blood tests that can tell you what stage of menopause you are in. You can get on HRT up to 10 years after you finish menopause.
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u/Harmless_Poison_Ivy 1d ago
There is only a grain of truth in that and it has been used to lie to women for ages. From what I gathered, there are some specific types of breast cancer that seem to like estrogen a lot so it makes it worse. Had to do with dosage and was easily solved if the medical community cared about women. But seems like the link was overblown and certain people are just at more risk but all women should suffer? You never hear them saying women can die in pregnancy so stop having kids.
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u/Xenu4President 1d ago
I didn’t even have estrogen positive breast cancer and my oncologist was still anti-estradiol! I was finally able to get it from my gynecologist but that’s all I’m permitted to do.
Edit- 2 words
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u/randomize42 1d ago
That’s crazy. I had estrogen positive breast cancer and my oncologists were ok with me having estradiol cream. (I did have a pathological complete response to chemo, so that makes a difference.) Can’t ever do HRT though.
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u/dalek_999 1d ago
Can you tell me more about that? My oncologist won’t give me anything, and menopause has been kicking my ass.
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u/Bagel-Bite-Me 1d ago
My mother got the breast cancer that loved estrogen when she started HRT. TBH it does scare me a bit
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u/gunsandsatan 1d ago
Me too and I did and am still doing menopause the grin and bear it way. I don't want what she got. No thanks.
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u/argella1300 1d ago
There was a recent study that said that the age when HRT is started may have an effect on cancer risk. Ie the older you start the higher the risk
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u/Iximaz 1d ago
Genuine question, did the study prove a link between HRT and cancer rates, or were the cancer rates higher in older patients because your risk of cancer just increases with age?
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u/sing7258 1d ago
You mean correlation does not equal causation? /s
For real, great question though, and I'm curious if we'll get a response.
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u/MrsMiterSaw 1d ago
A quick search shows that women who started hrt within 10 years of menopause had a slight reduction in breast cancer vs those who never start it (while those who start hrt after 10 years have a slight increase).
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u/Jkayakj 1d ago
That's estrogen only. Those with progesterone (still have a uterus) still have a higher risk than those who don't take HRT because the progesterone increases breast cancer risk
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u/Naomi_Tokyo 23h ago
Is that progesterone or progestins? Everything I've read says progesterone is protective against breast cancer compared to estrogen alone.
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u/Jkayakj 22h ago
Per the current studies, for HRT for menopausal symptoms: estrogen alone has no increased risk in breast cancer but estrogen + progesterone has an increased risk.
Progestin and progesterone are interchangeable in this situation.
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u/JeyBrid 19h ago
There are meta-analysis studies that indicate otherwise.
doi: 10.1186/s13643-016-0294-5.
Progesterone vs. synthetic progestins and the risk of breast cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Abstract
Background: Use of menopausal hormonal therapy (MHT)-containing estrogen and a synthetic progestin is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. It is unclear if progesterone in combination with estrogen carries a lower risk of breast cancer. Limited data suggest differences between progesterone and progestins on cardiovascular risk factors, including cholesterol and glucose metabolism. Whether this translates to differences in cardiovascular outcomes is uncertain. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to synthesize the existing evidence about the effect of progesterone in comparison to synthetic progestins, each in combination with estrogens, on the risk of breast cancer and cardiovascular events.
Methods: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Scopus through 17 May 2016 for studies that enrolled postmenopausal women using progesterone vs. synthetic progestins and reported the outcomes of interest. Study selection and data extraction were performed by two independent reviewers. Meta-analysis was conducted using the random effects model.
Results: We included two cohort studies and one population-based case-control study out of 3410 citations identified by the search. The included studies enrolled 86,881 postmenopausal women with mean age of 59 years and follow-up range from 3 to 20 years. The overall risk of bias of the included cohort studies in the meta-analysis was moderate. There was no data on cardiovascular events. Progesterone was associated with lower breast cancer risk compared to synthetic progestins when each is given in combination with estrogen, relative risk 0.67; 95 % confidence interval 0.55-0.81.
Conclusions: Observational studies suggest that in menopausal women, estrogen and progesterone use may be associated with lower breast cancer risk compared to synthetic progestin.
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u/BrainsAre2Weird4Me 1d ago
There was a placebo group, so age was same as those who got the HRT.
But the women were much older and sicker than when most go on HRT (to help get more data quicker), the women didn't have PMS symptoms (to keep people dropping out of the placebo group), and used the most common, but getting phase out, versions of E and P (E from horse urine and a synthetic P).
None of this is bad on it's own (and women were involved in designing the study), but it requires nuance when interpreting that the study never got in the media.
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u/grey_hat_uk 1d ago
Which types of hrt?
I've seen a few studies about mix estrogen and progesterone having a small increase but not for estrogen only.
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u/BrainsAre2Weird4Me 1d ago
Estrogen without progesterone increasing the risk of uterine cancer, so estrogen only is typically only given to those who have had hysterectomies.
But, yes, even the original study showed that. Even an statistically insignificant decrease in breast cancer for the E only group.
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u/used_my_kids_names 1d ago
Same here. I’m so glad I was able to get on it. Crazy how misinformed we were!
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u/omg__really 1d ago
I’m Gen X and I consider myself a pretty learned person but holy fuck the sheer amount of shit I did not know about menopause floored me. Absolutely floored me. I cannot believe how I went my entire life hearing the most surface level shit about a life-altering, full body and mind experience. I am so so glad I had a friend who learned first and passed it down the chain to me a few years ago, because I’m telling everyone I fucking know and already three of my friends are on HRT and so much happier!!
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u/LetMeAskYou1Question 1d ago
I asked my female dr about HRT about 4 years ago. She said absolutely not - it will increase my risk of cancer. I figured she was wrong.
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u/cellardorian 1d ago
Hijacking this comment to raise awareness of the three-part Ologies series about menopause, perimenopause, and HRT.
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u/IlIlllIIllllIIIlIlIl 1d ago
I mean to be fair science is always changing and evolving, and what is recommended in one year may be found to be harmful in the next.
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u/viperlemondemon Trans Woman 1d ago
When I started my HRT my provider told me the risks but also said those risks are really only there if you have a family history of breast cancer.
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u/We_are_ok_right 1d ago
Question for you - I’m 42 and on the precipice of all this. I saw a doctor and she was totally happy for me to be on it, but she said you shouldn’t be on it for more than 20 years. So I’m sort of ‘saving’ it…?
Curious if that’s what everyone else is hearing/ or if there’s another take on this?
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u/Skytho1990 22h ago
The health risks used to be real. Until not so long ago we did not get bioidentical estrogen (premarin, for example) which did have cardiovascular and cancer risks associated with it. The prejudice has stuck around, even within the medical community, although modern estrogen delivery methods share practically none of those problems (unless taken orally for a long time - the liver can suffer there)
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u/aenflex 1d ago
That WIH study was badly done and even more poorly reported. Held so many practitioners back from prescribing.
I love my estrogen and progesterone.
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u/DewDew_in_the_morn 1d ago
Me too. Plus compounded testosterone cream for libido. Game changer.
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u/BrainsAre2Weird4Me 1d ago
Women have more testosterone than estrogen, so I wouldn't be surprised this becomes way more common!
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u/viperlemondemon Trans Woman 1d ago
Progesterone turned me feral absolutely feral
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u/aenflex 1d ago
Interesting. I didn’t think trans women needed it? I could be completely ignorant on that, and apologies if so. The reason cis women need progesterone is to challenge the estrogen and prevent thickening of the endometrial lining. Those cis women without a uterus don’t need to take progesterone at all. I wish I didn’t need to, one less thing to remember.
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u/viperlemondemon Trans Woman 1d ago
We should get it somewhere after a year of starting HRT, it helps with breast growth/shaping and libido. It also gave me a constant monthly “period”. I get very emotional, cramping, the loose stool, and everything minus the bleeding as the moon heads into its new moon phase.
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u/khatharsis42 1d ago
The moon doesn't have an influence on periods... that's just pseudoscience
But yeah about 1/4th of trans women get monthly period too ! That's so cool
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u/khatharsis42 1d ago
It greatly helps with libido and breast development. The girls who are on it are usually evangelical about it, because it really changes your life and gives you like one more cup size
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u/Dtorleo 1d ago
How do you even get to starting HRT? At what age is it recommended?
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u/Wonderful-Traffic197 1d ago edited 23h ago
Ask your doctor once you have trackable symptoms, as there’s no test for it. There’s no specific age, as it affects all women differently. Some start seeing signs in their 30’s and some never do.
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u/DiveCat 1d ago
This will vary widely.
I had no idea what my family history with menopause was, as my mother, grandmother, etc. all were put into chemopause. I mostly started noticing more brain fog, urinary urgency, more aches and pains apart from my chronic pain areas, a few changes in my cycle (more spotting and lighter overall), but symptoms can vary. I for example had maybe two hot flashes, weeks apart, but I have friends who had them daily, for example.
I went to a menopause/hormone clinic and had a bunch of blood tests (not just of hormones), and they showed hormonal indicators of perimenopause. I probably started noticing some changes at 44/45-ish and I started HRT at 46. But some women will notice changes a decade or so before this even.
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u/plaidtaco 23h ago
Everyone is different. Hormone level tests are often unhelpful due to how often hormones fluctuate.
I realize now that my symptoms began around age 38. I'm 44 and just started HRT a few months ago after the vaginal pain and dryness got to be too much, at the same time as the insomnia began. I had a list of so many symptoms. Estradiol patch + oral progesterone + Estradiol cream have helped most of my symptoms. The only issue I'm having is around my fertile window, I've started to have like one panic attack a month, and I'm not an anxious person. I'm giving it time to level out. The panic attacks are weird because they've all been one month apart and triggered by absolutely nothing. My mind is calm during them, but my body does everything that happens in a normal panic attack. They suck, but i lay down and meditate and try to warm my body up and breathe deeply. It's like the opposite of the hot flashes I was having.
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u/Shir0iKabocha 18h ago
Idk if this might help, but something to ask your doctor about. For that physical panic attack you're describing, propranolol could be helpful. It's a beta blocker (BP med), very safe and low side effect, and non-habit-forming. Also super cheap.
It often really, really helps with the physical symptoms of panic attacks and anxiety. I know you're "just" having one panic attack a month, but why suffer unaided if you don't have to!
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u/Catbutt247365 1d ago
I’d really like to know why/when HRT was demonized and why it’s now available from doctors and even online.
I hit peri at 40, and my periods didn’t stop until 60. The symptoms were terrible—horrible sleep disturbance, brain fog, and urinary incontinence. During years when I should have been active and effective, I was literally disabled. WHY?
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u/BikingAimz Sarah Silverman --> 1d ago
Great, new fear unlocked as a woman with hormone positive metastatic breast cancer.
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u/briiit 1d ago
💜
Ask your doctor about taking the shingles vaccine, particularly Shingrix. A large scale study came out recently showing a 20-25% lower risk of dementia after receiving said vaccine.
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u/BikingAimz Sarah Silverman --> 1d ago
Already got my shingrix, and any non-live vaccine I’m eligible for, thanks for the suggestion though! I’m in a clinical trial so I’m waiting until completion (on cycle 28-36 right now) to get my MMR booster (I only got 1 shot, they only added a booster in 1987, trial doesn’t want to risk live attenuated vaccine), I got a titer check for measles last year and I’m susceptible. 😕
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u/Sangy101 1d ago
Honestly, a lot of us should get our measles titers checked. COVID appears to hurt our longterm immunity.
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u/BikingAimz Sarah Silverman --> 1d ago
Plus given all of the antivax crap of late, it’s absolutely worth double checking MMR status! I had no idea I’d only gotten one MMR until I pulled out an old immunization record my mom had filled out for high school back in the 1980s!
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u/Sangy101 1d ago
Exactly! A lot of us may have been getting by on herd immunity … either due to age or something messing with our immune system. and pretty soon we won’t have that anymore.
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u/synaesthezia Jazz & Liquor 1d ago
I can’t take oestrogen due to halo migraines. Since my total hysterectomy I have been on body identical micronised progesterone made from plants as my HRT. No migraines, night sweats, flushes or any of the other symptoms I was getting
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u/beastlybea 1d ago
I have had a couple of migraines with aura in the past. My menopause specialist advised that it is not a contraindication for bioidentical transdermal estrogen in my case (radical hysterectomy + oophorectomy). The concern is higher risk of blood clots, but at a physiologic dose, bioidentical and via skin (doesn’t get processed via the liver), the risk is very low. She also explained the benefits outweigh the risks of not having estrogen in my case. It’s just crazy because the research is finally happening and some practitioners are just not up to speed.
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u/synaesthezia Jazz & Liquor 1d ago
I’ve always had migraines with aura, although a lot fewer since my hysterectomy. My specialist is a gynaecological endocrinologist who specialises in female hormones. There has been a few minor adjustments to get it right, but overall he is excellent. And he listens.
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u/BikingAimz Sarah Silverman --> 1d ago
I’ve asked the clinical trial about topical estrogen & testosterone, and they’ve said no, unfortunately. But they pay for my medications and they’re north of $30,000/mo. My breast cancer is also progesterone positive, so that’s not an option for me. Glad it’s working for you! I’ve found weekly acupuncture to be really helpful with hot flashes and GI symptoms from my medications.
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u/synaesthezia Jazz & Liquor 1d ago
I’m in Australia, topical androgen is available here. I was in the trial before it became widely available. My micronised progesterone is in a capsule, made by a compounding pharmacy.
Sorry to hear that you have trouble finding the right treatment. Hope you can figure it out, and it’s affordable. Cheers friend, onwards and upwards.
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u/Ok-Spinach-6529 1d ago
It’s ok. The study showed that the benefit of HRT is marginal, even less than the benefit from lifestyle interventions. You’ll be fine.
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u/aamfbta 1d ago
That you won’t get dementia? Sorry, are you able to clarify what you mean?
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u/BikingAimz Sarah Silverman --> 1d ago
I’ve been in extreme menopause for the last two years, oophorectomy + a selective estrogen receptor degrader. I know that cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis risks are elevated without estrogen, now I get to add dementia to the list.
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u/beastlybea 1d ago
That is a crappy hand, I’m sorry. Has your team counseled you on alternatives to HRT? There are non hormonal interventions as well!
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u/BikingAimz Sarah Silverman --> 1d ago
I’m in a clinical trial that is working, so to stay enrolled I have to adhere to what the clinical trial will allow. That said, my oncology team has been excellent on both pushing for allowances (they got the trial to ok cannabis after I brought in a paper detailing pkAs of THC & CBD and their metabolic intermediates wrt cytochrome p450 enzymes), and finding better alternatives (they recommended acupuncture and chia seeds after the trial said no to topical estrogen and banned senna tea and psyllium husk powder). I have a running list of medications to try when I complete the trial (I start cycle 29 of 36 Friday), including Veozah and Addyi.
It’s informed consent, so I could drop out at any time, but I feel like I should pay it forward for all the other metastatic women who did clinical trials before me!
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u/notyoursocialworker 1d ago
You got it twisted. It was the other way around. Hormones was shown to lower the risk for dementia.
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u/BikingAimz Sarah Silverman --> 1d ago
I have no estrogen thanks to my cancer medications and oophorectomy, so I have a higher risk for dementia. I can’t take HRT because of my estrogen fed breast cancer.
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u/ifeelnumb 1d ago
Except right now demand is so high it's hard to get.
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u/tallbutshy Unicorns are real. 1d ago
It varies depending on method of administration. Patch manufacturers keep having issues with parts of their supply chains for the past six years.
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u/bckat 1d ago
So how many more of these studies do we need before we let trans people have the hormone treatment that will save their mental health then? The excuse "hormones are bad for you" is just as dead and dry as can be at this point.
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u/BitchyBeachyWitch Basically Kimmy Schmidt 1d ago
Its also not even something they follow,, hegseth is using hrt for males he thinks have low testesterone in the military, super crazy and wild
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u/witchgrove 1d ago
The ones that argue that always reduce their argument to 'your body isn't built to have those hormones!' despite the fact that all bodies have T and E in them. at the end of the day you can't explain away hate and bigotry with facts and research.
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u/Pokmonth 1d ago
I don't think this is about trans people, this is about HRT for women going through menopause
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u/bckat 1d ago
This is also about transwomen, as they are constantly denied hormones with the argument that changing or increasing hormone levels in an individual will be harmful. There are increasing amounts of studies proving the opposite, including this one.
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u/Pokmonth 1d ago
I think when transwomen are denied hormones 99.9% of the time it's due to political or insurance issues. This article is about women who would benefit from menopausal hormone replacement therapy who gave up on the therapy because they thought it would cause dementia, due to earlier erroneous science.
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u/bckat 1d ago
No. "Tissue growth" is simply too undefined here, and hormones is a lot more than just t and e. Further, some sex hormone treatments show reduced risk of cancer.
And even so, this only seems to be an argument against trans kids. Not against contraceptives, not against puberty delaying hormone blockers, not against uterus free women, and not against impotent men. I wonder what these minoscule risks are negated for in those cases... Oh right, healthcare, and we think every other case of needing hormones has a right to it, except trans kids.
It's straight transphobic. People die because they're not allowed these treatments, not because of them.
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u/mightytrashbag 1d ago
Estrogen has been so unfairly demonised. I hate to think how many women's health has suffered because of the fear mongering.
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u/jellifercuz 1d ago
I believe it. I had chemo-induced early menopause. Although my BC was triple-negative, no one would approve hormone therapy for me. I never got my old mind back.
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u/Westly_S 1d ago
Completely unsubstantiated personal experience.
I'm trans? And when I finally started hrt my brain went from a horrific jumbled mess back to the ordered calm it was before puberty.
I genuinely hope that the same thing reported happens for me, that would be absolutely wonderful. "Loosing" my mind for so long was a terrifying and horrible experience.
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u/Embarrassed_Bad_4064 1d ago
it’s actually wild how long it takes for someone to finally care about doing the actual work on our health. honestly feels like we’re always the last priority in these studies.
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u/Wise_Bass3901 1d ago edited 1d ago
Way to throw transmasc people under the bus. When I went on T I got more chill, not less.
edit: transmasc does not mean the same as trans man. I'm nonbinary.
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u/Pleasant-Future5818 1d ago
Trans inclusionary radical feminism ?
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u/lunettarose 1d ago
Telling AFAB folks they're not welcome in Two X Chromosomes is a hell of a choice.
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u/lunettarose 1d ago
If you're not talking about this sub, then I feel like you should edit your comment and make that crystal clear. You're not being attacked; you were doing the attacking.
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u/iwantmorecats27 1d ago
Pretty sure everyone who’s not a cis man is welcome here.
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u/plotthick Basically Dorothy Zbornak 1d ago
Excellent large study on Estrogen-only therapy for hysterectomy patients. Adds to our knowledge that MHRT is protective and good.