Who should not take menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) for menopause?

In the last few years, we have learned a lot about menopausal hormone therapies and that has led doctors to be very careful when it comes to prescribing them. While hormone replacement therapy (HRT) does a great job of reducing severe and disabling symptoms of menopause, not all women will be able to take it. We call that a contraindication or reasons to withhold treatment in certain people. There is a long list of contraindications so be sure to discuss it all with your doctor before taking it.

HRT will not be given to women who have experienced:

• current or past breast cancer
• hormone sensitive cancer
• vaginal bleeding
• endometrial hyperplasia
• a blood clot in the legs (deep vein thrombosis), lungs (pulmonary embolism), heart (heart attack), or brain (stroke)
• untreated or uncontrolled high blood pressure (hypertension)
• active liver disease
• allergy to anything in the hormone preparation
• bleeding disorders
• pregnancy and breastfeeding
• tobacco use

Women who have a history of certain medical conditions should not use menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) for menopause symptoms. These conditions include: heart disease; breast, ovarian or uterine cancer; liver disease; unexplained uterine bleeding; or blood clots in the lungs or legs. Also, do not use MHT if you are pregnant or think you could be.

Your doctor can tell you whether using conjugated estrogens for injection is right for you.