About Hormone Therapy (HT)

HT is an effective treatment for moderate to severe menopausal symptoms1, such as hot flashes and night sweats. You should thoroughly discuss the individual risks and benefits with your doctor before taking hormone therapy.

Estrogen and Progestin

There are two types of hormones used in hormone therapy, estrogen and progestin. You can take estrogen alone or a combination of estrogen and progestin. These two hormones do very different things.

Estrogen helps relieve certain moderate to severe menopausal symptoms 1 such as hot flashes and vaginal dryness, while progestin’s purpose is to protect the lining of your uterus from uterine cancer. So if your uterus has been removed, there is no reason to take progestin. But if your uterus hasn’t been removed, you should take a combination of estrogen and progestin.

Patches and Pills

Hormone therapy is available in both patch and pill form. Pills can give estrogen and progestin separately or in combination. Both require daily doses. As previously mentioned, if you still have your uterus, both estrogen and progestin should be taken for protection against uterine cancer.

Patch technology allows low doses of hormones to be delivered through your skin. Patches deliver hormones that are absorbed over several days, so less frequent doses are required compared to pills. However, this does not mean that patches are safer or more effective. An additional option for combination hormone therapy is to use an estrogen-only patch combination with a daily progestin pill.

However, there is a patch available with estrogen and progestin together, that doesn’t require daily doses. This combination patch called CombiPatch is only changed twice a week.

Learn more about the risks and benefits of hormone therapy.

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WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION I SHOULD KNOW ABOUT COMBIPATCH (A COMBINATION OF ESTROGEN AND PROGESTIN HORMONES)?

Do not use estrogens and progestins to prevent heart disease, heart attacks, strokes or dementia (decline in memory and thinking skills). Using estrogens with progestins may increase your chances of getting heart attacks, strokes, breast cancer, and blood clots, and may increase your risk of dementia.

Do not use CombiPatch if you have had your uterus removed (hysterectomy). CombiPatch should not be used if you have unusual vaginal bleeding; currently have or have had certain cancers, including cancer of the breast or uterus; had a stroke or heart attack in the recent past (for example, in the past year); currently have or have had blood clots; currently have or have had liver problems; or think you may be, or know that you are, pregnant.

The most common side effects that may occur with CombiPatch are breast pain, vaginal bleeding, and headache.

1CombiPatch is used after menopause to: reduce moderate to severe hot flashes; treat moderate to severe dryness, itching and burning in or around the vagina; and treat certain conditions in which a young woman’s ovaries do not produce enough estrogens naturally. If you use CombiPatch only to treat your dryness, itching and burning in or around the vagina, talk with your health care professional about whether a topical vaginal product would be better for you.

You and your health care professional should talk regularly about whether you still need treatment with CombiPatch and whether you are taking the lowest dose that works for you.

The information contained within this web site is appropriate for U.S. residents only. A visit to this site should not replace a visit to your doctor.

Available by prescription only.

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