NSW: Thousands of women miserable after dumping HRT: specialist
By Judy Skatssoon, National Medical Writer
SYDNEY, Aug 19 AAP - Hundreds of thousands of women spooked off HRT by the hype surroundinga report linking combined therapy to cancer were now probably suffering in silence, amenopause specialist said today.
Sydney Menopause Centre director John Eden said headlines telling women to quit hormonereplacement therapy (HRT) had drowned out advice that it was important to wean themselvesoff the medication gently.
His comments came after pharmaceutical company Wyeth, Australia's biggest supplierof combination HRT, said it was expecting a 30 per cent drop in sales of its Premia productin the wake of the report.
Professor Eden said a number of former HRT patients were probably "playing with" someof the 40-odd herbal menopause remedies available in Australia.
However, his own clinical experience suggested many had simply dumped their drugs andwere now likely to be experiencing serious withdrawal symptoms.
"The bottom line is if you stop your HRT abruptly the majority of women are going tofeel really bad really quick," Prof Eden said.
"I've no doubt at all that there are literally hundreds of thousands of women who aremiserable at the moment because they've abruptly stopped their HRT.
"I think a lot of them suffer in silence and I'm sure a lot of them are going to alternativetreatments."
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KEYWORD: HRT NIGHTLEAD
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