Menopausal symptoms usually ease

• HRT tends to stop hot flushes and night sweats within a few weeks.
• HRT will reverse many of the changes around the vagina and vulva usually within 1-3 months. However, it can take up to a year of treatment in some cases.
• If you are anxious, irritable, depressed, etc, because of menopausal symptoms, these may also ease if the symptoms such as hot flushes or dry vagina are eased. Therefore, you may have a 'knock on' effect on your general wellbeing after starting HRT.

If you take HRT long-term (several years or more):

It helps to protect against osteoporosis and bowel cancer. However, the protective effect is small. Studies have shown that if 1,000 healthy women who take HRT are compared to 1,000 healthy women who do not take HRT, in those who take HRT, over a 10 year period there will be about:

• Five fewer women who develop a hip fracture. This is because you are less likely to develop osteoporosis, and therefore less likely to fracture a bone.
• Six fewer women who develop cancer of the bowel (colon). It is not clear how HRT reduces the risk of developing this cancer.

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• Next: What are the risks in taking HRT?

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