Estrogen Medication - Uses & Side Effects

These medications are designed for use in hormone replacement therapy. Both combine a form of estrogen with a substance that acts like progesterone. Estrogens are natural body substances with specific effects on the human body, including growth and maintenance of the female reproductive system and all female sex characteristics. They promote growth and development of all parts of the reproductive system and breasts.

Estrogen Patches Dosage

• The usual starting dose is 0.05 milligram patch and you should be applied to the skin 2 times a week.
• For the treatment of osteoporosis, the doctor will prescribe a 0.025 milligram patch and you should be applied to the skin once a week.

Uses of Estrogen Patches

• This medication is a combination of hormones (estrogen and progestin) used to treat symptoms of (e.g., hot flashes, vaginal dryness) and to prevent bone loss in people at high risk.
• If you are only being treated for vaginal menopause symptoms, products applied locally such as vaginal creams, tablets, or rings should be considered before products taken by mouth or absorbed through the skin.
• Estrogen docking sites are present in several regions of the brain, including those involved in memory. When activated by estrogen, these sites, in turn, activate processes that are beneficial to the brain.

Side Effects of Estrogen Patches

• The most common side effects include enlargement or tenderness of the breasts (both sexes), swelling of the ankles and legs, loss of appetite, weight changes, retention of water, nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, and feeling of bloatedness. The estrogen patch can cause skin rash, irritation, and redness at the patch site.
• More common side effects may include:
  Anxiety, back pain, breakthrough bleeding, breast tenderness, constipation, depression, flu-like symptoms, headache, high blood pressure, hot flushes, insomnia, indigestion, nausea, neck pain, sinus problems, skin redness and irritation at the site of the patch, upper respiratory tract infection, and weight increase.

Warnings and precautions before taking Estrogen Patches:

• You should use estrogen with caution, because estrogen may increases the risk of blood clots and these blood clots may cause stroke, heart attack, or other serious disorders.
• It may also cause fluid retention in some people, so if you have asthma, epilepsy, migraine, or heart or kidney disease, then you should tell your doctor or use this medication cautiously.

Drug Interaction:-

• Estrogens may increase the side effects of antidepressants and phenothiazine tranquilizers. Low estrogen doses may increase phenothiazine effectiveness.
• Rifampin, barbiturates, and other drugs that stimulate the liver to break down drugs may reduce the amount of estrogen in the blood.

Overdose

Symptoms of overdose may include:

• upset stomach
• vomiting
• vaginal bleeding