Is hormone therapy for menopause right for you? 6 things to know
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Women should not suffer through menopause with hot flashes, night sweats and poor sleep. That's the message from FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary.
The agency announced it will remove "black box" warning labels from estrogen-based hormone therapy, which treat the symptoms of menopause, saying the warnings have made women scared to try the therapy and doctors reluctant to prescribe it.
The warnings stem from the early 2000s when data from the Women's Health Initiative study found hormone therapy increased risks of heart attacks, strokes, blood clots and breast cancer.
But, women in that study were given a type of hormone therapy formulation that is no longer commonly used. And the average age of women in the study was 63, which is now considered too late to start hormone therapy.
Now, experts say there's a lot more known about safe and effective combinations, when therapy is initiated earlier.
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