What Doctors Don't Tell YouJust when you thought there was no more bad news to report about hormone replacement therapy (HRT), along comes a study that reveals it isn’t even good for the one thing for which it’s still being prescribed – incontinence. Doctors who thought that incontinence was a far more dangerous problem than the heart failure risk offered by HRT made up the rump of resistance that kept alive the drug’s remaining market.
But a new study reveals that HRT isn’t even good at improving incontinence – in fact, it makes it worse. In a study that recruited participants from the women’s health initiative, HRT with or without progestogen increased the risk of incontinence in women who were continent, and it made the condition worse in women who were already incontinent. In women who were previously healthy, HRT doubled the risk of incontinence compared with placebo, and women who already were incontinent reported that HRT made existing symptoms more frequent, bothersome, and more likely to limit their activities.
Oh dear. We wonder if HRT is good for chilblains. No doubt a doctor near you will let us know in due course.
Maryon Stewart
Daniel Redwood DC
Tom Ferguson MD