In the past, many of the symptoms that resulted from hormone disturbances were helped by taking hormones, such as estrogen, progesterone, testosterone or any combination of these. It was thought that taking hormone replacement not only helped relieve hot flashes, improve mood and sleep, but also prevented the development of heart disease, vaginal dryness and osteoporosis. Through years of research, some of these benefits are now being questioned and many more risks are being identified. Until further research better clarifies how much hormones do help, what doses should be taken and for how long, many women and health care providers are shying away from using systemic hormone therapy at this time. However, in a time when women are living longer than ever, they may spend over half of their lives without their normal hormones. Therefore, women are at risk for many short and long-term consequences of hormone disturbances as described in the section entitled "Learn".

Men treated for prostate cancer who have their testosterone decreased are in a similar situation. There are some treatments that have been shown to be helpful in controlling or preventing these symptoms. Most are not as effective as hormones, some are. Some require a prescription, some are things men and women can do on their own. This section will provide more information on these treatments.

If you are experiencing many different symptoms, start by identifying the one symptom that seems to be the most troublesome and work on that. It could very well be that getting that one symptom under control could positively affect other areas. It is important to give any intervention a fair trial - one or two days is not going to be long enough to see results. Try something for up to 4 weeks (herbal remedies may take a bit longer), unless it is producing negative effects. If positive results are not seen in that length of time, it is best to move on to something else.