In deciding to use a medicine, the risks of taking the medicine must be weighed against the good it will do. This is a decision you and your doctor will need to make. For estrogens and progestins, the following should be considered:

Allergies - Tell your doctor if you have ever had any unusual or allergic reaction to estrogens or progestins. Also tell your health care professional if you are allergic to any other substances, such as foods, preservatives, or dyes.

Pregnancy - Estrogens and progestins are not recommended for use during pregnancy or right after giving birth. Becoming pregnant or maintaining a pregnancy is not likely to occur around the time of menopause.

Breast-feeding - Estrogens and progestins pass into the breast milk and can change the content or lower the amount of breast milk. Use of this medicine is not recommended in nursing mothers.

Older adults - Many medicines have not been studied specifically in older people. Therefore, it may not be known whether they work exactly the same way they do in younger adults or if they cause different side effects or problems in older people. There is no specific information comparing use of estrogens and progestins in the elderly with use in other age groups.

Checking-up visits - It is very important that your doctor check your progress at regular visits to make sure this medicine does not cause unwanted effects. These visits will usually be every year, but some doctors require them more often.

Additionally, it is not yet known whether the use of estrogens increases the risk of breast cancer in women. Therefore, it is very important that you regularly check your breasts for any unusual lumps or discharge, and report any problems to your doctor. You should also have a mammogram (x-ray pictures of the breasts) done if your doctor recommends it. Because breast cancer has occurred in men taking estrogens, regular breast self-exams and exams by your doctor for any unusual lumps or discharge should be done.

Other medicines - Although certain medicines should not be used together at all, in other cases two different medicines may be used together even if an interaction might occur. In these cases, your doctor may want to change the dose, or other precautions may be necessary. When you are taking estrogens and progestins, it is especially important that your health care professional know if you are taking any of the following:

Cyclosporine (e.g., Sandimmune®) - Estrogens can prevent cyclosporine's removal from the body which can lead to kidney or liver problems caused by too much cyclosporine.

Other medical problems - The presence of other medical problems may affect the use of estrogens and progestins. Make sure you tell your doctor if you have any other medical problems, especially:

* Asthma
* Calcium, too much or too little in blood
* Diabetes mellitus (sugar diabetes)
* Epilepsy (seizures)
* Heart problems
* Kidney problems
* Liver tumors, benign
* Lupus erythematosus, systemic
* Migraine headaches
* Porphyria - Estrogens may worsen these conditions.
* Blood clotting problems, or history of during previous estrogen therapy. (Estrogens are usually not used until blood clotting problems stop. Using estrogens is not a problem for most patients without a history of blood clotting problems due to estrogen use.)
* Breast cancer
* Bone cancer
* Cancer of the uterus
* Fibroid tumors of the uterus - Estrogens may interfere with the treatment of breast or bone cancer or worsen cancer of the uterus when these conditions are present.
* Changes in genital or vaginal bleeding of unknown causes - Use of estrogens may delay diagnosis or worsen condition. The reason for the bleeding should be determined before estrogens are used.
* Endometriosis
* Gallbladder disease or gallstones (or history of)
* High cholesterol or triglycerides (or history of)
* Liver disease
* Pancreatitis (inflammation of pancreas) - Estrogens may worsen these conditions. While estrogens can improve blood cholesterol, they may worsen blood triglycerides for some people.
* Hypothyroid (too little thyroid hormone) - Dose of thyroid medicine may need to be increased.
* Vision changes, sudden onset including bulging eyes or double vision, migraine headache, vision loss, partial or complete - Estrogens may cause these problems.

Tell your doctor if you have had any of these problems, especially while taking estrogen or oral contraceptives (“birth control pills”). 

 

FDA Information

Why is this medication prescribed?

Other uses for this medicine

Dosage and using this medicine

What should I do if I forget a dose?

What side effects can this medication cause?

What storage conditions are needed for this medicine?

In case of an emergency/overdose