What women should know about PREMARIN
Recently there was a media scare on the daily use of estrogens, or more specifically, Premarin and Prempro where it was said and became known that they are dangerous, but this is not true.
Part of what was broadcasted has to do with pending litigation and mis-information. First let me add that many of the women in the study smoked cigarettes daily and did not have a balance of diet and exercise, which as we know is an important part of Preventive Medicine.
PMMedia.com is here to give you the facts on estrogens for women over fifty. Please read the facts for yourself...
Dr. Jose Carranza
President and C.E.O.
July 08, 2005 - PMMedia.com (Updated May 03, 2006)
What is Premarin?
The practical definition of Premarin is Pregnant Mares' Urine (PREgnant MARes' urINE) OR PMU for short, but the actual definition is a medicine that contains a mixture of estrogen hormones. Premarin(tm) (including Prempro, Premphase, and Prempac) is a drug made up of conjugated estrogens obtained from the urine of pregnant mares put out in many forms including pills, creams, injections and patches.
The primary use is to treat the symptoms of menopause in women, which includes moderate to severe hot flashes and depression. Women who have had their ovaries taken out should also use Premarin and it has also been proven to nearly eliminate the risk of osteoporosis (brittle bones / thin weak bones). Premarin has also been proven to reduce the likelihood of heart disease in women over fifty. Remember, Premarin along with daily consumption of Aspirin significantly reduces the risk of heart disease in women over fifty.
PMM FACT #1: Approximately nine million American women are currently taking some form of Premarin or about a third of the approximately thirty-five million postmenopausal women. Of those women, about 78% uses Premarin based products.
HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY is necessary in the case of a Hysterectomy with oophorectomy (surgical menopause). When women have a hysterectomy, they no longer produce estrogens and so, they need to supplement the estrogens such as PREMPRO or HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY as it is known... Women that have had a complete hysterectomy can take Premarin, especially because there is NO CHANCE of getting endometrial carcinoma because there is no uterus.
Women with a uterus but have no ovarian function or no ovaries, need to take the combination of estrogens + progestin (PREMPRO). It is safer and this way and this way and significantly reduce the chances of endometrial carcinoma.
Most important things to know about Premarin - An Estrogen Mixture
* Estrogens increase the chances of getting cancer of the uterus.
* Do not use estrogens with or without progestins to prevent heart disease, heart attacks, strokes and dementia.
Side effects (Not Common)
* Headache
* Breast Pain
* Irregular vaginal bleeding or spotting
* Stomach /abdominal cramps, bloating
* Nausea or vomiting
* Hair Loss
RISKS (VERY LOW INCIDENCE)
* Breast Cancer
* Cancer of the uterus
* Stroke
* Heart attack
* Blood Clots
* Dementia
* Gallbladder disease
* Ovarian Cancer
How long has Premarin been in Use?
Introduced in 1942, long before synthetic alternatives existed, Premarin was one of the first medications available for hormonal therapy for menopause. It is the only human estrogen replacement medicine derived from an animal (hormones beginning with the letter "e" are specific to equines, hormones beginning with the letter "h" are specific to humans).
Both the company that distributes it, Ayerst Organics Ltd. (currently the world's only producer of PMU) and the company that markets Premarin, mainly Wyeth Laboratories can trace their roots to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where, in 1860, John Wyeth and his brother Frank established a drugstore that eventually became the world's seventh largest Pharmaceutical Company.
Along with any other element of Preventive Medicine - Diet and Exercise are very important in order to prevent heart disease and to maintain overall health.
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This article is for educational purposes and is also based on opinion by the doctor - pmmedia.com is not responsible for misinterpretation or abuse of said text in any way or form. You should consult a medical professional if you have further questions. Please read disclaimer.