Why HRT Prescribing Has Fallen in the last 5 years

It’s hard to get exact figures, but it seems that there are more than one million women in Britain taking HRT, and an estimated one million who have stopped taking HRT in recent years, because of health fears.

This may be why doctors are now prescribing it less and limiting its use to 5-6 years.

What caused this fall?

So what caused that drop of 50 per cent in taking HRT? It seems this is what John Lee described as women ‘voting with their bodies’ rather than the medical profession prescribing less.

A study undertaken in 2009 at Stanford University in California found that women who take HRT for more than five years double their risk of suffering breast cancer for every 12 months they spend taking it.

Breast cancer is the most common form of the disease diagnosed in women in Britain and one in nine women will develop the disease at some form in their life. More than 45,000 cases are diagnosed every year and about 15,000 women die from the cancer, although survival rates have increased significantly in recent years.

However, the good news is that within a year of stopping HRT the risk of developing breast cancer was almost back to normal. This was not a small scale study either, unlike the original research on HRT, as more than 57,0000 women were studied which enabled the research team to say conclusively that there was very strong evidence that HRT causes breast cancer.

What Are Women Turning To Instead?

With so many women stopping HRT, the question becomes: what are they doing instead? Many are seeking out natural alternatives that can help manage menopause symptoms without the associated health risks. Bioidentical natural progesterone has become an increasingly popular choice, as it is identical in structure to the hormone your body produces naturally and does not carry the same cancer risks as synthetic HRT.

Other women are turning to lifestyle approaches — regular exercise, dietary changes, stress management techniques, and herbal supplements. Some find that addressing the underlying hormone imbalance, particularly oestrogen dominance, brings the most significant relief.

Why the Safety Concerns Matter

The Stanford study was far from the only research raising red flags about conventional HRT. The landmark Women’s Health Initiative study had already shown increased risks of breast cancer, heart disease, stroke, and blood clots in women taking combined HRT. These findings fundamentally changed how both doctors and women viewed hormone replacement.

What is often overlooked in these discussions is the crucial difference between synthetic hormones used in conventional HRT and bioidentical hormones. Synthetic progestogens — which are chemically different from natural progesterone — were the hormones implicated in these studies. Bioidentical progesterone, by contrast, has a very different safety profile.

What You Can Do

If you are experiencing menopause symptoms and are concerned about the risks of HRT, there are options. Many women find that bioidentical natural progesterone cream, such as Serenity, can help with a wide range of symptoms including hot flushes, night sweats, mood changes, and sleep problems. Unlike conventional HRT, it works with your body’s own chemistry rather than against it.

If you are currently on HRT and considering alternatives, always discuss any changes with your healthcare provider before stopping or switching medication.