What is Trisequens Hormone Replacement Therapy?
Trisequens is a combined hormone replacement therapy that contains oestrogen (estradiol) and norethisterone acetate which is a synthetic form of the hormone progesterone.
Trisequens is taken every day without a break to reduce menopausal symptoms in women who still have a uterus but have not had a menstrual period in at least the last 6 months. Trisequens should cause you to have a monthly bleed.
Trisequens is a sequential type of HRT, which means that inside each pack of 28 tablets, the different colour tablets have different amounts of hormones. This guarantees that you get the most appropriate dose of each hormone throughout the month.
What is Trisequens used for?
During menopause, the oestrogen levels in a woman's body drop, which can cause women to experience some unwanted symptoms. These can vary from person to person but often include:
- Night sweats
- Hot flushes
- Vaginal dryness
- Reduced sex drive
- Low mood, depression, and anxiety
- Disturbed sleep and insomnia
- Fatigue
- Mood swings
- Irritability
These are just a few of the menopausal symptoms that some women will experience. For more information take a look at this guide on recognising the early signs of menopause.
Taking Trisequens, which contains estrogen, can help to alleviate these menopausal symptoms and can also reduce the chance of postmenopausal women developing osteoporosis.
How does Trisequens work?
Trisequens tablets contain both oestrogen and a form of progesterone in varying amounts, which mimic the female body's natural menstrual cycle. Taking additional oestrogen after menopause helps to reduce menopausal symptoms by replacing the hormone levels in the blood that would have previously been produced by the ovaries.
Taking hormone replacement therapy, such as Trisequens, which also contains progesterone is prescribed to women that are postmenopause but still have a uterus. This is because it has been shown to reduce the risk, for women who take HRT, of developing endometrial cancer.
Alternatives to Trisequens
There are currently many varieties of hormone replacement therapy available on prescription including others containing oestrogen-only HRT or combined HRT containing both synthetic oestrogen and progesterone.
Progynova is an oestrogen-only HRT tablet that contains estradiol valerate. Equivalent HRT treatments include Elleste Solo tablets and Zumenon tablets.
Hormone replacement therapy is available in different formats such as HRT tablets and patches, creams and vaginal inserts. Some postmenopausal women will find certain methods more suitable for them than others. For more information about what HRT you can buy from The Independent Pharmacy visit our Menopause page.
If you are looking to start hormone replacement therapy or would like to change to a different treatment you should discuss your options with your doctor or specialist.