Actress Lisa Ray has been open about managing menopause signs. In a brand new social media put up, the 53-year-old shared how Hormone Alternative Remedy helped her.
Actress Lisa Ray, a most cancers survivor, has been vocal concerning the signs of menopause. The actress, who went into untimely chemo-induced menopause at 37, began Hormone Alternative Remedy on the age of 53. She has opened up concerning the optimistic influence of the remedy on her sleep high quality and power ranges. Nevertheless, the previous mannequin, who was recognized with a number of myeloma in 2009, warns that it’s “not a one dimension suits all”.
Lisa Ray on Hormone Alternative Remedy
After battling a uncommon blood most cancers that impacts plasma cells, the “Water” actress made certain to create consciousness about a number of myeloma. Now in her 50s, Lisa Ray is on a mission to share her expertise associated to menopause, as “#menopausematters.”

In a brand new Instagram put up, Lisa Ray shared, “Let me begin by saying, HRT shouldn’t be a one dimension suits all, neither is it obligatory for each girl. CONSULT A QUALIFIED MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL TO DISCUSS.”
“I went into untimely chemo-induced menopause at 37. I simply began HRT not too long ago at 53.”
Why did Lisa Ray wait so lengthy?
Listed below are her causes:
1. Like many others I had been satisfied of a direct hyperlink between HRT and most cancers by a Girls’s Well being Initiative examine that has since been debunked.
2. I used to be not conditioned to ask for assist with menopause.
3. I didn’t know who to ask and the place to show.
4. I accepted that even when I needed to start out now it was too late.
However Lisa Ray determined to offer it one other go.
“Sparked by all of the Menopause conversations I’ve been having, I met integrative gynaecologist and feminine hormone crusader Dr Priyanka Mehta in Dubai, hesitated for some time, bought the blood work completed (though I hate needles) and simply began my HRT protocol backed by Priyanka’s assist and information and my lady tribe.”
Just some weeks in, right here’s what Lisa Ray found about the advantages of HRT:
1. I sleep like a babe wrapped in cotton wool.
2. My afternoon power dips are gone.
3. My moods are stabilising.
4. My insurance coverage doesn’t cowl HRT if I begin greater than 5 years after medical menopause.
5. I’m wondering why I didn’t begin earlier.
Take a look at her put up right here
She is crammed with a mixture of gratitude and marvel, in addition to anger. “I’m indignant that my era didn’t have entry to the proper info, that our peri and menopause signs have been dismissed, that we have been gaslit and that Girls’s Well being has been severely neglected and underfunded,” wrote Lisa Ray, who follows a weightlifting routine to handle weight acquire throughout menopause.
She requested, “If extra males have been struggling via Man-opause (or brazenly discussing Andropause) do you assume this is able to be the case?”
That is the explanation she is right here, loud and proud, so her two daughters and the “subsequent era of younger girls won’t ever must marvel about signs, won’t ever be silenced, will probably be ready for the Hormonal trilogy (Perimenopause, Menopause after which the Liberation Years!) and can embrace each messy, lovely, sacred part of womanhood from adolescence to Menopause. Studying, shedding unravelling and evolving is what it means to be alive.”
What’s Hormone Alternative Remedy (HRT)?
It’s a remedy used to alleviate signs of menopause by supplementing the physique with hormones which are now not produced in adequate quantities, primarily estrogen, and typically progesterone and testosterone. “For ladies with a uterus, a mix of estrogen and progesterone is required to guard the endometrium (the innermost lining of the uterus). Girls with no uterus can take estrogen-only Hormone Alternative Remedy,” shares gynaecologist and obstetrician Dr Archana Dhawan Bajaj. It may be administered in a number of kinds, together with tablets, patches, gels or vaginal functions.
What are the advantages of Hormone Alternative Remedy for menopausal girls?
Listed below are among the advantages of the remedy for menopausal girls:
1. Relieves signs
“It considerably reduces menopausal signs reminiscent of sizzling flashes, night time sweats and vaginal dryness. It additionally helps enhance sleep high quality, temper, and power ranges,” says the knowledgeable. These signs normally enhance just a few days or even weeks after beginning the remedy.
2. Prevents osteoporosis
“It performs an essential function in defending long-term well being by preserving bone density, which in flip, reduces the danger of osteoporosis and fractures,” says Dr Bajaj. Thinning of the bones is frequent after the menopause, as the extent of estrogen, wanted for wholesome bones, falls. The remedy helps to forestall osteoporosis by rising estrogen stage, in line with the UK’s Nationwide Well being Service.

3. Maintains muscle energy
Shedding muscle energy after reaching menopause is sort of frequent. Hormone Alternative Remedy can enhance this and assist in maintaining your muscle groups sturdy. After consulting a physician, train together with the remedy to maintain your muscle groups sturdy.
Hormone Alternative Remedy and most cancers danger
One of many the reason why Lisa Ray selected to start out this remedy was as a result of she was “satisfied of a direct hyperlink between HRT and most cancers.” Issues of Lisa Ray are legitimate and shared by many ladies.
Actually, breast most cancers survivors are sometimes suggested to keep away from their remedy due to a possible hyperlink between most cancers and HRT. A 2008 examine, printed within the Journal of the Nationwide Most cancers Institute, confirmed that it could enhance the danger of breast most cancers recurrence. Nevertheless, one other examine confirmed there was no elevated danger. A 2022 examine, printed within the Journal of the Nationwide Most cancers Institute, confirmed that postmenopausal girls who have been handled for early-stage breast most cancers confirmed no elevated danger of recurrence or deaths related to the usage of Hormone Alternative Remedy.
The hyperlink between HRT and most cancers, significantly breast most cancers, depends upon the kind of remedy. “Estrogen-only HRT, which is utilized in girls who’ve had a hysterectomy, shouldn’t be strongly linked to breast most cancers. Mixed HRT, which incorporates each estrogen and progestogen, has been related to a modest enhance in breast most cancers danger, significantly if used constantly for greater than 5 years,” says Dr Bajaj.
What are the unintended effects of Hormone Alternative Remedy?
It could actually include some unintended effects. Some girls expertise:
- Breast tenderness
- Bloating
- Complications
- Nausea
- Temper swings
- Irregular vaginal bleeding or recognizing
These unintended effects could also be skilled when girls first start remedy,” says the knowledgeable.
There are additionally extra critical, although much less frequent, dangers reminiscent of blood clots, stroke, and gallbladder points.
At 53, Lisa Ray opted for the Hormone Alternative Remedy. She has listed its advantages, however she additionally desires her Instagram followers to know that the remedy shouldn’t be obligatory for each girl.
Associated FAQs
Who shouldn’t take hormone alternative remedy?
Not each girl is a candidate for HRT. It’s usually not really useful for girls who’ve a historical past of hormone-sensitive cancers reminiscent of breast or endometrial most cancers, unexplained vaginal bleeding, blood clotting problems, stroke, extreme liver illness, or uncontrolled hypertension.
Is 30 too previous to start out HRT?
No, 30 shouldn’t be too previous, if it’s medically indicated. Girls who expertise untimely menopause, whether or not because of surgical procedure, chemotherapy, typically start HRT earlier than the typical age of menopause. The aim is to supply hormone assist till the age of pure menopause, round 50 to 51.
Does HRT cease durations?
Whether or not or not HRT stops durations depends upon the kind of routine used. In girls who’re postmenopausal and use steady mixed HRT (estrogen and progesterone day by day), durations normally cease altogether. Nevertheless, in girls who’re perimenopausal or early postmenopausal, cyclical HRT may end up in common, withdrawal bleeding that mimics a menstrual cycle.
Is HRT higher than the capsule?
HRT and the contraceptive capsule serve totally different functions, so one isn’t strictly “higher” than the opposite. The capsule is primarily for contraception however may also assist with menstrual regulation and hormonal signs in youthful girls. HRT is particularly designed to deal with menopausal signs and hormone deficiency in girls round or after the age of menopause.