Benefits of PREMARIN
Relieving the symptoms of menopause
Because every woman experiences menopause differently, it is important to assess your symptoms and to discuss these, as well as the level of relief you can expect with PREMARIN, with your health care professional.
In general, you can expect relief from your moderate to severe menopausal symptoms to begin quickly with PREMARIN. You may begin to feel relief from hot flashes in 1 to 3 weeks.
Hot flashes and night sweats are likely to become less frequent and intense. This trend in improvement should continue over time.
Relief from vaginal symptoms—dryness, burning, and itching—may take 3 weeks. If you need relief only from vaginal dryness, ask your health care professional about topical therapies. He or she may prescribe PREMARIN Vaginal Cream. PREMARIN has been proven to relieve menopausal symptoms even at the lowest dose.
Preventing osteoporosis
Estrogen plays a critical role in maintaining bone strength in women. The drop in estrogen levels that accompanies menopause results in increased bone loss. Here's some helpful information about this problem.
Up to 20 percent of a woman's lifetime bone loss may occur in the years immediately following menopause. Although you cannot feel it happening, this bone loss can lead to postmenopausal osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a disease in which the amount of bone is decreased and the structural integrity of the bone is impaired. Under a microscope, normal bone looks like a dense sponge. Osteoporosis increases the size of the holes in the sponge-like structure, and makes the material that surrounds the holes finer, more delicate, and more easily broken.
Postmenopausal women are especially susceptible to fractures of the hip, wrists, and spine. PREMARIN can help reduce your chances of developing osteoporosis because it has been shown to increase bone mineral density at the hip and spine and can help prevent postmenopausal osteoporosis.
- In the first few years after menopause, you may begin to rapidly lose bone mineral density.
- PREMARIN has been proven to increase bone mineral density at the hip and the spine and help prevent postmenopausal osteoporosis.
- In addition to the prevention of osteoporosis, PREMARIN has been proven to alleviate moderate to severe symptoms of menopause, such as hot flashes, night sweats, and vaginal symptoms.
If you do not have menopausal symptoms, such as hot flashes and night sweats, non-estrogen treatments should be carefully considered before taking PREMARIN solely for the prevention of postmenopausal osteoporosis.
Important Safety Information
What is the most important information you should know about PREMARIN (estrogens), PREMPRO (a combination of estrogens and a progestin), or PREMARIN Vaginal Cream (a cream of estrogens)?
Estrogens increase the chances of getting cancer of the uterus.
Report any unusual vaginal bleeding right away while you are using these products. Vaginal bleeding after menopause may be a warning sign of cancer of the uterus (womb). Your health care provider should check any unusual vaginal bleeding to find out the cause.
Do not use estrogens with or without progestins to prevent heart disease, heart attacks, strokes, or dementia.
Using estrogens with or without progestins may increase your chances of getting heart attacks, strokes, breast cancer, and blood clots. Using estrogens, with or without progestins, may increase your risk of dementia, based on a study of women age 65 years or older. You and your health care provider should talk regularly about whether you still need treatment with estrogens.
PREMARIN® (conjugated estrogens tablets, USP) is used after menopause to reduce moderate to severe hot flashes; to treat moderate to severe dryness, itching, and burning, in and around the vagina; and to help reduce your chances of getting osteoporosis (thin weak bones).
PREMPRO® (conjugated estrogens/medroxyprogesterone acetate tablets) is used after menopause in women with a uterus to reduce moderate to severe hot flashes; to treat moderate to severe dryness, itching, and burning, in and around the vagina; and to help reduce your chances of getting osteoporosis (thin weak bones).
PREMARIN® (conjugated estrogens) Vaginal Cream is used after menopause to treat dryness, itching, and burning, in and around the vagina.
PREMARIN and PREMPRO should be used at the lowest effective dose and for the shortest duration consistent with your treatment goals and risks. If using PREMARIN or PREMPRO only to treat your symptoms of vaginal dryness, consider topical therapies first. If you do not have symptoms, non-estrogen treatments should be carefully considered before taking PREMARIN and PREMPRO solely for the prevention of postmenopausal osteoporosis.
In a clinical trial, the most commonly reported (≥5%) side effects that occurred more frequently with PREMARIN than with placebo were vaginitis due to yeast or other causes, vaginal bleeding, painful menstruation, and leg cramps.
In a clinical trial, the most commonly reported (≥5%) side effects that occurred more frequently with PREMPRO 0.45 mg/1.5 mg and PREMPRO 0.625 mg/2.5 mg than with placebo were breast pain/enlargement, vaginitis due to yeast or other causes, leg cramps, vaginal spotting/bleeding, and painful menstruation. In a clinical trial, there was no difference in the commonly reported (≥5%) side effects for women taking PREMPRO 0.3 mg/1.5 mg compared to those taking placebo.
The most commonly reported side effects of PREMARIN Vaginal Cream include vaginal discomfort or pain, breast pain, vaginitis, and itching.
PREMARIN, PREMPRO, and PREMARIN Vaginal Cream should not be used if you have unusual vaginal bleeding, have or had cancer of the breast or uterus, had a stroke or heart attack in the past year, have or had blood clots, have liver problems, are allergic to any of the ingredients in PREMARIN, PREMPRO, or PREMARIN Vaginal Cream, or think you may be pregnant. In general, the addition of a progestin is recommended for women with a uterus to reduce the chance of getting cancer of the uterus.
