Should I stop using hormones after four years? Q: Dry mouth, dry nose, dry mouth, hair loss, low platelets; back pain, pain in left hip, left thigh, left knee, soreness and numbness in left calf, throbbing pain in fingers and toes; easy to catch cold, weakness, eczema on back of hands and fingers, hormones have been used for more than four years. Can I stop using hormones? What should I pay attention to? Huang Jiyong, Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, The Second Hospital of Zhejiang University of Traditional Chinese Medicine Huang Jiyong (Provincial Xinhua Hospital): It is definitely not possible to stop the hormones immediately. From the indicators, the amount of hormones should not be large, the main problem may be in the platelets, you can observe the condition through the high or low platelets. It is recommended that you check the blood routine, blood sedimentation, ferritin, immune function, CRP, etc. frequently. In addition, it is recommended to do heart ultrasound and lung CT. as for the diagnosis, don’t get too hung up on it, I guess you can’t diagnose it as some kind of definite connective tissue disease because you can’t see a lot of places, but you may not have a definite answer in the end. It is recommended to add herbal medicine on top of the current one, combining Chinese and Western medicine, and gradually withdraw hormones after the condition is stabilized.