How do you feel on HRt?

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Probably not a good title but I wasn’t sure how to phrase it.
I’m on hrt, not sure how much it helps. My main thing is that I feel frustrated with people, worry about things all the time, brain fog to an extent. I suppose my question is, is it reasonable to say I still have these things as symptoms of perimenopause now that I am on hrt? My oestrogen is presumably where it should be, so am I just using peri as an excuse for the way I feel? I feel like if I explain these things to people, they will just say “you’re on hrt now so what’s the problem”

The first type of HRT I was given stopped the night sweats but made my migraines worse. The second made my migraines even worse, made me bleed for between ten and twelve days and generally feel worse. The GP then upped my dose which sent me crazy. I ended up seeing a different doctor who was really concerned about me.
I actually stopped taking it completely for 18 months.
I then saw a nurse who gave me a different type of HRT and I’m much better, been on this for around four years now. Nothing is perfect but it’s trial and error to see what suits you best.

Good, mostly because it gets rid of my night sweats and makes my hair and skin lovely.

I'm not on HRT, so I can only tell you what it's like, for me, without it.

I ache - ALL the time, but especially at night which means that I rarely get any undisturbed sleep.
I have itchy 'bits'. As in my genitals are itchy and sore ALL the time. I use creams to help, but they are of limited use.
I don't think I have brain fog, but I do find myself forgetting words sometimes. I have an excellent vocabulary so the word is right there, on the tip of my tongue, I just can't remember it when I need it.
I used to get really bad hot flushes, both during the day and at night. I don't get them so much any more thank goodness but I never know when one will strike.
I am, on occasion, absolutely horrible to my very sweet and kind DH, who I love very much.
I am permanently exhausted.

I have lots of other symptoms which may, or may not, be attributable to the menopause, but I also have other things wrong with me so I don't know.

I can't take HRT, as I am being treated for breast cancer. In fact I take a medication to stop my body from producing ANY oestrogen at all. (Did you know that it's not just your ovaries that produce oestrogen? Your liver does too and maybe other organs as well). My first menopause was barely noticeable apart from the obvious, this second menopause is vicious. The 'good' creams used to treat itchy 'bits' contain oestrogen, so I can't even use those.

If I had the option of taking HRT I would do it like a shot.

It may be that the dose, or type, of HRT you are taking is not suitable for you, so discuss this with your doctor. It may be that you have other things going on in addition to menopause. There are foods that are recommended to help combat menopausal symptoms - I can't think what they are off-hand but they include seeds etc. Try including those in your diet.

I initially used the patches but found they didn't really make a difference to my symptoms. Anxiety was through the roof so bad I was unable to leave the house at times. Doctor increased my dose to 75mg patches but it didn't really make much difference and the muscle aches and bone pain were affecting my life so badly. I asked to try gel this summer and within weeks I felt much more like my old self. I still have low days but anxiety is nowhere near what it was. My brain fog can still be pretty bad but the muscle aches and bone pain are much improved. I take 3 pumps of oestrogen a day and 2 x 100mg of progesterone 12 days a month.

HRT hasn't been the magical solution that I hoped it would be but it has helped me a lot. I definitely don't have the awful rage that I did before. So maybe try a different type if you can.

Thanks all. Maybe I’ll try the gel and see if that’s any different

I’ve just recently changed my HRT from patches and tablets to gel and pessaries. I struggle with progesterone as it makes me very very bad tempered and I’ve likely had undiagnosed PMDD. I was also experiencing night sweats, shoulder pain, fatigue, itchy skin. The menopause specialist I saw suggested I wasn’t absorbing the oestrogen effectively as the patches made me itch like mad.
I’ve been on the oestrogen gel for 2 weeks now and testosterone. I definitely feel less aches, I feel brighter mentally and I’m certainly much less angry (although not tried the progesterone yet!!)

TMI, but I was beginning to think the link between my clitoris and my brain was broken as I was struggling to orgasm, but the testosterone has definitely improved that!!!! 🤭

I was on the patches at first, didn’t do much but then I’ve changed to oestrogel and progesterone.

i don’t think for me it’s been the amazing life changing thing that people rave about but it has stopped the night sweats and the mood swings.

But it has helped me with my sleep, I think that’s because of the progesterone I’m taking. I was severely sleep deprived for a long time, getting between 3 to five hours every night, waking up at 2 then awake for hours. Now I’m getting a regular six to seven hours a night and although I’m still waking I’m dropping back of quicker.

im not a fan of the bleeding either, I’m hoping that will settle.

Anyone have any update another month along? I'm due to start next week x

Has anyone found it has helped with sex drive? I am so sad that I just have no desire to have sex with my lovely DH at all. I went on the pill rather than HRT as tried it and didn't like it but wondering if I need to try again

Also how tired does the progesterone make people? I have to drive up a really busy motorway for work every day and I'm already shattered!

I don't know if it counts but was prescribed oestrogen cream as a trial and all it did was make my boobs swell to bursting and very very tender to even the lightest touch. Bras were agony. I don't even recall if it helped any of my other symptoms because I was so focused on my sore balloon tits.

It does make me quite tired if im honest. I’ve struggled with feeling exhausted even before I was on Hrt and there’s been a little improvement with my energy levels but not much. I’m quite happy to put up with it for now because my sleep has improved somewhat with progesterone. I take it at night though which helps

I find it amazing now I'm on the right type for me - patch, coil, testosterone.

However my brain fog is still absolutely chronic. Like horrific. Names. Nouns. Places. I've been on the highest amount of oestrogen for 3yrs so there's nowhere to go. I'm considering going to the GP about it it's so bad. I used to be so intelligent.

But other than that and the odd night sweat I'm great.

Thankfully I realised very early on that progesterone utrogestan made me very ill. It was like being drugged and suicidal at the same time.

Can you say what the testosterone does for you? I’m not on that and wonder if that’s maybe what I’m missing

It does all the things I need it to do libido wise 😊

Thanks! I could do with some help in that dept

I’ve got gel and it got rid of my symptoms with one squirt (max 4). A word of warning: there is such a thing as too much. Just recently I put my dose up from x1 to x2 squirts and it suits me, whereas x1 squirtwas the correct dose for a long time. Without HRT I have night sweats and perhaps some brain fog (maybe). I know this because I had a break for two weeks at some point.

I feel bloody amazing but it took a while to get the right combo and dosage. I have a Mirena coil for progesterone, Oestrogel x 3 pumps, testosterone gel and vaginal estriol cream.

I took it mainly for night sweats and mood swings and it was great. But I probably took it for far longer than I needed to . Stopped last year - at 58 - and no night sweats or mood swings now altho my internal thermostat does seem a bit crazy still.
I would recommend it altho I hate the idea of my pee containing all the oestrogens given men's sperm count is so low these days. Desperately want to be a grandma one day ( if DS ever settles down with a girl).

ETA forget the name of the patches .. possibly oestradiol..that sounds about right

I started on the gel and tablets. One pump then increased to two, but it wasn't really working for me. Initially the symptoms eased, but they quickly returned. The GP said i wasn't absorbing it.

I moved onto patches and my symptoms have disappeared. It's been over 2 months now, but just started to bleed which is very frustrating.

I also use vaginal estrogen as I was drier than the Sahara down there.

Took me nearly two years of tweaking but
no aching joints
I sleep through the night except for two nights in the middle of my progesterone free phase
Brain fog has reduced dramatically (still not perfect)
Memory isn’t great and I’m not as clever as I used to be, but
I can hold a conversation without forgetting the word I was about to say
I have a sex drive again
sex is comfortable although I do use lube now
No night sweats
No migraines for 4 months (touch wood)
Im

I’m taking everything - spray oestrogen, progesterone pill, vaginal suppository, cream, and testosterone gel,

I take everything too - oestrogen patch. Ustrogen pill. Blissel vaginal gel and Androfemme testosterone.

This combination works for me. I finally sleep after years of waking constantly. Need the loo much less in the night. Less anxious - especially in the middle of the night. Testosterone has helped libido - and that doesn’t just mean sex drive but actually zest for life. I feel less flat.

I just feel more on an even keel. I was so up and down before. It was awful.

Zero aches and pains and I’m nearly 50.

Oh and it solved my night sweats which were every half an hour all night!

@DilemmaDelilahSorry you’re dealing with such a lot.

Have you checked out Menopause and cancer - they offer brilliant support and advice. Might be worth looking them in case that can help with any of your symptoms/experiences. They have resources, events, podcasts and access to free menopause appointments (think you enter a ballot with random selection)
https://menopauseandcancer.org/

I'm not on HRT now but took the pills and then patches for perhaps nearly ten years so I must have been fairly ok .. I do wonder these days about the strength of the placebo effect however..

I first took ( long time ago) a pill which someone said was based on horses urine and then asked for a different pill. Forget what it was called but must have been alright..By about that time I realised my libido had fallen off a cliff and spoke to my GP about that. I really don't think they were listening or didn't feel able to help and to be honest that issue hasn't been resolved even now. Eventually I went on to the patches and they used to irritate my skin so such an extent I would end up with bright red oval sore areas when I took the patch off. Having stuck that out for a little longer I thought I'd try and give up (.last summer).. Which has been fine .Perhaps a little difficulty now and then with my body's internal thermostat but otherwise, all good..

I should really have tried to come off them earlier. ( I don't feel happy with the idea of excreting all these hormones into the water supply and why take any pill/medicine without a proper medical reason behind it ?).

All the best Op :)

I'm in my 70's and they will take it out of my cold dead hands, that's how much it has helped me. I have an aunt in her 90"s who only stopped taking it mid 80's.
When there was a shortage of supplies and I had to go without I couldn't function properly either physically or mentally.