HRT

[Bruno1959]

Hi can anyone give me an idea of how long HRT takes to work? Have been taking it for 3 weeks and have noticed some changes but still don't feel really great - had a few good days last week but the last two days have been yuk :(

I think I felt good after a week BUT I then went down hill a bit when I started taking the 2nd half of the packet. The sort I am on has 2 weeks of 1 sort and then 2 weeks of another.

I found my flushes and sleeplessness improved in about a week or two. I am using a regime under a consultant which is long cycle so I only use progesterone every 2 months which cuts down on the possible worst PMS side effects.

The 'rule' is you give HRT 3 months then think about changing if you are not seeing improvements.

What else are you doing with lifestyle and self help? Taking exercise regularly ( 5 x a week) is supposed to really help as well as cleaning up your diet a lot. HRT alone is not a miracle cure!

My sleep has definitely improved and so have the hot flushes. Just been to the GP to get another prescription for my patches. He told me it can take 3-4 months to really work but then he didn't really seem to know much about hrt - he told me it was only good for hot flushes and nothing else! He also tried to persuade me to take pills rather than patches as they are cheaper!!

My first attempt at HRT worked fairly quickly, but also left me feeling crap for quite a lot of the month, second attempt at different type, felt much better within a week. Maybe go back for a second opinion? I had to try a couple of GPs till I found one that knew much about it.