HRT instant magic - and then not: anyone else had this

[Number42]

So I had increasingly been getting the classic symptoms of menopause - night sweats, feeling exhausted, crap, down, no libido etc. It gradually built up over several months. So went to see GP, got patches, and tried to manage expectations about no magic overnight solution. To my surprise and delight within 3 days of starting I felt better and had an amazing week feeling like "me" was back - mood was up, energy was back etc. Then I had another sweat midweek, nothing else and then suddenly, it all came back over the weekend - sweats, mood, low energy, the lot. So in the space of two weeks of HR T I've had a week-long boom and then a bust. I can appreciate that this stuff may take time to sort itself out so am not rushing back to the doctor but it's a) weird that things change so fast and b) so disappointing to have it snatched away like this after a week. Anyone else had similar?

How old are you and what type of patch are you using?

It's far far too soon to make a judgement. It can take 3 months to build up the levels of estrogen to be anything like your own levels.

HRT isn't like a painkiller where you take it and it works straight away and that's that. It's a gradual build up of the estrogen back into your body in the same way that it slowly decreased over many years.

It's your own pre-HRT symptoms that are still there. Don't expect miracles in 2 weeks- give it time. :)

48 but I had a hysterectomy so not surprised at timing. Didn't express myself clearly first time round - the surprise isn't that it isn't working instantly; the surprise was that for the first week it did. I guess it's like being v v thirsty and drinking a small cup of water. At first you think great, I'm so much better, but then you realise that actually you're still thirsty.

How are you doing now? hope you are doing better