HRT weight gain

[Carolina78]

HRT GEL weight gain!

I've read through a few of the posts, looks like the majority of us are experiencing weight gain since starting HRT.
Some have suggested going from 2 pumps of the gel to 1 - has anyone tried this and noticed a difference?
Also the tablet we take for 12 days supposedly makes you drowsy, but I'm having worse sleep than before!

Hi Carolina78 i have also gained weight since starting hrt. 100mg a day utrogestan & 2 pumps of oestrodose /oestrogel. I watch what i eat, i attend hiit classes 4 times a week, walk miles with the dog lead a busy life yet still gained. So much to the point im wondering if its worth it. So many have said theres no evidence that this regime causes weight gain but i cant find another reason as to why i have other than the hrt.

I started Oestrogen last summer and haven’t gained weight. I’m on Everol 125 (75 and 50 patch).

I track my calories with MyFitnessPal and if I cut my calories I still lose weight as normal and if I add calories (Christmas/holidays) I put on weight as I always have. I actually lost about 8lbs through October - November without too much bother.

I work out about 5 - 6 times a week strength training and walk the dog most days. I’ve not noticed a change in my metabolism and I’m pretty on it with weighing myself and doing MyFitnessPal.

I think if you roughly track what you’re eating and eat roughly your TDEE you’ll be fine.

Scientifically there is no evidence HRT causes weight gain, but anecdotally there is plenty. Sadly HRT is not the panacea for all ills that Davina says it is.

Ffs it's really unhelpful when people who don't gain weight because of HRT tell someone who does that it's not happening! It reacts differently in different people's bodies.

It's meno that makes you gain weight - your body is storing fat round the middle because those cells make oestrogen. Might be you need more oestrogen replacement not less?

I was also thinking of upping my oestrogen, but did so for a few days and felt mehh, washed out, panicky, generally odd. May be had i stuck it out i may have felt better.
And i agree that it affects everyone differently. With my lifestyle, the amount i eat i shouldn't be gaining, oh & forgot to mention i also track & fast. I put it down to Oestrogel & utrogestan without a doubt in my mind. I was peri for 6 years, no hrt, & no weight gain 🤷🏻‍♀️

Perhaps it's not the HRT. I don't use HRT but since menopause, I find weight is steadily piling on, and none of the strategies I have used in the past to lose weight work any more. So it could be menopause rather than HRT which causes the weight gain.
Davina said HRT didn't control her weight- she said it gave her the energy and the motivation/ headspace back to exercise and eat well, which in turn helped her keep her weight in check.

I know that the gel makes me put on half a stone because I’ve had to stop and start it for various tests I’ve had and the half stone literally falls off and goes back on again depending if I’m using it or not. But for me the benefits of using it means I just turn a blind eye to that because half a stone to me is worth it.

I also use the gel and definetly gained since using it. Davina also had testosterone which gives you the energy & motivation, as she stated it was her key part to her hrt regime. Ive not been issued this as the gp im under isn't licensed to prescribe it.
What i dont understand is, why didnt i gain whilst peri menopausal, no hrt, same lifestyle, train 4 times a week, watch calorie intake, walk dog for miles, fast, yet started hrt a year ago, gained weight yet doing all of the above.. May be the gel doesn't suit me as i said

Thank you @Xrays for putting my mind at ease.
My boobs have also gone up a size in the past few months, & they really dont need to, im already top heavy 🙈

So they say. But I wasn’t putting on weight. Took hrt for two weeks, put on 7lbs in two weeks. Stopped taking it and the weight came off. My weight doesn’t normally fluctuate like that. No change in diet

Everyone is different and some women undoubtedly gain weight on hormone treatments, whether it is the pill or HRT. I gained massively on the mini pill and with both pregnancies so know I would be susceptible to this
My personal belief is that HRT is great for women who need it and choose to have it but there is a certain amount of gaslighting going on with the suggestions that all women should take it and are healthier on it

Agreed, we can't all be the same. I also gained whilst on contraceptive pill years ago so should have guessed i would gain on this. Seriously contemplating stopping it, or weaning off it slowly, as i honestly dont know if i am feeling any better other than sleep & flushes, atm i think i'd rather the weight loss than the sleep 😂
I dont know, its all such a pain

The gel made me gain half a stone. I came off it and was stable for 10 months or so.

Then when I was off HRT my periods disappeared for 3 months and I put on half a stone (and in the same place).

I think it must be hormones rather than HRT that causes weight gain. But I can't work out whether it's more or less oestrogen that I need.

I’m on the lower elleste duet it’s had positive effects one being lessened my ibs with constipation but the feelings of fullness bloating etc have been replaced with hunger and a general obsession with food that I’ve not had in years due to the perimeno ibs so yes I’ve now gained weight because my willpower to ignore my brain wanting foods been rubbish I refuse to ‘diet’ but I need to cutdown as of now

For me, progesterone makes me want to eat everything in sight. So I don't have any issues with appetite on the oestrogel phase but those last days on the progesterone are just uncontrolled food cravings (as well as feeling majorly depressed and sick).

I dont find i crave food. Im pretty much the same now as ive ever been. I am on continious 100mg utrogestan & 2 pumps gel a day as i hadnt seen for a year prior to starting hrt. I be glad to come through the other side. There is so many health benefits to staying on hrt it scares me to stop. 😏 Dilemma..

I started evorel patches in January. I have found that over the past month I've been snacking all the time. I have been doing my usual amount of running ( 5k twice a week) but I have had lots more energy since my low mood lifted so I think I'm doing more generally ( the house had never looked tidier or cleaner) and working up more of an appetite. I need to keep an eye on this as I know I'm putting on weight.

Same issue here, I v gained 2 stone in 4 years on hrt after a hysterectomy aged 39 and now have high blood pressure, never had this before, feel tired all the time.Tried a few hrt alternatives seriously thinking of coming off it. I m petite and can't get away with anymore weight gain.
Has anyone tried antidepressants to help symptoms?
Did you loose weight when you stopped hrt ?

I am at my wits end with the weight gain, I have gained over a stone since I began HRT. I try stopping it but the symptoms are so severe it makes life unbearable, I can see it’s a combination of menopause and HRT as when I do stop I Immediately drop some pounds but then cannot lose any more whatever I do, I train, I’m active at work, I eat sensibly calorie wise and yet it is stuck on me! I’m covered in a layer of fat that wasn’t there before and it’s making me unhappy. Is there an answer do you think? Or is it a case of working on acceptance of what seems to be my new normal?

There area few HRT options- reduce the estrogen dose, change to a different progesterone, maybe use sequential if you're using combined continuous.

Also, and I'm not being unkind- it is worth re-thinking your food. The only reason for saying this is when other posters like you have said they eat healthily etc etc and then post their usual daily food intake there are loads of 'Whooooa - I'd be 20 stone if I ate that.' A lot of us have to go low carb when we're older which is less than 50gms a carbs a day.

You could try the 5:2 diet or restricted time eating which may help.

Thanks for your reply, I am a lifelong T2 diabetic (yes we do exist lol!) and have been Keto or low carb for many years as a result. I eat around 1200 calories a day and food is not what is causing this on its own, my BMI is still normal but the difference in my morphology is horrendous. I can’t do fasting but will look into the oestrogen side of things.

I came off it it all after a lot of thinking. Lost over a stone in weight in a few months. Feel better than i have in years. Flushes are still quite bad but i can live with them. More energy and brain fog lifted quite a bit. I can honestly say i felt worse on the hrt than now.

This is exactly my own experience. I know we’re all different but I just feel so much better, mentally and physically without HRT.

Same! I know it works for most and i wish it had had that effect on me because i know the benefits of it are great, but it didnt, and gp telling me to up my dose made me pretty much like a zombie.
I had tried other regimes which didnt work either. So came off, seem to have my life back 🙌🏼🙏🏼