My HRT belly

[YorkshireMandy]

I'm 48 and initially started HRT in May 2022. For the first 3 months I felt great but then came the random bleeding and the increasing prego style belly. I was growing and growing and by September I was huge around the middle with puffy fingers and toes. I commenced a water retention preparation which helped a little with the hands and feet but not with the belly. By the end of October 2022 I'd gone from a sz 10-12 to a 16! I felt awful as I'm only 5'3". I stopped HRT altogether and, seeing little improvement, I decided to start a diet and exercise programme in Jan 2023.

By the end of March I had seen a very small result and bought some smaller jeans but my energy was flagging. At this point I tried a half dose of my Evorel 50 patch along with the 100mg Utrogestan. After 6 weeks I returned to my 50 patch as I was feeling fairly good but still a little listless. Up to end of May/start of June I was doing okay, still exercising 5 times a week and watching my calorie intake but suddenly I began to balloon again. During July I adapted my diet further with higher protein and lower carbs along with the continued exercise. No results at all on belly and breast fat and I was looking rather square with a moon face. Last Sunday night, I ripped off my Evorel patch and ditched my utrogestan. Over the last 5 days I have been peeing like a racehorse and my belly is beginning to shrink back although typically this is mainly in the upper abdominal and waist area. The lower abdomen I will just have to wait and see but it is looking marginally smaller.

My conclusion is that the water retention and bloating that is stated as part of HRT regimes side effects is far more extreme than you might expect. Also it is stated that around 10% of women "may gain weight" on HRT. I believe I am in that 10% and have only stabilised somewhat at a sz 14 because I've really been pushing the exercise and diet regime. HRT side effects are clearly very individual and I've heard of the opposite happening for some women so good on you if that's your experience.

I won't be returning to HRT any time soon and, once the excess is gone around my middle, I'll be seeking a natural alternative but only if I need it. I'd like to hear your experiences good or bad

I've defo put on 1/2 stone. I maintained my weight all through lockdown with no major effort. Started HRT Aug22 and my belly is huge and defo water retention all round middle.
It's really getting me down as I felt about 100 when I resorted to HRT. Had been peri but periods stopped fully after 3rd covid jab

I've put on 7kg. My diet hasn't changed - I'm training for an ultramarathon, so s&c at a gym twice a week, Pilates once and several easy runs/bike sessions with a more challenging long run a week. The weight has still piled on, particularly around my middle - I've gone from a 27/28 inch waist to 31!!!
Once I finish training I'm going to have to really cut back on food to see if I can get control of this!! I don't want to come off HRT because it's given me my life back so if this is the pay off I'll take it!

It's so unfair isn't it? Most medication geared towards ladies it seems "may cause weight gain." For me I'm not prepared to wear it. Some can but I find the belly too depressing. It affected my self esteem really badly.

But the belly might be what you got at that age any way, even if you didn’t take HRT

DustyLee it wasn't there to this extent before HRT and I've been having peri menopause symptoms since I was 45. Always tracked and exercised adjusting my macros as required. This is definitely HRT and the related water retention/bloating as well as weight gain. I gained on hormonal birth control too but I believed all the studies on HRT which say it doesn't cause gain. All I know is that after 5 days without it, I'm not bloated and my tummy is clearly getting smaller. I'd rather have the other symptoms than get fat. Just me perogative I know.

I don’t think it’s HRT necessarily I think it’s mainly the effects of peri/menopause. There is lots written about this.
Women also go to the old habits that used to work like more cardio and increasing calorie restriction when at this age we need strength work with heavy weights and more protein, less snacks.

HRT will affect bloating in some women which might be transient or avoidable by stopping it but mainly due to general hormonal changes at midlife (independent of HRT) we gain mid section fat.
This was seen many years before HRT was a thing. Look how ‘thick’ around the middle older women have always been in photos over the years. This is due to changing balance of insulin and cortisol etc etc. We need to expect it and to a degree accept it.

HRT decisions need imho to be about long term health and short term symptoms.

Im of two minds- I take HRT to get rid of the awful symptoms such as lethargy, anxiety and night sweats and on that front I’m a million times better so I’m sticking on it. For that alone ot allows me to move more and enjoy life and work etc.

I also accept my body will change. It’s rarely the norm to stay the same size and shape as we age so I won’t fight it and get miserable.

Equally I accept I need to adapt my exercise and eating habits and I work hard to be fit and feel strong and healthy for my bones and for energy but also for looks.

Im careful but not fanatical about my diet.

Im now 52, 5ft 6 and my whole life I’ve been around 58-62 kg and I still am although slip easier to the upper of the range, but my shape has definitely altered and so be it.

Christ where do I start . At the beginning of HRT it was great no more hot flashes or sleepless nights . But this weight gain is really beginning to get me down my weight was fine before HRT and I'm only 5'3" so the belly really shows. I'm working out constantly absolutely killing myself and nothing works . It's just full on bloat and it's bloody depressing been even worse since continuous HRT . I'm having a coil fitted next week for the progesterone but I'm seriously thinking of ending the patches and see if the bloat stops ? If it does that's it for HRT for me. I'm fed up with looking 7 months pregnant 😤

I have been on HRT about 6 years.

I have tried many combinations over the years as I struggle to absorb transdermal HRT.

Last summer my consultant tried me on Elleste tablets. I bloated out within days.
I don't know what I weigh but I couldn't do up my clothes up or get shoes on.

I'm a size 8/10. Eat well. Exercise daily.

I stuck with it for the recommended 3 months.

Within weeks of changing to patches I was back to normal.

We are all different and react differently to HRT. Its not for everyone.

Interesting experiences and viewpoints ladies. It is an individual choice whether or not to use HRT. In my case, the experience over the course of a year, hasn't been particularly positive so I'm sticking with my decision to ditch it. I'll keep working with the macros and exercise which includes strength training as well as cardio.

Who knows, later in life I may change my mind but right now I'll do what works for me and makes me feel good 🙂

This is the side effect that puts me off HRT the most. I'm very short so half a stone makes a huge difference in my appearance and how well I feel.

I'm short too. So 1/2 a stone round the middle is a big deal

What i don't understand with these threads is why it's HRT versus non HRT.

There are loads of different sorts of HRTs types and regimes. It can take a bit of trial and error to find the best. These posts encouraging people to ditch HRT altogether seem a bit OTT to me.

If this is what you want to do that's great, and fine. However, you talk about HRT in a very blanket way when I'm presuming you've tried one sort and one regime?

For me, as I described on another thread, I tried a regime that didn't work so well for me and extreme hunger yes was part of that. But now I'm on a regime that does work for me and I don't have that issue.

I share people's frustrations in the sense that I think the internet and also some websites, can be too generalising. If you were experiencing that much water retention, I personally might be inclined to try and different sort. (UNless it was just very early days in which case it can be worth giving the body a chance to get used to things).

The more I explore HRT with friends, the more I realise that we don't all respond the same way and some of the problems I've had both before taking HRT and after on the regime that wasn't the best for me, others haven't suffered at all. Whereas they have had other symptoms. So it is quite individual.

But rather than just convincing me to rip off the patches, it just makes me feel that we need more sensitivity to respond to women's needs so that people can find (if they want to) the type of product and regime that works for them.

For me the gains of HRT are quite profound. I knew, even when having side effects, that it was making such a difference for me that there should be an answer for my symptoms here, even if it required a bit of tweaking or working out with a doc.

None of us know what the future holds, or whether our choice is the right one. But for me, I have important benefits in the present that make we want to continue with it in the present, as well as hopefully guarding bone health etc.

Noone is the encouraging women to rip off their patches we are just telling our own stories about how the belly weight and bloating is affecting us especially if you are around 5ft . This thread is about HRT causing weight gain !

I personally feel my post is quite balanced. I've clearly said HRT isn't working for me after a year of trying, not anyone else. I've also stated that taking HRT or not is a personal choice. I've also asked for the experience of others.

I'm a week into doing without it and for me, that feels positive. I've more energy now, my legs aren't heavy and yes, I'm still peeing for England. My clothes are looser and my abdomen is shrinking. Guess I might finally see the results of months and months of calorie deficit, high protein and workout consistency. I'm actually sleeping better without the HRT at the moment. My partner did comment that I was a little on the warmer side last night and a bit sweaty on the back of my neck. I've restarted my Sage tablets today to hopefully see an improvement there over time.

Thank you for your comments ladies. It's good to hear different experiences and to know that I'm not alone x

I have been so puzzled about my belly just growing and it's like a pregnant look. I'm also short. I'm not even taking HRT, so it must be peri symptoms. Nothing will shift it. It's getting me down and my weight goes up despite a healthy diet etc.

I agree that this what they call middle age spread and I read that it is an evolutionary thing to let men know we are no longer fertile. That's why the wrist get thicker.

Waist

Was hot flushes a main symptom for you ?@YorkshireMandy My GP did actually state that some women sometimes only need around 1 to 2 years HRT to sort the symptoms out so I'm going to ween myself off and see . For me the belly definatly began after starting HRT. Thanks for starting this thread 🙂 it has made me feel like I'm not alone with the belly situation.

I am on HRT novofem....have been on a diet since January and lost five inches off the dreaded belly gain...but I had the gain before I went on HRT

I walk fast instead on running to try and reduce elevated cortisol....which can cause belly fat.. ..and use dumb bells weights for strength training.....
Its finding the hrt that works for you and adjusting exercise regimes to suit our age

I did put on weight in the first few months but I honestly think its mainly because I've really struggled with the progesterone depression and I ate to deal with the overwhelming sadness and lack of energy.

I found it very easy to lose when I put my mind to it half a stone in 3 weeks through calorie counting, although I did notice that getting down to my usual goal weight, I still found my stomach was swollen. But for me that's a small price to pay for the exceptionally deep sleep, lack of night sweats and reinforced bladder.

@Wiccan I did have hot flushes yes, mainly at night. I was also experiencing some anxiety and brain fog, although on reflection I feel that the latter may have had other causes. I've recently returned to work after a 3 month sick leave due to a mental breakdown which wasn't hormone related

Oh how awful for you 💐 I hope you feel better very soon . Isn't Peri / menopause bloody cruel on top of all the other things that we have to deal with . I finally started feeling good on HRT and bang ! My mum died then my aunty died 6 months later and then my gorgeous little dog died . After all that I completely reassessed my life . I know my mum would have told me I'm not being selfish enough and to absolutely put my mental health and well being first. I think the hot flushes and the anxiety were the worst symptoms for me but the huge bloated belly jesus there is no place in my walk- in for
" hold it all in pants"🙄 😂

I'm on HRT - the first year I put on about half a stone. I've dropped that and another half stone by using My fitness Pal religiously for three months and I'm back to the weight I was in my 30s. I stuck to about 1500 calories a day and it came right off. It wasn't easy to make myself stick to it, but it has worked. I have stopped tracking now but will go back to it if the weight starts coming back.

I have exactly the same symptoms OP. I have to remember how bad my joints and brain fog was before I started HRT so I will persist as I prefer the bloat to the hobbling around not being able to exercise.

I agree with previous poster and I am aware of raised cortisol and weight gains from running so I am trying not to exercise too hard now.

I have started fasting to see if this helps at all.

My friend isn't on HRT and has increased stomach bloat too.

I actually took a pregnancy test a few weeks ago because I was convinced I was pregnant. I was working out 5 times a week, strengh training and still had a painfully bloated stomach and large bottom and thighs.

I'm interested to see so many people saying they lost weight on HRT by doing exactly what I've been doing for months and months...exercise and food tracking. Meanwhile I've been gaining. I guess it doesn't work for all of us.

Only time will tell with me while I'm off it but as I'm already seeing reduced belly without HRT my decision hasn't changed.

Exercise wise I do Strength and cardio over 5 days per week. I do run but this has been hampered in recent months by aching legs and the bloated belly/ extra weight. I may change back to cycling which is a method of cardio that I can sustain for longer than running. I've never heard of running increasing cortisol though. That's a new one to me.

Dont blame you for coming off it.
I have a very thick waist and a tummy. Not a huge tummy, just a thickness all around my middle. I am not fat anywhere else. I understand what the other poster says about accepting change as you age.... but it is a pain. I am also low carb/high protein_/good fats.

I was later going on hrt, 52, I don't think it made my waist situation worse, but other people have had yr experience