How long before you noticed an effect from your HRT?

[confusedlots]

So I'm probably hoping for some sort of miracle, but trying to be realistic. First HRT patch applied today, I've been sitting looking at the box for a week feeling a bit apprehensive about it. I'm only 43 and have been having symptoms for over a year, I guess I've always thought I was too young for this, but it seems not.

If HRT helped you, how long before you noticed any benefits?

My first month was horrendous but I don't know if it was coincidences and bad timings: there was a heatwave so I was having hot flushes 24 hours a day and I also had really bad eczema for the month, but that could also have been the heat.
I'm six months in and I can look back and think that my brain function and anxiety are definitely better now, although I still seem to get cyclical hormonal rage each month.
No gain in weight which I was worried about.

I'm not sure if I should go back to get reassessed or not. I'd like the hot flushes to calm down a bit more (but then we are coming out of another heatwave) but I don't want to tweak it and risk things being worse when it feels as though its more than bearable now.

A few weeks. And it certainly hasn't fixed everything but it deffo helps. Hope you feel better soon.

I'd say I felt better by the end of the first month. I had mild symptoms.

Hot flushes resolved immediately but everything else took ages, possibly because I didn't get on with Utrogestan. I only began to feel better after I got a Mirena coil.

My anxiety is significantly improved after 3 weeks, fewer palpitations. My bladder is less sensitive.

I’m on the progesterone patches now and I’ve noticed a definite increase in my tiredness, and feel very heavy and ‘due on’ but no other side effects which I was worried about.

I think it’s going to take a few months to really kick in. I quite like the fact that it’s a slow change, not an instant one.

I have felt really emotional today and cried at something that wouldn't usually upset me, I'm not sure if it's the HRT or not, but I know I just need to give it time, and hopefully it will help, even if it's just a bit.

My brain feels like it has completely stopped functioning over the past few months. I've sat down tonight to make a list of everything I need to remember/to do over the next while as I keep suddenly remembering really important things that otherwise I would completely have missed, it's a horrible feeling, but I think I'm just going to have to rely on making lists and keeping checking them for now!

Within 48 hours I slept through the night and my palpitations disappeared

I started mine between Christmas and New year, and had a lightbulb moment in mid Feb that I felt well - better than I had in years. So about 6 weeks for me.

Depends on your symptoms and how much oestrogen your on. For my night itching-
I put it on at lunch time and had no itching at night. Other symptoms I noticed gone after a few days. Over a few weeks I then began to realise things where different but I didn't put it down to menopause for example I got road rage (just getting grumpy and vocal but not changing my behaviour) a few weeks after I started taking hrt I noticed it was completely gone.