Weight gain on Oestrogel & Utrogestan

[Rufffles]

I am 46 and started taking this HRT combo last July (one pump of the gel on each arm daily). The three main symptoms I was keen to combat were moodiness, loss of sex drive and weight gain (esp round my middle - I’d had a nice flat belly up until 40ish).

So… 8 months after starting the HRT my mood is marginally better (or at least less up and down). Sex drive is the same if not worse. And I’ve put a fair bit of weight on. Especially around my waist. My diet and exercise are pretty decent.

To say I’m disappointed is an understatement! I’m tempted to stop taking it and see what happens to my weight (the symptom that’s now bothering me the most). But is that daft without speaking to a doc first?

Re periods, I’m on the progesterone only pill and almost never bleed, so I’ve no idea how (medically) menopausal I actually am.

Thanks so much for any advice / experiences you’d like to share!

I have also put a lot of weight around my.middle with HRT. Not sure if it is the usual menopausal weight gain though. I am on 2 pumps as well. And my diet and exercise are great.

I put on weight also, i was on estradoil patches only. I've stopped and my weight is about the same so i think it's menopause. I'm 47

I am on Oestrogel only.

But to be fair i prefer the extra 2kgs. I'm 169 cm and now 52kgs so i'm loving my new look. I think 50kg may have been too thin for a 47 year old. When you're aging it is good to put a little extra on..it makes you look younger

Where did you get the idea that HRT would give targeted weight loss?

It makes me put on 7lbs
Hate it.

I had the same; switched to evorel patches, lost the bloating and weight I’d put on

I didnt realise there are so many of us. My GP didnt say anything about bloating or weight gain.
HRT has really helped with my hot flushes , mood and sleep, so reluctant to give it up.

I put weight on with Evorel patches and it hasn't gone even though I have been off it for over 6 months. My diet is good too

Sorry, that part of my post was poorly worded. I didn’t expect HRT to help with targeted weight loss. Weight gain around my middle was just something that I’d been very conscious of in the lead up to deciding to ask for HRT.

Are you using it on a sequential regime? (Utrogestan 12 days a month?)

It's common to feel a bit bloated on any progesterone but sometimes this does settle down in time.

If you've been put on combined continuous (for women post menopause ) and it's Utrogestan daily, that can mean the bloating is there all the time.

You have 2 options-

Reduce your gel to 1 pump for a few weeks and see if it makes a difference.
Too many women are told to use 2 pumps because that's what works for most. Some only need 1 pump, others more.

Consider changing the progesterone.
You can use gel with Norethisterone tablets.
Or the Mirena coil
Or a table form called Femoston and the progesterone in it is similar to Utrogestan- it's almost body identical.

You may also need to cut calories because weight gain around the middle is a 'mid life ' thing (men get it too!) and doesn't always relate to HRT.

I've been on that combo for over 15 years and not put weight on. If I do put on a couple of kilos, I know it's my food intake.

HRT isn’t helpful for weight loss or gain. I use the gel for night sweats which are so annoying and libido (testosterone) as the oestrogen didn’t help with that at all.

Stop the gel by all means but unless you have a consistent calorie deficit you won’t lose weight.

I use 3 pumps a day, and watch diet and workout including cardio, weights (heavy!) and Pilates. Stomach still flat - I think flat stomach into 50s requires total dedication as the body naturally wants to store fat there. It’s menopause not the HRT.

I have come on and off HRT many times for reasons related to my autoimmune issues (it affects one of the tests I have in terms of blood results) so I know it absolutely makes me put on a stone. And then I lose a stone when I come off it. And then it goes back on again. Personally I prefer to be on it for many reasons so I just accept the weight gain but it does make me put on weight without any doubt whatsoever.

I agree with @MeridaBrave .

HRT never replaces our own hormones to the level they were before.
It's a much lower amount.

The fact is that taking HRT coincides with being middle age and this is when fat is stored around the middle.

I have to eat less now than I did in my 30s and 40s when I was far more active both at work and at home.

If this happens it would be worth talking to your dr and discussing doses and types.

There is no scientific evidence of HRT= weight gain.
There's been massive research on it and the BMS has produced a lot of statements on it. And I'm not trying to be argumentative, but I wonder why the science says otherwise?

I wonder if it is worth trying the gel on the lower body? My GP told me to only use it on the arms if you are already doing 2 pumps on the legs.

I have not noticed any weight gain from the patches but I did overhaul my diet and start strength training at the same time. Avoiding food which spikes your blood sugar and gaining lean muscle is key to avoiding belly fat.

I have been under newson health and now a nhs menopause specialist for years now. I’ve been on just about every dose / type / patches / gels etc you can think of. It absolutely does cause weight gain for me.

There is a link between HRT and cortisol levels. This is why people with suspected Addisons / adrenal insufficiency are advised to stop taking it for 6 weeks prior to any testing- I’m not making this up, you can google it. There is some debate over whether transdermal oestrogen affects cortisol as much, with some endocrinologists (wrongly) advising people they don’t need to stop their HRT before tests, but we have many in the groups (like me) who have had a dramatic difference in cortisol levels whilst on Oestrogel (transdermal) 260 before stopping it and zero 6 weeks later. So it absolutely does affect cortisol levels, and we still advise people to stop it for cortisol tests in the group.

Cortisol is the stress hormone and high levels of cortisol do affect weight gain etc. I have Addisons disease so I do not produce any cortisol at all. When someone takes oestrogen their cortisol levels are falsely elevated by the oestrogen giving them higher cortisol results. Those with adrenal insufficiency / Addisons have to take life long steroids for cortisol. There is a lot of research and information about this out there. It’s just a bit niche.

I think I remember you posting about this before. Not doubting what you say at all as it's very 'niche' as you say.

Yep posted about it a few times as there’s very little awareness of it, and about adrenal insufficiency in general.

OP i put on a ton of bloating weight when I started HRT.

So I went on a diet and lost it again.

I also ditched the utrogestan and moved to the mirena which helped massively.

You are taking a lot of progesterone if you are also still on the pill. Can't you drop the pill element of it?

God why are our bodies so complicated? Anyone with weight gain on.only Oestrogel?

Mine tried to tell me that they'd never had that feedback from patients. In an anecdotal survey (aka friends of mine who are on HRT!) it's a very common side effect

I've recently had the Mirena put in to address anaemia, and the bloating has come back with a bloody vengeance. I look like I have a beach ball stuffed in my lower stomach

You are taking a lot of progesterone if you are also still on the pill. Can't you drop the pill element of it?

@Rufffles What your GP ought to have mentioned (but they possibly don't know) is that the mini pill in a larger dose (3 tabs a day) acts both as a contraceptive and the progesterone part of HRT.

(I was told this by my consultant, as an option to other forms of progesterone.)

It's listed in information on the British Menopause Society report on progesterone/HRT as an option (and is applicable also if there are shortages of any of the other forms of HRT.)

I gave up due to intolerable side effects

Constant bleeding
Foul mood
Boobs size increase
Weight gain

The only benefit was less joint pain.

I've lost tons of weight whilst being on this HRT. Over 100Ibs in fact so it Def hasn't made me put on weight.
But my waistline and middle are still bigger then they used to be. At my current measurements my waist would of been 5ins smaller 10 yrs ago. I'm a totally different shape then I used to be which is hard to get my head around (although ironically clothes seem to fit better now im less curvy!).😊

In other words I think it probably does make some women bloat/gain weight but I'm sure others just change shape as they age (if you start HRT when it happens it would be easy to think it's the cause).