Why do I feel insane on estrogel??

[YourSpleenIsDamp]

I've switched from patches to gel after losing patience with supply issues of patches. I was on estradot 50, the doctor said the equivalent dose of estrogel would be 2 pumps. I've been on it a few weeks now and my emotions are all over the place. I've got some long term stresses going on, and usually I cope with them ok, but now I'm getting horribly overwhelmed and dissolving into sobs about how utterly shit everything feels. I want to run away and hide from the world. What the hell is going on? I can't work out if I'm getting more oestrogen than I need or not enough. Should I just give up and go back to patches?

Sounds like not enough to me. The progesterone overwhelming the oestrogen.

Can you try a different type of patch? I use Everol on my bottom and they don't shift even with regular swimming.

Thanks. I got on ok with estradot but the lower strength ones were out of stock for months. I tried getting stronger ones and trimming them but didn't feel I was getting a consistent dose that way. I didn't absorb evorel patches brilliantly so I'm not sure about trying another brand. Ugh. Maybe I should try an extra half a pump..

Medical advice is to give any new dose or type of HRT 3 months.
It's too soon to say it's not working .

Might be worth checking that you are applying it correctly.
There are lots of things that can affect absorption.

eg- not spreading it thinly enough
don't apply after using body lotions
allow it to dry properly.

Where are you applying it?
Have to tried different places? eg if you're using it on your inner thighs have you tried upper arms?

Oh, I'd forgotten about applying it in different places - thanks! Stupid brain fog. I've been doing inner thighs, will try my arms. Three months of feeling deranged isn't very appealing, though. This is worse than postnatally 😭

The doc told me best absorption is on the ‘fatty bits’ ie inner thighs in my case 😹 not so much on shoulders etc

Not everyone absorbs the gel very well. It's one of the reasons I refused it.

It's so frustrating - if I could reliably get hold of estradot 50 patches I wouldn't have changed anything. But they've been subject to Serious Shortage Protocol since 2024 and get substituted with evorel - I had problems with absorbing those so swapped to estradot which worked so much better <stamps foot>