Help - gaining weight on hrt - oestrogel and utrogestan

[cheeseomelette]

Started in January and have gained 8 lbs I really don’t need. It’s amazing for my symptoms but I’m really hungry on it. Have been intermittent fasting for years and suddenly can’t do without breakfast so have reintroduced that. I am craving carbs.

my diet is vegetarian and generally healthy - I am low alcohol, eat a range of vegetables, salads, nuts etc. I know what to avoid and have minimal junk.

will this stop? I’ve started tracking calories to keep an eye on that and have upped protein. I already walk 10-15k steps a day, go to the gym 3 times a week and drink water and black coffee so I’m at a loss. Hrt is the key difference here.

ive been doing 2 pumps and a tablet each night but ChatGPT suggests moving the gel application to the morning so I’m going to try that.

i’m 50 and just about to hit 12 months without a period, for context.

do u mind giving two or so sample days for hitting this much protein but keeping low cal and high fibre?

I balloon during my progesterone two weeks. I hate it. I also have an extra mini period around which I retain water. I’m getting the HRT reviewed soon. It has worked for other symptoms mainly the unbearable hot flashes, but the weight gain and feeling generally uncomfortable during the progesterone is awful in a different way.
Been on it since October and probably gained half a stone (whilst eating less and moving more) that will not shift.

I piled weight on as soon as I started HRT (oestrogel/ Utrogestan) even though in my case there had been no change in diet or exercise, and I had been slim all my life.

Over two years I put on around 4 stone, and I could not lose it no matter how little I ate - I went to under 1000 calories for a considerable amount of time last year and didn’t lose a pound.

Last year I decided to try WLI. They’re the only thing that have worked. I’m eating no differently to how I did last year yet the weight is dropping off. Once I stop WLI - and I can’t afford to continue them long term - I’m going to have to stop the HRT if my weight starts to go up again, and risk the awful symptoms I had pre HRT coming back.

If you're using WLI which suppress appetite, then aren't you eating less?
That's how they work, unless you were also diabetic (and unaware of it) and had metabolic syndrome.

If you aren't eating less, how do WLI work for you?

One thing that it's easy to forget is that when we reach our 50s and 60s, we need to eat less anyway (most people , that is) and eating 'the same' usually means weight gain. It happens in men too, not just women or women on HRT.

Hi op. Utrogestan had this effect on me too.

I eventually booked a last minute holiday and dropped to 1200 calories. Three weeks later it had gone. I started the diet the day after my final fortnightly progesterone so I was in the happy phase of my cycle.

I then switched to mirena and no similar issue.

When I had the food craving thing on Utrogestan, one day I opened the cupboard in March, found a carton of ready made custard left over from Xmas, heated up the last mini xmas pudding and ate them both. Fast.

I would never eat custard or xmas pudding normally! This was such a strange thing for me to do. I think it's the only time I experienced what people describe as food noise. It was like a compulsion to eat sugar and carbs. It was 100% due to the utrogestan. It constantly made me feel like my period was due.

Starving, knackered, bloated, sore breasts. All the worse parts of PMT esp the eating!

@JinglingSpringbells sorry I didn't mean to quote you, but the OP.

I was told to do progesterone every day,1-4 pumps of oestrogel. Ive definitely gained weight, wondering if i drop the progesterone to2 weeks?

What did u take instead?

Agree and a certain poster just does not believe you.

@NautilusLionfish

Breakfast - protein shake with Form protein powder, frozen banana, water & soya milk (1 protein, 1 fruit)

(Form is vegan, with a good texture, and gives you 30g protein for under 150 cals, but tastes strongly of stevia so once I hit my goal weight I’ll probably use something else)

Lunch - butternut squash soup with tbsp nutritional yeast added, an apple, 2 babybels,
Fage 0% yogurt with tbsp milled flaxseed (1 veg, 2 protein, 1 fruit)

Snack - 25g hazelnuts (1 fat)

Dinner - tomato dhal with a bit of cavolo nero, an egg and fried grated tempeh, Fage yogurt with protein powder stirred in (2 carb, 4 protein, 2 veg, 2 fat)

I hope this gives the idea - it’s around 1600 cals and 150g protein - I don’t track super precisely. I’m exercising several times a week (mostly weights) and my calorie allowance (set my MFP) is 1690 which is quite generous. I’m EXTREMELY lazy about cooking for myself so my meals can be on the dull side - this week I’ve had tuna & egg salad with olives three times - and I eat a lot of yogurt.

I’m considering coming off HRT too just don’t want the extreme anxiety and insomnia I got before plus the other symptoms. I wish I could sail through the menopause like some women do.

The scientific studies are the basis for my comments, not sure about anyone else's.

What they show is that there can be some fluid retention for the first few weeks or even months but there is no weight gain that can be linked just to HRT.

I agree that micronised progesterone and all the progestogens can create cravings for sweet food, like a normal cycle in the 2nd half.

If anyone wants to experiment, it may be better to stick to sequential HRT as this reduces the progesterone to once a month. And also dabble with different doses of estrogen because not all women need 2 pumps.

are you post menopause or not?
There is no set rule on this, other than starting HRT with progesterone every day too early can cause breakthrough bleeds, so best avoided.

I’m on MJ which does more than just suppress appetite - and whatever else it does seems to be counteracting the HRT for me.

It’s not the amount I’m eating - as said previously this is no different to what I did last year, which is all logged. I’ve never been an over-eater - I’m shocked at the amount that some people can eat on here! And yes, you need less as you get older, but it was definitely the HRT having an impact in my case.

I should add I’m on the lowest dose, so I’m still able to eat as I was.

Thanks for reply,I'm peri, so been on it for 2 years , I'm 47. Definitely gained weight though,so wondering if I could change dosage.

I gained over 3 stone not on HRT at your age and in perimenopause

Fat cells contain oestrogen which your body is craving. Your body finds any way it can to create oestrogen, so your metabolism changes, you feel hungrier. HRT contains only a fraction of the oestrogen you made naturally so your body still wants more. This is how my menopause specialist explained it to me.

Your GP seems unaware of how to prescribe HRT. Continuous HRT is for women age 54 or over, or under 54 with no period for a year.

https://www.menopausematters.co.uk/postmeno.php

This is a medical website written by a NHS consultant, also part of the British Menopause Society.

Oh thanks, nit great of my Dr then!! Might revisit and have a chat once I read up.

thank you @SisterTeatime that’s really helpful. I have really tried today and still only hit 110 protein so I’m going to add in protein powder from tomorrow.

yesterday I was not at all hungry. Had Greek yoghurt with berries for lunch and poached eggs with spinach on sourdough for dinner. That was literally it all day.

today I am ravenous. As soon as I’ve started to digest anything, I’m hungry again. Not just peckish. Painfully hungry. It’s miserable. I’m off to bed early to sleep through it. I’m not a night time snacker, thankfully. Is this all just hormones??

Thanks @cheeseomelette it sounds like you might be similar to me. I am finding some days I’m not very hungry but I have decided to eat roughly my calorie allowance and protein goal no matter what, as I want to build muscle, and I feel fairly stable, just a bit tired sometimes.

I tried another protein powder, by the Organic Protein Company, which contains sugar and is more palatable than the Form brand, but gives less protein per calorie. I also tried the Tiramisu flavour of Form and it’s not too bad. Horses for courses I guess!

This post is such an eye opener. I’m 46 and around 5’1. I have been on evorel for around 4 months, rotating estrogen and testosterone patches.

I have definitely put on weight and have had to buy new bras. Pants that I’ve been wearing for years now cut into my stomach and I can’t fit into a lot of my clothes.

It hadn’t occurred to me that HRT could be causing this because everything I’ve read says that HRT helps with weight management and does not cause weight gain. How could all the experts be wrong about this? Is it some conspiracy by pharmaceutical companies to hide information about weight gain?

I am in a real conundrum now because the HRT does help me manage my anxiety but I find the weight gain really destructive to my confidence.

Also, can HRT make you tired? I am so so tired all the time and can hardly function at the end of each day. I have had my thyroid checked and take iron supplements. I feel like something has been sucked out of me.

I felt like that if I was taking utrogestan at bedtime. Like I was wading through treacle all day. Swapped to mirena and much better.

I gained weight when I first started oestrogel and micronised progesterone (4 lbs). Then I went on a calorie controlled diet because I didn't want to give up HRT. So far I've lost nearly a stone! I've found HRT gives me better sleep and more energy and motivation. My boobs are still one size bigger than when I started though!