HRT- did it help you with fatigue, heart palpitations and mood?

[OyWithThePoodlesAlready84]

Hi MNers!

I live in a country where HRT isnt as widely prescribed (yet) as in the UK so I thought let's look for experiences on here...

A little background: I am 41 (42 this summer) and I think I have been in peri for the last couple of years. Period changes (heavy with clots and flooding, but still fairly regular- mostly 25-28 days cycle with the occasional shorter or longer one, but generally between 21-35 days).
Period length (days of bleeding) however anywhere from 3 to 13 days over the past year.
I have many annoying peri symptoms but the most debilitating are the fatigue, brain fog, heart palpitations and heavy periods.
Have tried mini pill for periods but kept bleeding on them for months on end, and am currently taking iron (ferritin is 25).
I know for certain that some of my symptoms are related to the low ferritin but the palpitations for example aren't, they weren't as bad a yr ago when ferritin was 11, and they seem to ramp up before menstruation and around ovulation.

Has HRT helped with these symptoms and how was it administered? I am not keen on mirena coil, expelled one in my twenties and got stuck in my cervix which was hell... But would definitely consider if it would help me feel better.

Mood yes. Fatigue no. Don’t have heart issues so can’t comment.

I also took an SSRI for mood and anxiety.

Check your vitamin d &b12 too as deficiency can cause same symptoms

HRT helped me with low mood and fatigue. I also very probably had high blood pressure, I’m on medication now, but worth getting that checked too. It can make you tired.

For fatigue I take vitamin B complex, for brain fog magnesium L-threonate, ferrous Fumarate sorted my palpitations, and the mirena coil sorted my heavy periods. Looking back I wish I’d had the coil many years earlier, and I found it helped my increasing PMT.
For me the oestrogen part of HRT made the biggest difference to me not wanting to do anything. It wasn’t agoraphobia, it was just that I didn’t see the point, and couldn’t be bothered, going anywhere.

I didn’t have any issues with my mood but yes to the fatigue and heart palpitations.

Thanks all for sharing experiences.

My Vitamin D and blood pressure are good. Thyroid as well. Not sure about B12, will ask to have this checked next time.
Have had a lot going on the past few years so stress has not helped things, but feel like peri is knocking me down everytime I am feeling somewhat stable in energy etc. So will talk to my GP about options.

Do you mean HRT helped with this?

Helped me with all this.

Mood and fatigue, yes. That wasn’t why I went on it, so I it was strange to feel the difference and realise that the way I’d been feeling wasn’t ‘normal’ in the first place!

Yes I avoided HRT for 10 years as (then) link to cancer that my mother died young from. But in the end with nearly every new symptom compounding each other I asked for it (by then my career and marriage has imploded) - the fatigue was from lack of sleep, insomnia, night sweats waking me up as sheets got cold and wet, or anxiety making me sit bolt upright at 3am - not able to get back to sleep. Years of disturbed sleep on top of 4 DCs, high stress full time job - caused fatigue and brain fog. And a short fuse … that’s when I said I have to take the risk.

Nighy 1 - oral progesterone sent me into the deepest oblivion sleep and I came back from the dead !

2024 they said the coil was the only thing to treat a fibroid they lied.

I refused and the (which would immediately solve fibroids) coil was manually taken out 5 months later/

The coil. Was headed to toxic trash.

No. HRT was no help,

unusure if going up to the lungs to kill me April 2025 before emergency surgery so thanks but no.

I had the most terrible, gripping anxiety. Also brain fog. Aches and pains especially knees first thing in the morning. I genuinely felt flat and numb and zero interest in anything.

I was initially prescribed Citalopram - I had wanted to avoid HRT for fears around risks of breast cancer - but read lots about transdermal HRT and decided to try it. It helped that my lovely female GP was a big champion of HRT.

I started on the patches and moved to Oestrogel and a Mirena and have never looked back. I feel great and don’t plan to ever come off it.

Sorry to hear you had such a hard time before going on HRT. Totally understand the leap of faith and hope you got your life back now!

Thanks everyone!
Yeah what's with the 3 am wake up?? It is so weird that so many women in perimenopause mention being awake between 3-4. So random! Or maybe not, there must be a scientific reason for this 😆

Yes. My palpitations completely disappeared. My sleep improved because my night sweats reduced considerably so although I still don’t sleep as well as I did my fatigue is greatly reduced.

I haven’t suffered from any issues with mood so can’t comment on that.