Surgical Menopause - HRT - losing the plot

[ScoochUp]

I had my ovaries and tubes removed a few days ago, late 30s so not menopausal yet. Put my first HRT patch on on Sunday but bloody hell I cannot stop crying. I feel so wobbly and emotional and I'm struggling to get my words out/forgetting everything, plus I feel super lightheaded and can't concentrate.

Seeing the specialist women's health GP tomorrow morning but just wondering if anyone else has been through this, when does it get better....does it get better?! I feel absolutely bereft and non-functioning even though my recovery from the operation in general is going well.

Does the HRT just take a while to kick in? Is the dose not high enough? Kids back at school/back at work next week and I don't know how I'm going to cope!

I take oral estrogen so am not sure about the patch, but it helped massively post my hysterectomy so hang in there. Just checking they didn't give you progesterone as well? You shouldn't be on it if you don't have a uterus. Also bear in mind that after you have your estrogen levels sorted, you can add a tad of testosterone if needed

Hopefully someone will be along soon who can help with the patch advice

also don't forget you just had a big surgery that on its own takes a good 4-6 weeks to get over, so please don't expect too much of yourself too quickly or you will actually slow down your recovery There are no medals for pushing yourself too hard too soon

Thank you. I kept my uterus so having progesterone from a mirena coil. Keyhole surgery so not too massive in terms of incisions etc, but the emotional toll seems high at the moment. Could defo still do with slowing down and giving myself more grace though! x

Id bet it's more the anesthetic/operation rather than menopause - you often get weepy after a surgery

The GA will have been wearing off now. Also the enormity of being put into surgical menopause may be sinking in emotionally. It’s a major life change.

The first c 4 to 6 weeks on HRT you can feel like this (i did). If you think about it, it is a huge surge in hormone levels, which creates symptoms in itself. It doesn't mean the levels are wrong per se, but you are experiencing a sharp uptick in hormone levels and it can take quite a bit of time to adjust. So id give it a bit of time. Be aware that getting symptoms like you describe doesn't necessarily mean the levels are too low, they may be too high or the balance between estrogen and progesterone may be off. In my case I needed a lot less estrogen than the patch was giving me. Swapping to estrogen gel meant I could reduce levels to what worked better for me whilst maintaining the progesterone i needed (taken as a pill).

If you are taking progesterone, that could be the problem, they might be giving you too much. Who is balancing your levels going forward, are you getting regular check ups? Too much progesterone is an absolute nightmare for mood issues