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HRT Intolerance or Side Effects?
Very hopeful that others may share reassuring feedback. Im 63, 7 years post meno, started HRT about 7 months ago (Estradiol patch 0.5 and Progesterone oral 100mg). First 3-4 months were great, and then it changed - tons of weird side effects including brain fog, lightheadedness, anxiety/panic, visual changes, and more. I read about Progesterone Intolerance and my doc lowered it to 35mg through compounding pharmacy. Note, Im extremely petite (93 pounds) and may have high sensitivities to things. I wake up from HEAVY sleep, feel like Im in a fog for hours. Don't know what my next step is... lower Estradiol? Lower Progesterone? Stop HRT? This is very scary. Im otherwise VERY HEALTHY and active and youthful and productive, but this is interfering with my life almost continually. Are there women who cant do HRT? Anyone struggle with this and what did you do? Thank you!
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@gravity3 I am so happy to hear this for you! These are the benefits I want to enjoy. I'll stay positive and focused on finding the right balance 🙂 Thank you!!
@orion7962
Hope it works out for you too.
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1 Reaction@orion7962
I’m currently suffering such extreme stress that I can barely function. I’ve been on transdermal HRT for about 1.5 months and don’t feel any improvement. How long did it take before you started feeling the positive effects?
I’m pleased to hear that it helped you.
@orion7962
I’m also a very petite woman, 67 years. I’m on transdermal HRT for severe anxiety prescribed by a woman Naturopathic Doctor who happens to use HRT herself. Due to my small stature she felt that creme was safer because you really don’t know how much estrogen you’re getting with a patch.
I’m taking 0.625 mg estrogen cream, 40 mg progesterone creme. Also the products are bioidentical not synthetic. Like I said on another post I’ve only been on it for 1.5 months and so far no adverse effects but I don’t feel any improvement yet. I guess I need to be patient?
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1 Reaction@meingan I'll reply to both your messages - First - I'm so sorry about the stress. Question - did you have this level of stress when you started HRT, or did it make things worse? My time line is, I started HRT in April, coming out of horrible stressors and PTSD/adrenal fatigue. I would say it took 2-3 months before I could say for certain that I felt better, but couldn't quite describe how. After another month or so I was saying I felt like a million bucks. My analogy was, HRT felt like a "glue" that was holding all my pieces more tightly together. To your second msg, I started on Estradiol cream (vaginal) about a year prior, and stopped when I started the oral HRT (Estradiol patch and Progesterone pill). I dont know much about HRT creams but I feel like it makes sense that it might be easier to dose. I have read about patch "surges" and "dips" depending on the timing. I asked my compounding pharmacist one day if there are dosing guidelines geared towards weight/size/stature, and he said no. I now feel certain that criteria should be added to the formula when doctors prescribe it. We are petite, and likely metabolize things differently. One more thing - is your stress more "stressors" or is it felt as anxiety, panic, jitters? Because all of those appeared, and as of this minute, Im switching to a lower Est patch. Est is the "activating" hormone and Progesterone is the "calming" one. I think I reacted poorly to both, at the starting doses. Anyways, since it's only been 1.5 months - definitely be patient. My sister started about 1.5-2 months ago also (64y) and doesn't notice anything quite yet. I want to say, be happy there's no negatives at this point - hopefully you'll have steady gain!
@orion7962 Thank you so much for taking the time to share your information with me. I started on the HRT because of the sudden onset of severe anxiety that lasts all day-weak muscles, fatigue, loss of appetite, no energy...totally debilitating. I had actually started taking benzodiazepines and an SNRI before the HRT. It only occurred to me later that it could be hormone related because nothing in my life has changed so dramatically that I should suffer such anxiety. I had hot flashes for 15 years, a sign of loss of estrogen, so I figured it must be hormones. I don't think the HRT has made the anxiety worse. I was hoping for quicker positive reaction to the HRT so I could stop taking those horrible drugs. It's very helpful to know there is hope and I just have to be patient. Wishing you a successful solution to your situation. I read somewhere that the dosing is hit and miss, so maybe you need a lower dose than before.