Endocrine Withdrawal Syndrome after stopping HRT

Posted by monarchbfly @monarchbfly, Jan 8, 2023

Hello,
I am wondering if anyone has experienced endocrine withdrawal syndrome after stopping hormone replacement therapy? I am 54 years old. Last June, I was prescribed Premarin .45 and 100 mg progesterone daily to combat hot flashes. I felt great the first month, then felt horrible by September, like I was overmedicated. I then stopped cold turkey. Two days later, I was awoken in the middle of the night by a heart rate of 155 and high blood pressure that lasted a few minutes. I went to ER and they couldn't find anything. A month later, I started having tachycardia episodes, high and low blood pressure episodes, shaking, extreme insomnia, feeling like I was wired, anxiety and dread, etc, all day and night. After 3 paramedic visits, 2 ER visits, an endocrinologist, rheumatologist, cardiologist, gynecologist and a PCP, all giving me a full workup and blood tests, they didn't find anything wrong with me. I felt like I was going to die. I ended up couch bound for 7 weeks. The endocrinologist thinks I may have had endocrine withdrawal syndrome that mimicked opioid withdrawal syndrome. Apparently this can be a thing after discontinuing estrogen. He put me on .25 divigel and no progesterone. I am slowly stabilizing, but still have occasional symptoms that are or mimic POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome). I can function somewhat but am nowhere near my original energetic self and it is destroying my life. Has this happened to anyone else? How did you fix it? Thank you.

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I am so glad I came across this group. I've been on HRT since March and experiencing ALL of these symptoms mentioned anxiety, insomnia, stomach issues and racing heart. Not to mention extreme fatigue, always cold with chills and achiness.

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Profile picture for smr25 @smr25

I am so glad I came across this group. I've been on HRT since March and experiencing ALL of these symptoms mentioned anxiety, insomnia, stomach issues and racing heart. Not to mention extreme fatigue, always cold with chills and achiness.

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@smr25 Are you saying that you stopped HRT and you are experiencing all these symptoms? Or are you saying that you are still on HRT and you are experiencing these symptoms?
A lot of your symptoms sound like hypothyroidism.
Do you have a recent copy of your *complete* blood test for your sex hormones and blood tests for *complete* thyroid panel?

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Profile picture for smr25 @smr25

I am so glad I came across this group. I've been on HRT since March and experiencing ALL of these symptoms mentioned anxiety, insomnia, stomach issues and racing heart. Not to mention extreme fatigue, always cold with chills and achiness.

Jump to this post

@smr25
Wow! This is not what I want to hear. I just started HRT to combat sudden onset of anxiety disorder.

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