Met w/Endo after self-directed Tymlos start--shocked he's ok w/HRT

I (62/F) dove in and rather aggressively pursued a PA and coverage for Tymlos after discovering I have OP following a fracture (accident on ice) that led me straight to a Total Hip Replacement a few months back.

I've met my out of pocket max for the year and wanted to get a few "free" pens before year-end, so my PCP wrote the script and urged me to get in with an Endo as soon as possible to manage my journey.

I was super happy with the provider I ended up with. He gave me the green light to call and take him up on starting low-dose bioidentical HRT after I research it (I expected the same "no" I've received from everyone else given my age and being 10 years past menopause). And though he doesn't use bone turnover marker (BTM) bloodwork (except with patients he fears are non-compliant with taking their meds), he said he'd be glad to order the BTM labs if I want them for my file as long as I check that my insurance will cover them.

My PTH, serum calcium, TSH, eGFR, and Vit D were all in range, but my creatinine was really low at .4 (reference range .7 - 1.2 mg/dl).
Possibly related to that, getting ready for my appointment I noticed my pants were loose and jumped on the scale and saw that I've unintentionally lost 4 lbs in the last month since starting Tymlos. I meant to ask him about my low appetite and weight loss on Tymlos, but I forgot (!). (At 62 I don't want to lose beyond my set weight of 134/5 because it just comes off my chest and scarecrow arms anyway and I don't want to lose the bit of muscle I've worked kinda hard to build).

True confessions, I had already been checking out my belly a few times a week, trying to discern if I am getting the 7-months-pregnant Tymlos pouch that so many of you have described... The jury is still out on whether it's truly bloated/ distended, but I can confirm that it's kind of bumpy (looks like a topographical map when I look down at it), so maybe it's on its way to the 3rd trimester look (?).

And @windyshores , he (my doctor) loved your saying that "Tymlos 'eats' Vit D." He said it absolutely does and he approved your personal protocol of adding another 1000 iu a day to offset what the Tymlos is burning through. My Vit D has been right at 50 for years, but yesterday's bloodwork (while still in range) showed it dropped to 40 after only 5 weeks of the med, so I'm eager to get started with that extra 1000 iu right away :-).

I don't know if I'll have time to do a deep-dive on HRT for over-60's before Christmas, but I'm exhilarated and heartened that he didn't say "no." All you HRT vets, what does an rx for low dose estrogen, progesterone and maybe a little testosterone include and look like these days? Most of what I read talks about patches being best for the tiny dose I'd be aiming for, but that's about all I know. (If I decide to go for it, I will want to quickly become a black-belt on getting an HRT PA, too, because I definitely don't want to pay full retail for it.)

Peace and warm wishes to all as we enter the thick of the holidays!