After reading that without hrt post menopause, bone loss can be significant, I went to an online provider to get hrt. As I went 5 years without hrt, I still worried about my bones.

At my annual with my primary, I explained I was on hrt partially because my grandmother and great grandmother both had osteoporosis and my mom had hip replacement surgery at 55ish. She said even though i was under 65, insurance would cover a dexa scan based on my familial history/hrt use. I called the facility to make sure and they said even if the insurance doesn't cover(which they thought it would) it would only be $125!

I had my scan and my bones are in great shape, no issues or levels of deterioration noted!

it took maybe 15 minutes too.

So my regular GYN refused to write me a prescription for vaginal estrogen cream until my oncologist approved. Background: I had a tiny tumor removed last year from my breast. I have been cancer free ever since. I did not even bother seeing the oncologist because I did not plan to take hormone blockers since I was already in menopause…..so my plan was to see the oncologist anyway (a year post-op) to get the clearance. Yesterday I mentioned my vaginal dryness and difficulty orgasming to my psychiatrist in an offhand way….guess what? She wrote me a prescription immediately and said my dr was ignorant lol. Can’t wait to try it! Fingers crossed 🤞

I’m having a hard time making dinner bc everything seems so bland or just not interesting. And when I eat I’m definitely eating bc I have to eat something. I am not enjoying my food and it just makes me feel kinda gross now. I am the cook for the family and I’ve been asking the fam to give me ideas on what to make bc nothing is appealing to me anymore.

How’s it going for you these days ? Vent and share

I hear you, men in the menopause shed. You're correct, menopause is not an excuse to be cruel or unkind, to fly off the handle and say hurtful things or treat one's partner poorly. 

That said, men experiencing the change along with us should understand that what some of them think of as being "treated poorly" is not unkindness but just an abrupt end to what we menopausal women may see as history of endless accommodation. Along with a drop in estrogen and progesterone, there is a drop in the desire to please, appease, indulge, and mollify because, in the absence of those hormones, we often see more clearly the extent to which the endless accommodations toward our spouses have been one-sided. 

How often did you had sex with your wife when you were exhausted and didn't want to? How often did you cook and clean up after a group of guests while your spouse just socialized with them? Who prepared the home for visiting in-laws? Who did the majority of the cleaning and laundry? Were you always on top of your children's homework assignments and doctor's appointments? Who drove your children to all of their extracurricular activities? 

If you helped equally with all these things, congratulations, you are among the rarified minority. If you did not, your wife is not being cruel; she's just asking herself what she gets out of the relationship with you.

The gap is closing but women still do far more domestic labor than men while often having to work harder and longer hours in their professional lives to achieve the same goals. We're not trying to be unkind. We're just fucking tired.

I truly think I hit a new level of career embarrassment yesterday when I had what seems to be a giant hot flash/panic attack while running a meeting with 15 people. Needless to say a coworker drove me home and I went to the doctor where after running multiple labs earlier this week for a lingering sinus infection there still seems to be no real clear explanation for why I have been having pins and needles in my hands and feelings of heavy limbs for the last couple of days.

One theory is that the antibiotics I started taking a few weeks ago for sinus infection number one counteracted with my estrogen and progesterone that had recently been increased there by making me much more sensitive to physical sensations. Another thought is that I just had a good old-fashioned panic attack. Needless to say it’s been a very long week. Thanks for listening to my 55-year-old rant.

I am in a marriage that I should have left about a month in due to infidelity and mental abuse... here I am 12 years in and FINALLY on my way out.

Before menopause I was a people pleaser who made everyone else happy first. It took little to hurt my feelings. My love bombing husband took full advantage of that when we met.

So why do I say menopause was the best thing that happened to my marriage? Well, my eyes are wide open because my people pleasing estrogen mask has lifted and now im a take no shit bitch that's got an attorney and shopping for an apartment.

I guess im just sharing because I want you all to know that sometimes menopause isn't the worst thing that could happen to you... for me marriage was.

Hugs and love.

How do I know I might be a smidge off-balance? Because it’s currently 1am on a Thursday and I’m feeding a blazing backyard fire in my underwear while listening to 80s and 90s metal through my AirPods. I feel like I’ve been snorting rails but the last stimulant I had was a coffee at 10am.

Looks like I’m in for my 8th (10th?) night of less than 4 hours of sleep. Good times! I may be waking up to another day of fighting hard to not turn my feelings into felonies. Wish me luck!

Hello all.

Due to endometriosis, this upcoming week I will be having excision surgery and both ovaries removed at the age of 26. I had my hysterectomy at 23.
This will be my third surgery due to this disease. Hopefully the last.

I didn’t make this ‘choice’ lightly — if you can even call it that. The pain from my endo is so awful I can barely function without having layered up gabapentin, indica edibles, Tylenol and ibuprofen — and even then it just brings it down from a 7/10 to a 4/10.
It’s not sustainable any more.
I’m barely sustaining myself.
I keep having to call out of work because the shooting nerve pain down my legs makes me unable to walk without crumpling. In my classes my focus is scattered due to the agony.
Hence, my ‘choice’.

The good news is, I go on HRT immediately after surgery (just estrogen for now).
But I keep reading so, so many horror stories. Of women with all-consuming brain fog, of aging rapidly post-surgery, of dead desire for their partner.

I know, logically that things aren’t going to be ‘normal’ for a good while post-surgery. I accept that. Yet it seems every time I try to find anything about what to expect after, it is all hauntingly negative and like my life is about to end.

So I am trying to be proactive, and seek reassurance from you all:

- What sort of HRT do I need to seek/advocate for? My chief concerns are my mental clarity and my sex life. Regular bloodwork, I assume? Do I need a referral to a specialist beyond my OBGYN?

- What can I expect post surgery? How long did it take you (or someone you know) to get back to normal sexual and mental function? I currently have a truly wonderful sex life with my partner (which frankly, has been one of the sole points of enjoyment through all of this) that I am so so scared to lose.

- Any other advice whatsoever. I’ll take it all. Please help me.

Thank you for reading.

Has anyone had to quit HRT because they could not get the spotting/bleeding and crampiness to stop?

And yes, I’m working with my nurse practitioner who prescribes my hormones. She is aware of this, so let’s get that part out of the way. :)

I’ve been on HRT for 6 months and have had issues off and on the whole time. I’m 53yo and post menopause for 3 years. It seems I cannot get my estrogen and progesterone to play nicely together. I’ve spotted off and on the whole 6 months but worse so in the last month. I would say that at this point I’m having bleeding and not spotting. I am currently on divigel 1.25 and 200mg of compounded progesterone. I take the P at night and will still spot some in the morning, but by late afternoon it picks up significantly. I’m just getting so frustrated. My NP says this “typically” resolves….but WHEN?? I’m just so frustrated and wondering if I’ll ever get things right. Has anyone experienced this? I feel like I’m already on the high side of progesterone at 200mg.

I had a clean pap first of August. Next step is an ultrasound if the spotting doesn’t stop. (I’ve only been seeing this NP for a month so she wasn’t the initial prescriber.)

I guess I’m just looking for shared experiences and some hope…

I am writing this for my wife. She has been on HRT treatment estradiol patches for approximately 15 years during this time, she was not taking progesterone, but was having biopsies every six months, her former gynecologist passed away and this new gynecologist wants to implant a Progesterone pump if she cannot tolerate a progesterone orally, how is she going to tolerate with a pump? She told gynecologist she did not want to have this done. She is having a vaginal scraping tomorrow I told her just go off the estrogen any suggestions or advice would be appreciated.

I'm 56, post-menopause for 6-8 years (my memory sucks) and have been struggling with brutal fatigue, joint pain, brain fog for the last couple of years. I work full time, love my job but have been having to miss a lot, to the point that I was considering applying for disability (I have Sjogren's Syndrome and thought that was the main issue). I've tried so many different things, seen so many different doctors, and none of them suggested HRT (?!)

It took me having abdominal pain and vaginal atrophy to get me in with a new gyn, and I had already decided after doing a lot of reading that I needed to try HRT. I had a DVT 22 years ago due to a perfect storm of risk factors occurring all at once (pregnancy, bed rest, obesity, abdominal surgery, left in bed after surgery for days with no compression on my legs cuz they didn't do that back then.) And due to that, I'd been told early on that estrogen was a no go. I finally decided to push back against this since the DVT happened in a really extreme circumstance and I haven't had one since and don't have any of the risk factors now.

Dr finally agreed with me, and I was excited to get prescriptions for progesterone pills, Estradiol cream, estrogen patch, and even testosterone (though apparently they have to compound it at a special pharmacy? I'm picking it up today.)

I've been using the estrogen cream vaginally for two weeks, the progesterone for about a week, applied my first patch last night and will start the testosterone as soon as I pick it up.

Issues so far, the vaginal cream is goopy and leaks out for days so I'm having to wear a pad daily. Hoping that gets less-so now that I can drop down to twice a week. No other real problems with that and I do think it is already helping with the vaginal atrophy.

The progesterone was hard. Tried taking it before bed and it knocked me out within 20 minutes but I felt awful in the morning, exhausted and drugged, and had to go try to make it through work. Paused it a few days then started it again when I had 4 days off and by the time I had to go back to work, it wasn't as bad.

Started the estrogen patch last night and was nervous but slept well. Felt awful in the morning, though - exhausted and sore all over, had to call in to work and am in bed, resting and taking Tylenol 750. I know the first few days, weeks can be hard but I'm really hoping to feel better by Monday, at least enough to make it to work. Maybe the testosterone will help.

Trying to be positive, because this is my last resort to try to keep working and keep my job. Can I ask what others have found the first few weeks on the estrogen patch and how long it took to start seeing benefits?

Hey folks - Curious as to what you're asking your doctors to do in regards to the patch shortage, as far as prescriptions go. I want to annoy mine the least amount possible, she's awesome. 😆

Do you call around, find somewhere, and then ask your doctor to call it in? Or do you ask for a paper prescription and make copies of it to just have available when you find something in stock? Or something else I'm not thinking of? I still have a good stash, but should probably start looking to replenish.

Thanks for any tips you've got!

...has been shocking. And I desperately need some woman humor or reality that this is not *just me*.

I have an appointment to discuss HRT next week, which by reading some in this forum sounds like will be an issue. Imagine my surprise.

47y/o...blown off by every practitioner for the past 15 years about premenopause after a hysterectomy leaving one ovary. Age on my side and an ovary apparently "meant" I *couldn't* be premenopausal. I should have been more clear about what I was experiencing. No coulda, shoulda, woulda though....

...because this week menopause kicked the door WIDE open with full blown blistering hot flashes, irrational irritability over some really not irritating stuff, and brain confusion/fog/chaos at every turn.

I think that either: 1. Many women are too embarrassed to talk about what they're going through and/or 2. Other women are minimizing their symptoms. I need the support of the others!

The best mental relief I have had this week was when my therapist shared she had thrown a clipboard at her co-workers when she went through it. (Picture that: a therapist throwing a clipboard at other therapists!) Of course, I am not condoning throwing items at people, but if I am totally honest, it was the raw honesty I needed to feel...not alone.

So, if you're still reading...share your clipboard moment with me! Or your suggestions for how to make my HRT appointment beneficial. Tell me what you'd tell your daughter....and thank you for helping me get into week two of whatever menopause brings!

So the patches are different sizes for different strengths. I am wondering/thinking that it’s the same amount of medicine over a larger diameter? I have a couple boxes of 0.075 which are too strong for me. Can anyone confirm I can just cut them down to the 0.05 size? My nurse practitioner told me to go ahead, just wondering if anyone knows if they are in fact the same amount of estradiol over a larger diameter as strengths go up?

I had my first box of Mylan (generic for Climara estradiol patches) this month). The week 3 patch fell off after 3 days and was nowhere to be found at home, so I applied the Week 4 patch; it, too, fell off after a couple of days — I found it and have been able to secure it with some adhesive tape.

I asked for an early refill and was denied by insurance. They told me to call the manufacturer as it was not an insurance problem. I have never heard this before, but was sort of annoyed - it was not a “me” problem! - so I did. Evidently, they are going to authorize my pharmacy to give me a new box. I wanted to share the number and info in case it might be helpful to anyone as I have seen Mylan adhesive problems here recently.

First, when you get a box, take a photo so you have lot number, etc. and write down - maybe on the box - when you had it filled and started using Week One. (This is all based on the questions the CSR asked me.)

He wanted a lot of personal information - DOB, address, etc. - I was OK with most of it.

He did not get an answer at my pharmacy but explained he would keep trying and would authorize them to give me a box or send one to them to give to me.

He explained you should not reuse a patch that has fallen off - what are other options??? - so if you have had a Mylan patch that has fallen off, call and get your box! Extras cannot hurt with the shortage (you can get the lot number from your pharmacy if you threw away the box - or they can).

Life is too short not to get free estrogen from Global Big Pharma, ladies!

Viatris (Mylan manufacturer or parent company)
800-796-5926

Update: there is now a box waiting for me at the pharmacy. Sad to say we are now comped estogen patches - not tickets to rock show. But it was a pretty painless process all told, and worth knowing about given the shortage and the faulty adhesive problem.

They will ask for the lot number - if you have had Mylan in the past and the adhesive has been faulty, given the shortage it may be worth your while to contact your pharmacist and get the fill date, lot number, and estimate the date the patch fell off. This information is valuable to them. They will ask the pharmacy to give you a box or send a box to the pharmacy to give you.

I posted a couple of weeks ago on just wanting help for no libido, etc. See post here

I saw a new doctor today (she was my previous GP, ledt for a few years and is back) she is gettinge away from the compound rx and I am starting Progesterone, Estrogen, continue the Estradiol cream and she referrme to a doc who prescribes androgel. She's still learning about HRT and is nervous about dosing correctly for T. I have an appointment with that doc on 12/1. I feel so much better just knowing so.eone os finally listening and I can't wait to enjoy sex again!!!

Thank you to all who responded etc. I really am grateful for this community!!

TLDR Previous post on no libido and not getting listened to by doc. Foind new dic amd getting new prescriptions.

I (F38) had my ovaries removed due to cancer in summer 2025. Since then, I’ve tried patches, gel and now 6 mg oral estradiol daily (2 mg three times a day) + 200 mg progesterone before bed. Everywhere on the internet I hear that is an extremely high dosis but my blood was not good until I reached this level.

I had 2–3 months of decent sleep since last dose adjustment, but since late July, the nights have been awful again. I get palpitations while falling asleep, then wake around 3–4 am feeling hot, with more palpitations and sometimes several hot flashes. I feel wired, extremely tired but can’t sleep. After that, I struggle to sleep again. Progesterone initially helped me fall aslee p butseems to have faded? I take 350 mg of magnesium glycinate before sleep also.

I sleep in a very cold room, exercise regularly, eat well and limit caffeine and alcohol. The sleep deprivation is affecting my mood, concentration and ability to function. I’m exhausted and increasingly desperate.

Has anyone else with surgical menopause found that the same HRT regimen works for a few months, then symptoms return? Did changing the dose, timing, delivery method or progesterone help?

I wonder whether my oestrogen levels fluctuate overnight, but I don’t know. I’m discussing this with my doctor here in Scandinavia, though finding support for surgical menopause at my age has been extremely difficult and their solution seem to just give me a higher dosis.

I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who’s been through this and found something that gave them consistently decent sleep.

I tried searching and found nothing about timing related or anything explaining why it would be basically the same time every day. Anyone else had this? If so, were you able to determine a trigger?

I'm 47, an OT working from home with two teenage boys and a mortgage. All three of us are ADHD. I have peri and PMDD. On HRT, Lexapro, Vyvanse, Lamotrigine.

In general, I am always really struggling with motivation and focus and I am currently going through haywire hormones despite my HRT!

God please help me. I've been ghosting my clients and I'm stressed about my mortgage.

Please tell me ANY success stories you have. Any tips. I'm considering sharing a workspace with other neurodivergent OTs to keep me accountable. Or even meeting them at the library twice a week to stay on track. Might be cheaper than a shared workspace.

Really need inspiration and hope.

I'm about to start HRT, I believe my provider called in the gel and progesterone for me, along with E cream.

I am reading many posts on here about negative experiences with HRT, and I'm terrified to start, mainly because I usually react badly to most medicines. I am currently taking Veozah, but its effect is in decline after only two months, and my hot flashes and sweats are returning. I am 52, still in peri, and constantly in pain and sweating. I can't take being only a half a person anymore.

Is anyone actually doing good on HRT, with mostly benefits and no big side effects?

I am in medically induced menopause at almost 40 due to having a hysterectomy and chemo/radiation due to cervical cancer. I had to wait until I was able to see a hematologist, draw bloods, and get results back to see if I can take estrogen at all due to my bio dad getting blood clots twice which resulted in a coma and then the 2nd time killing him. I finally got the results and it shows no hereditary or risk factors but both my oncologist and the hematologist recommend taking blood thinners along with the pill. I saw that the patch can help reduce the chances of blood clots but do not know if it is as effective. I've been suffering from symptoms since April such as hot flashes, weight gain due to always being hungry like I'm a teenage boy, hair thinning, lack of sex drive, etc. I just want to feel semi normal again...well as normal as I can since I am also chronically fatigued and have Fibromyalgia so I suffer from chronic pain (had way before cancer).

What worked best for you? Since I had found out about my dad back in 2007, I had avoided hormonal birth control due to not knowing and it took until now to finally do the test to see if I am at risk.

I’ve been in menopause for four years and my libido has been nonexistent for five. My husband and I have sex once a week but he’s convinced that I just don’t want to have sex with him and that I use my lack of libido/menopause as an excuse to not drape myself all over him 24-7. He’s very sensitive and I’ve tried many, many times to explain what menopause does to a woman’s sex drive but he apparently still doesn’t understand because he keeps bringing it up. For those of you who have been successful with an explanation, what did you say?

So, my mound has always been pronounced (higher than the area above it) when I would lie down. It's been this way as far back as I can remember. I'm 56 now and have lost some weight due to Wellbutrin and wearing dental aligners (they're a hassle to remove, so I don't eat between meals). Today in bed I was rubbing my stomach (reminiscing about the flat old days) and noticed my mons pubis is flatter than it used to be. The hair there has thinned with menopause, but that wouldn't account for this. I haven't paid much attention to my lady parts in a long time for various reasons, so I'm only now noticing. Is this a typical menopause change?