Mar
19
Let’s talk about HRT, baby, let’s talk about you and me ♬
I decided to try HRT again, specifically the estrogen patch. I have tried the patch before, not for any great length of time, and stopped doing so because it seemed like it was linked to an ongoing very unpleasant headache. I remember initially thinking the headache was caused by [insert random possibility] and tried all sorts of things like drinking more water, stopping Advil in case it was rebound headaches, etc, then finally concluding it was the patch, which I peeled off while mucking out Little Joe’s stall and dramatically hurled into a pile of manure.
WAS it the patch? I guess I will find out, with round two.
I wasn’t sure I was noticing any benefits to speak of, aside from an ummmm renewal of the ladygarden areas, which I have since addressed with a topical cream. (The cream works gangbusters, by the way.) But I wasn’t really having any dramatic hormonal symptoms to address, either.
I kinda figured I was all done with any hormone buffoonery — I’m 52, and it’s been well over a year since any kind of evident cycle. But did you know that being officially in menopause does NOT mean the bullshit party is over?? Even after years of perimenopause??? I did not know this and I would like to speak with the manager of women’s health because come the fuck on.
So anyway, I’ve been having the worst night sweats lately. Have you seen that terrific video of the Scottish mom lighting up her kids because they didn’t flush? DISGUSTEN!!! That’s how it feels to keep waking up in a clammy, slimy wet mess of damp sheets and slippery skin: disgusten.
Of course night sweats could be caused by something more dire that has yet to reveal itself, I love a good opportunity for some catastrophic/it’s-a-zebra-not-a-horse thinking! But it’s more likely that it’s hormonal fluctuations, especially for how I can feel perfectly temperate one moment and raging with heat the next.
If we’re going to be living in the worst of timelines, at least this one has telehealth options. It is very easy, if not inexpensive, to order HRT without having to deal with begging a doctor for a prescription. (Ditto bupropion and retinol.) I have some patches on their way to me now, and barring any repeat headaches, I plan to give them a longer shot this time. Not only would I love to get through the night without self-immolating but I am quite hopeful for some of the other touted benefits like thicker hair.
I really went back and forth and back and forth about HRT initially. It’s like, do I want to monkey with a normal, natural process that my body is going through? On the other hand, what if that normal natural process just plain sucks and is directly linked to negative outcomes like bone loss, risk of heart disease, body composition changes (I was already an apple shape, sob), and whack mental health?
It’s all so fraught and of course made more complicated by a patriarchal medical system that did shitty inaccurate HRT research years ago and then just like … never updated any recommendations after that?? It feels like an area of women’s life that is just archaic in terms of treatment and open discussion. “Whoah there little lady sounds like you’ve got a case of the Mondays. Have you tried smiling?”
Anyway, I got the meds from Winona. I also use Hers for retinol and generic Wellbutrin and Minoxidil (that last one has produced very few noticeable benefits but I keep hoping).
Anyone out there with a good HRT experience to share? I guess I’d rather not hear about the terrible no-good very bad experiences.
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I do not have any experience of HRT, but I do have a box of HRT spray in my china cupboard that I eye with apprehension every time I fetch a plate. Should I? Shouldn’t I? I talked to a friend who’s a gynaecologist and he wasn’t negative but also not like super duper positive and how am I supposed to decide things like these by myself? I’m not even a grown up! (I am apparently 50 years old but hey. Grown up-ness must be a mental state that I do not feel like I exist in.) Sorry for the novel! I could have just said ”no”.
Oh this could not be better-timed. I have recently for various reasons decided I MUST look into HRT, but I am so completely overwhelmed; and the main reason I am overwhelmed is that my primary doctor still believes in that old debunked study, and my OB/GYN practice will only let me see the nurse-midwives, who ask if I have tried St. John’s Wort and yoga and, like, licorice root or something. So I have been wondering who, WHO, to try to see—and of course bracing for the mess about whether insurance will cover it, or whether they’ll say they’ll cover it but then I’ll get a bill anyway and have to deal with it. And of course I might find someone, and my insurance will cover it, and it’ll turn out THEY TOO believe the debunked study!!! It’s all been so much on my mind, it felt almost eerie to see the title of your post!
When I was first prescribed the patch I too had headaches. Turns out all I needed was a smaller dose. And now I can sleep through the night again!
Yes! And, give it a good solid month if you see side effects to let them dissipate. My nausea was so terrible in the beginning, bringing me straight back to early pregnancy 😫 But…. Night heat waves/flushes were gone! Except… with the shortage my patch brand was changed and they came back!! So, you may need to try a different brand if you don’t get relief either. The bottom line for me, was I did experience relief and then I didn’t and then I sort of did…
Naomi Watts wrote about how life-changing HRT was in her memoir – and I was just chatting about it with my GYN. I’m earlier in the process than you – approaching perimenopause, and on birth control so effectively on HRT til I’m 50… But from what I remember my mom going through, if my doctor says it’s ok to do something to minimize my symptoms then DANG that’s what I’m doing.
I’m 48 and deep in the perimenopause trenches. I still have my cycle, but sometimes it’s twice a month, sometimes it’s delayed by two weeks–the guessing is so much fun! I also had weird itchiness in my feet, severe PMS, temperature disregulation (though not night sweats yet), lack of sleep, etc. When I asked my primary doc about all this, she surprised me by reciting all the old beliefs surrounding HRT. Luckily, she also said I needed to speak to a gyno about it, because it tuns out the gyno had read all the updated info about it and couldn’t WAIT to get me on the patch.
II’ve been on the lowest dose of estrogen via a patch since December 2025, which I use in conjunction with a nightly progesterone pill. The first three months had me experiencing some annoying symptoms like random bouts of nausea, some extreme bloating, some acne, and very irregular periods. BUT! It also cured my sleeplessness on DAY ONE. That progesterone pill is the best invention since air conditioning. The only negative symptom I still have is that my mouth waters excessively, but that’s more of a curiosity than an annoyance.
I change my patch out every Wednesday, so Tuesday nights tend to be my worst nights for sleep. I haven’t noticed my hair getting any thicker, but I don’t seem to be getting hot for no reason anymore, I’m not itchy and this month’s period came right when it was supposed to (but don’t know how long that part will last).
I am now an HRT proselytizer! Give me all the patches!
Literally the best thing I’ve ever done. Life changing – mood, energy, night sweats/hot flashes, hair loss, etc. all better / regulated now that I’ve been on the patch. i’ve upped my dose, mostly because the first 4-5 months of low dose did nothing until I basically called my doctor sobbing to fix it already, which she promptly did. 2 years later and I feel better than I have in years. Likely, the main thing it probably fixed was my energy, or lack thereof, which then unlocked things like, working out regularly again, sleeping, etc. all of which have downstream effects. I count myself super lucky to have an OBGYN/NP who is only slightly younger than myself, a woman, and understands.