u/PurposePristine4427

Hi guys, in need of some advise please 🙏

I’ll not bore you with intricate details but about 7 months ago I lost my period due to over exercising & probably under fuelling (although it felt like I was defo eating enough but that’s not the point)

I only lost a little bit of weight at the time but I was already healthy weight to begin with tbf (never got to an unhealthy weight either)

Then to try regain my period, I gained this weight back + extra! I massively cut back on all exercise too and still no period. It’s been 6 or 7 months of this.

I want to start HRT mainly because I believe my low estrogen levels are causing depression / severe mood swings. I also have an insatiable appetite & food noise which I never ever had in my life (which is why I assume I was under fuelling at the time without actually realising). Although, I’ve heard low estrogen can cause hunger levels to go through the roof, so I’m praying HRT would help combat the mood & over eating. What do yous think and would yous recommend etc ??

I’ve seen some posts about HRT actually causing rapid weight gain in people & depression, which is why I’m wondering if it would even help with the symptoms? I can’t keep over-eating like this I just want back to normal. The depression is the biggest factor here though, I’ve never had it before and I think it’s directly correlated.

I’m confused as hell, keep seeing so much conflicting info on this.

Any advice/experiences shared would be much appreciated!

I haven’t had a period since December last year. I believe it started due to starting to exercise more & trying a calorie deficit. However I didn’t even really stick to the calorie deficit, I just became more mindful I suppose but was never that strict and always broke it at least 2 times a week.

I did loose a little weight, not sure how much as I never weighed myself but i looked a bit leaner than before (was a healthy weight before and still was healthy after, never too thin ever).

Somehow I lost my period even though the exercise was never that intense - about 3 x 30 min sessions per week at the most and I rarely pushed myself to the max.

I have been trying to get my period back as my mental health has plummeted, I have a severely low mood, irritable and not great fun to be around anymore. I also am hungry 24/7, I do eat loads and loads throughout the day and never ever do I get full.

The doctor ran hormonal tests and my estrogen came back as low - can I not just take estrogen patches or gels to combat these symptoms of low mood, irritable and insatiable hunger?? Would this not work? Why does everyone do the “eat loads for months” thing before trying this? I already eat so much I don’t want to eat anymore or I’ll end up in the unhealthy range you know?