u/Sapphire-o

My dad passed a few years ago and I have dreamed of him many times, most of the time positive. I'm so used to it now it feels just like actually having a visit, except I knew he was dead and dreams are hard to control and I need to be focused to talk to him.

Last night he gave me and my mom a tour of the underworld. We even got into the management office and looked at some secret documents. I read a chart about how a person's lifespan is determined and found it's both unexpected and made sense. At the end of the tour he hugged us and asked us for some offerings. My mom agreed immediately but I said I wanted to verify his identity. So I asked him about my nickname when I was little, like 4 or 5 years old. He could not answer that so I said no offering for you. (Other than the flowers I already placed on his grave yesterday.) Then we caught a bus and tapped our bus passes on the scanner and left. So nice that our public transit worked in underworld, too. 😄

When I woke up I told my husband the story and drew the lifespan chart to show him. He never believed these spiritual stuff and said it's all in my head. Although he did ponder if I made up my dad why he didn't know the answer to my question. 🤔

Anyway just want to share. I think I had a good time. Did anybody else went to hell or heaven or any of the cool places to have a look in their dreams?

I'm in peri and have been using estrogel and cyclic prometrium. I had a period in June and one in July and not due for the next one yet. About a week ago I suddenly couldn't sleep. I went from sleeping about 7.5 hours per night down to 4 or 5 hours of broken sleep. I thought maybe it's too hot here, but the last couple nights have been cool and I was actually too cold. Can anyone help me figure out what set me off?

I thought maybe the prometrium down regulated estrogen? But I've been taking it for a year already. Plus I'm not experiencing hot flashes or painful joints, so the estrogen seems adequate. One symptom I noticed is I got cold feet a lot in bed. I can't sleep with cold feet. So I've been using heat pack and wearing fuzzy socks to bed, in the dog days of summer. That's just ridiculous. :( Oh and I already lost 3 lbs in the last week (not intentional) but when I don't sleep well I don't have appetite.

I'm willing to hear any suggestion or speculations on why the sudden insomnia. I have a doctor's appointment next week and I think I'll ask for some sleeping pills if I don't feel better.

For those of you cycling progesterone, do you reliably get a bleed once you stop the progesterone? I understand that the bleeding might be a real period or just breakthrough bleeding. But there's supposed to be something, right?

I asked my doctor last time and he said oh your estrogen was probably not high enough to build up the lining. So does it mean my estradiol dose was too low or progesterone is too low? I'm just a bit paranoid that something might be wrong with my uterus and maybe the lining has gotten too thick instead of too thin. My doctor is very laid back and never offered any tests.

Anyway so if you didn't get a bleed, just go on with cycling progesterone as usual? When do you think would be the time to talk to your doctor? Three missed bleeds?

Hi I was wondering for those of you who have been on HRT for a while, like a year or more, did your body shape change? Or are you able to maintain the same shape as before menopause?

I'm a bit anxious about body change as I hate shopping for clothes and have a wardrobe that I like right now. I've been on HRT for a year and my shape is about the same (pear shape), but then I'm still in peri. Would HRT after menopause be able to maintain your existing body shape?

I'm cycling progesterone and feel not so great during the estrogen phase. Estrogen is supposed to give us energy, right? I've been feeling so tired and low. Not quite depression, but not interested in anything kind of mood. Also feel super sensitive emotionally. My mom was criticizing me as usual tonight and I not only argued back I felt so hurt I developed physical pain. Usually I just shrug it off as she's always been like that. Tonight I had to rant to my family members and get lots of hugs from each of them.

The good news is I sleep 8 hours at night. The bad news is I didn't feel refreshed, it was very hard to get out of bed and I have a dull headache and brain fog. I think my dose is right. It controlled all the symptoms like hot flashes and joint pain and insomnia, without side effect like sore breasts or bloating. Don't know what has gone wrong.

I just hope the progesterone phase will lift this fatigue. I slept less with progesterone but did a lot more. Does anyone else feel more tired on estrogen and more energetic with progesterone?

I was wondering if anyone has traveled across a few time zones while on Estrogel. Say 7 to 8 hours difference. I'm sure that would mess up my estrogen level if I apply 8 hours late, right? Consistency is important when using gels. Should I put on some higher dose, or add a small booster dose on the airplane or something?

Also how do you ladies using gel handle swimming and hot tub? Last summer I was using weekly patch and it was so convenient. Now I'm not sure what to do. I suppose there's always the option of switching it to bed time. I wonder if that'll give me too much energy at night?

I have been having night sweat (and horrible sleep) the last two nights. This is highly unusual for me because I haven't had it since I started HRT. Even on lower dose before I didn't get hot at night. Tried to blame the blankets, the weather (which is not hot) or my mom being annoying. This morning I picked up the Estrogel bottle and realized it's getting pretty light. Maybe there's less estradiol in it near the bottom of the bottle? Anyone else have such experience?

It's not a dosage problem since I use a digital scale to weigh out the exact amount, not relying on pump size. It must be getting ineffective somehow. I wish that's not the case because I want to use every drop of it but I have no idea what the concentration might be near the end. :( Well guess I'll open a new bottle today and see if that improve things.

Does anybody have such a feeling upon menopause? Like we have fulfilled the quest of surviving our childbearing years. I can still remember my first period like it was last week, but it's been 40 years. My periods were not particularly bad and I made two babies who are in their 20s now. I guess I feel a little lost as to what to expect next and how to feel about the adjournment. My grandma was this age when I was born, and she lived another 50 years. I'm certainly not ready for grandchildren yet, but to think that it's possible to have another 50 years, maybe I should do some serious planning. I would like to do something but am lacking direction.

I feel like I could use a ceremony or party to celebrate this milestone. Is there such thing? Menopause party? There should be. :)

Oh my spring and summer are gone. It's my autumn and I don't know what to do. :O

I just want to share this. Since switching to gel three months ago I had to watch my symptoms and experiment to find what works for me. In the process I got hyper aware of all my symptoms I found it almost funny that I had to tell myself a lot what's not a symptom, but just real life.

Hot flashes are my biggest issue. However these probably don't count: Sweating due to: hard physical work, cooking in front of a hot stove, taking hot laundry out of a hot dryer, nervous with an important phone call or zoom call, eating a large spicy dinner...etc. Summer is coming and it'll be even harder to tell what's hot and what's hot flash.

Body ache and joint pain, again if I've been doing a lot of work or sitting with bad posture it's hard to tell if they're legitimate pain. Last week I had awful fatigue and low mood for a few days, I was wondering if my HRT is failing until I realized I had a sore throat. It's just a virus I caught after all. Brain fog is a tough one. I feel quite smart when I've slept 8 hours. However even with HRT I usually can't get that, so I guess I'm doomed.

How about you? Do you find yourself focused on some symptoms that might be just part of normal life? Like from working hard, being in stressful situations, legitimate reasons to be upset, living in hot environment, being sick temporarily...etc.

I have been fiddling with Divigel and Estrogel for about three months, trying to find the right dose and application, because I had to quit patches and doctors didn't know much about gels. I finally settled down with Estrogel and applied consistently once a day.

I tracked my symptoms everyday. The first week or two were very inconsistent and I had many symptoms. After two weeks hot flashes were mostly gone but I still had headache. Four weeks, joint pain was much better but boobs were sore. Six weeks, sleep is better, higher quality but still not long enough. Do I dare to hope for more improvements? Nothing has touched brain fog yet. Did I feel better gradually because estrogen is building up to a higher level, or my body is getting used to it? Those of you who used gel for longer, how long did it take for it to improve brain fog? Vaginal dryness? Getting 7 hours of sleep?