r/HRT

I just started the combipatch a week ago and it’s already bringing back my period which I haven’t had in like ten years. I was told this wasn’t going to bring it back so now I’m upset. I don’t want it back.

hi! how would someone get a low dose of testosterone prescribed at no/really low cost? if you’re over the age of 18, but still on your parents insurance, is there a way for them to stop you from getting the prescription on their insurance?

thank you:)

I've been using patches for the past 6 months or so since my hysterectomy (46yo, still have one ovary), but I am getting really frustrated with the rashes I get under every single one, to the point where I am starting to have seemingly permanent dark marks in the shape of the patches. Does anyone know if the hype about oral HRT being so much more risky is valid or not? My mom has taken the smallest dose of oral estrogen for over 30 years since her hysterectomy, and she is fine. Also curious about the gel and how people's experience is with that. TIA!!

PS I am not looking for suggestions on how to avoid the rashes -- I have tried everything.

I’m 40F and somewhere in the peri → menopause transition. I had a hysterectomy at 31, and I’ve been on HRT for a couple years now.

For the longest time, I applied my estradiol gel to the inside of my thighs. Then I got lazy and started applying it more on the outer thighs instead. After a while, I noticed the skin on the outside of my thighs looked… different. Smoother, firmer, tighter, noticeably less cellulite. It honestly caught me off guard.

Naturally, I went full rabbit-hole mode and started reading about women experimenting with estradiol gel or vaginal estrogen cream on facial skin. I know this is completely off-label/experimental, but curiosity got me.

So I cautiously tried a tiny amount mixed into moisturizer on my face and now I feel like I’m losing my mind a little because my skin looks SO much better. Plumper, firmer, more hydrated, more radiant overall. And I’m someone who spends a ridiculous amount of money on skincare and medi-spa treatments chasing the “holy grail.” Nothing has given me results this noticeable this quickly.

I genuinely don’t think this is placebo.

Has anyone else experimented with topical estrogen for skin quality? What were your results? Any downsides or things you noticed long-term?

Can anyone suggest an affordable company that runs comprehensive hormone testing? It seems nowadays that there are so many companies that do not work with your insurance, and tell you they can run a hormone panel for you. Yet they all cost an arm and a leg. I have Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, and I need to know exactly what’s going on because I think I am developing ADHD symptoms from my perimenopause.

I’m 46, and have at least 3 to 4 bouts of hot flashes in the middle of the night. It’s hard to get more than 6 1/2 hours sleep. My moods are all over the place. I feel like I’m going crazy! Please suggest where I can get affordable panels run with my health insurance, or even outside of my health insurance that are low cost, but comprehensive.

I stopped HRT (75mcg estrogen patches) 3 weeks ago after tapering off over 2 weeks. I’d been on HRT for about 6 months.

I came off because I genuinely wasn’t sure it was helping, and I wanted to do a sort of ABA test rather than stay on medication unnecessarily.

But since stopping, I feel awful. Very emotional, low, anxious, and my daily morning nausea has become much worse again. Those were basically my only peri symptoms before HRT too (anxiety + nausea).

What I can’t find reliable info on is this: how long does it take to stabilise AFTER stopping HRT and reach some kind of baseline again? Everything online seems to focus on how long it takes to adjust when starting HRT.

I’m struggling to work out how long to wait before deciding whether to go back on it. If this is my actual baseline off estrogen, then maybe the patches were helping more than I realised.

For context: I’m 40 and also have a Mirena coil.

It’s complicated by the fact that a huge family crisis started about a month before I stopped the patches, so now I genuinely can’t tell what’s hormones, stress, or both. In hindsight, this may have been terrible timing for an experiment.

edited to add - I’ve never been tested and I’m not suggesting any testing, just talking about a general baseline of how I feel.

Hi everyone,
5 years post meno here…

I recently upped from 100 to 200mg of Oral Continuous Progesterone - taken at night to help with sleep.

I’m also on 2 pumps of Estrogeon Gel and have been for a couple of years.

Will my upping of Progesterone lower the strength of the Estrogeon I’m taking? Just curious thx 🙏

I decided to stop my hrt because my boobs were so sore and my nipples were on fire. I’m also not sure it doesn’t make me more crazy. I’m only 46. But my doctor thought it might help my adhd. Anyway… I didn’t take it for two days and now I’m having the worst depression ever. I panicked and did a dose of estrogel this afternoon. Has anyone had this experience?

I have been in E withdrawl after going down to a really low
Dose cream (from 50 patch to low dose cream). I have spoken with a well known clinician who confirmed I was in E with drawl. My question is, for those of you who have experienced this, once you reinstated the patch, did symptoms lessen? I resumed the 25 mg patch and felt some relief, but not enough. Going up to the 0.375 patch today. TIA

Hi! I’m making a Google doc to help me outline my thought process on whether I want to take T or not—and thought I might come here for some help! Feel free to throw anything at me!

A little backstory here… I got the lowest dose testosterone pallet four months ago and did pretty well on it. Not tons of change, not super impressed, but it definitely helped fix my insomnia. But other than that, no other real major improvements. At the three month mark, my testosterone levels were almost back down to what they were pre-pellet insertion so the doctor suggested higher dose pellet for the next one which was five weeks ago. Within one week I start feeling different, not putting two and two together it could be the new pellet. Then weeks two and three getting worse anxiety, but by week four I feel like I’m being drugged daily or something. I have the most unbearable anxiety, headaches, insomnia, fear, high blood pressure, racing heart. I called the doctor a week ago, which was four weeks post insertion, and he absolutely denied that any of this was from the pallet. But a simple search showed that this can absolutely happen. Can anyone please tell me their experiences with how quickly this feeling dissipates? I’m hoping by week six I will feel better because I ended up in the ER. My blood pressure was so high this week. And I’m just so scared. 😢 I am not imagining things right?? I did not have this high blood pressure before and any of this type anxiety. I do have underlying anxiety disorder, but this is otherworldly.

Post meno lady here!

For a year i was taking 100mg of Progesterone daily at night & 2 pumps of Estrogeon Gel in the mornings.

My GP recently increased it to 200mg of P which I have been doing now for a couple of weeks to help improve my sleep. I think it’s helping, I still wake up every couple of hours which is annoying but feel I can get back off to sleep quicker - has anyone else had success with 200mg for sleep?

Thanks 🙏

Hi, I am a newer trans girl and I have just been able to start Estradiol at the start of May - my current dose is 1mg pill 2x per day and 50mg spirolactone pill once a day.

I am having a lot of trouble keeping it under my tongue until it dissolves, as ir eventually moves out from under and then I taste it and I think I swallow it (I generate a lot of saliva in my mouth apparently).

I asked my endocrinologist if I can switch to a patch or injection but she told me it is ok to just swallow them and I should do my first blood test in a few weeks and check how my levels look then before we decide to go with something else

First, I wanted any thoughts on if she is right that swallowing is ok - and what I should do for best results with my pills until June.

Second, I want to ask what levels of both E and Spiro I should be asking for as I move up.

Anyone who can help with these couple questions and to reassure me a bit, I really appreciate it!

Thank you!! 🙏

i have been on t for 8 months i also had full hysterectomy. i take sustanon 250 every 4weeks. on 15th day of my 8th shot my t level was 181ng/dl. and my doctor said its great. im not worried about the effects such as voice facial hair etc. however i feel like since i dont produce any hormones im worried about my bone density. but this doctor and the previous doctor who started my dose thinks these levels are fine. btw im in a cpuntry that most of the trans pekple cant even reach any kind of gender affirming care thr government makes it easy for doctors to be just transphobic(most pf them are and many of them caused lot of suicides because they sabotaged the legal and medical provess you gp here in order to get hrt) refuse treating trans people. so i dont have options such as finding anotger doctor i already did my resesrch and even got lucky that there are two doctors who helps me. what shpuld i do im lost. is this lvl fine or is it concerningly low. also i cant get hormones unless my doctor prescribes

I’ve called seven pharmacies in OC, and none have my Estrogen patch or Progesterone in stock. They are back ordered and they don’t think they’re ever coming back! WTF?

I’ve become very restless, jittery, can’t stop moving, twitchy even, lots of anxiety (daily) which makes me want to climb out of my skin. It’s I’ve been on Testosterone cream for almost 1.5 years now but in the last six months these symptoms have shown up. Has anyone else had this? Can you relate? Did it end up being testosterone related or was it something different?

So im genderfluid, born male but want breasts. How would i go about this without dysphoria?

Im naturally thin with a fairly small waist, i just want to focus on my chest toturn in to breasts

I have tried to read a lot about progesterone and how it affects development. But i have trouble finding anything that more specifically lists the pros and cons.

I would like to know if anyone could/would tell me about it?