r/Menopause

I just started using Estradiol patch 0.0375mg and taking oral progesterone 100mg. The progesterone is making me very drowsy till the next day. I can't function like this and really want to stop taking it for 2 days until I hear from my doctor on Monday. I have only taken the progesterone for a day and absolutely can't tolerate the brain fog, depression and extreme tiredness that comes with it. Wonder if I can stop taking since I have only taken for a day.. Id like to hear your thoughts.

I can't sleep. I just can't sleep. I bought a bed for another room in my house for good reason... snoring like an angry banshee after cuddling up. I just can't trust any sleep with my husband. I'm at the point where I want to make myself deaf. If I could...I would have done it. I can't tell you how many times I'm asking to be deaf. I don't want to hear people be cruel and I don't want to hear snoring when I am tired. ......who dares to disturb my slumber?? My husband every stinking night disturbs me. I really just want quiet and the snoring is so bad that I hear it through the earplugs....I already try to kill my over thinking in general...add to it the menapause and the daily snoring which feels like being terrorized by a person who loves me but doesn't love me enough to want to go to doctor.

So I started my HRT journey a little over a month ago. I’ve had terrible side effects to Progesterone. I took 100mg Prometrium. The first night I took it I had no idea it was going to make me feel drunk and put me to sleep. For the next month I took in orally and then vaginally until my doctor said I couldn’t do that. So I went back to orally. The P makes me feel really tired, depressed and unmotivated. The other day I took the tablet and followed it with a some creamy pasta. Oh my lord. I started stumbling, slurring my words, dropping my phone - I thought I was having a stroke. My partner who was interstate called an uber and sent me to Emergency. I have honestly never felt so terrible in my life! On top of this whilst I was in ER I had a terrible urge to poop and I am unable to poop in a public toilet so the nurse and I had a little chuckle when I told her I think it’s best I go home than poop my pants for the night - probably unrelated to the P but was funny. I am booked in to have a Mirena placed this month but I think this is the end of my HRT journey. It’s meant to make me feel better but I have never felt worse in my life. I’m still fatigued from my ER incident two days ago….

I’ve been on HRT (E and P) for over 7 years. I’m 57. I’ve started to be exhausted all the time 8 months ago. Everything that was tested is normal. Tried to add low dose T but I got even more tired on it. I bumped up E because I had hot flashes again. Those got better and my frozen shoulder improved. But fatigue is even worse now. Does anyone have experience with this? Any suggestions?

I'm irritable. I'm tired. I'm not at all interested in being touched or having him suggest I might like to eat his "big banana" instead of the one in the fruit bowl 🙄. Also, it's dryer than the Sahara desert down there.

How do I explain perimenopause to my husband?

So my symptoms were all back on the .075 patch after about 2 years. ALL OF THEM. I ended up sobbing to the PA at my annual a few weeks ago and she increased my patch to .1. Within 24 hours the mood swings, fatigue, rage, hot flashes, joint pains, insomnia, etc. all vanished. GONE!

But she reminded me that this is my maximum dose. I’m 52, not fully in menopause and the only thing that controls the mood swings and severe anxiety is the estrogen. I can live with hot flashes. I can’t live with the severe insomnia and anxiety. I can’t function at all.

She told me next up was a SSRI. I’ve tried almost every SSRI and SNRI for years when my hormonal birth control caused similar issues until I finally had genetic testing for meds and I can’t metabolize SSRIs. I end up with bad side effects. don’t have a serotonin deficiency. I have a hormone imbalance! My primary says the next option is a benzodiazepine! Uh, no. I’m not getting addicted to benzos to help what estrogen can solve!

I can’t find another obgyn nearby that prescribes HRT without joining their subscription based practice. $1000 to start, $350 a month after that! WTH?!?!

Would you switch to the gel and stay with the same obgyn? Maybe I don’t absorb the patch? Go to an online service but then not have an obgyn because they will stop seeing me if I get meds elsewhere? I’ve looked at the list of practitioners on the menopause page and I’m getting nowhere. My primary keeps referring me to very expensive , out of pocket, influencer type menopause specialists.

I (24f) am currently going through medical menopause due to endometriosis however my mother (51) is saying that she hasn't started menopause yet.

My grandparents on my mum's side died young so my mum had no one to ask about menopause, and neither have I, as officially myself (24) am the first one to go through this. Due to that, I know a fair bit about menopause thanks to experiencing it myself currently.

Now this is where the issues start. I believe my mum is menopausal, and with good reason. I have noticed she is having brain fog, irritability and rage, constipation she is also having night sweats, cramping and hot flushes a lot, this is noticeable because she is a very cold person. She has also been on the pill since after I was born, she used to have breakthrough bleeding and she hasn't in a couple of years now.

I am living at home due to my disabilities currently. Unfortunately she is in denial about the fact that she could have possibly started menopause, and it is starting to really grate on me and my dad. I have tried to bring up the possibility to her numerous times and she just won't listen. I think she could really benefit from HRT or even antidepressants as I have, but unless she accepts that it's possible that she is of a certain age she won't see a doctor.

And due to her not seeing the signs in herself she is denying that my menopause symptoms verified by my doctor's are even related to menopause.

I know it may be difficult coming to terms with the fact her youngest child is now 'a woman of a certain age ' and it may make her feel old. Ive only been going through it for a few months myself, and her symptoms started before mine I believe.

I want to show her that menopause isn't the end of the world, it doesn't mean you are past it, but I don't know where to start, and I just want to help her, and show her there are good parts too.

I don't know what to do, I'm stuck and I'm the ONLY member of my family with any perspective on this. I'm young and disabled and it's difficult managing my OWN menopause and trying to manage hers too.

Ive been as gentle and supportive as I can be

Sorry this is long, I lost my train if thought several times now ( thanks brain fog) any advice or support is much appreciated, and if you read this far, thankyou

My husband and i have not had sex for almost 2 years as my undiagnosed issues, perhaps linked to 7 years post menopausal, but also testing for other things with all normal results. Really, too much physical body weakness, Like, muscle fatigue and body aches severe in evenings. Many many symptoms not explained. I have no idea if i have any vaginal issues honestly. I am wanting to resume intimacy, I don't want a sexless life forever, but I'm scared. Not great libido, but i do miss it and I sometimes have dreams of it so clearly on my mind. My husband i think has just resigned himself to thats over now and that makes me sad. Any thoughts ? I am not a candidate for hrt. Anyone else experience this?

Why are some threads locked? And for no apparent reason? Shouldn’t this be a safe space? I have some knowledge and would like to share and then I go to respond and the thread is locked? Then im trying to private message people like a weirdo

What is the issue? Repetition?

Thanks! And yes I’ve ready the rules I don’t see anything wrong with this last post someone made and it’s locked before I could answer some questions and ask some myself

Ladies who use prasterone - does it help with painful sex and tightness? Many thanks. 😮‍💨

https://www.reddit.com/r/Menopause/s/QvoRyF3RA7

The above link to my post from Friday.

Yesterday I said "Fuck it" and put that tiny little patch on with a change out day of Tuesday instead of Wednesday because to be quite honest, I was sick of myself. Put the patch on around noon. Left to run errands around 230 pm, fully expecting to not complete my errands....

So, I started at Publix because I I left my water bottle at the pharmacy on Friday night when I picked up the HRT meds. They were nice enough to babysit it overnight... 😆

After that, ran to Hobby Lobby. Wandered around there for about 90 minutes, which is unusual because I'm usually in and out but, I got my yarn for 2 baby blankets that I'm going to make for 2 providers at work whom are both pregnant. (I crochet) After that, I just aimlessly wandered around around, looking at different hobbies that I may be interested in. Found a couple of new things that piqued my interest.

Fully expected to bitch out after that. Nope. Did my Hellmart (Walmart) run. Full of energy by this point. Ran to another store real quick and then off to DQ for an ice cream cake for my hubs birthday which was yesterday. Came home, unloaded the SUV and went until 845 pm when I climb climbed into bed.

Can't decide if it's the HRT or I just had a good day energy wise, though I was dragging until around 315 pm.

Almost started WWIII with my in-laws though. They "forgot" about my husbands birthday yesterday. And it was a milestone birthday (50). I had to TEXT my MIL a photo of the cake I bought for him for them to call with a shit ass excuse of "we lost track of the days" around 9 pm, as we were going to bed. My parents woke up at 4 am (on a Saturday nonetheless) their time to make sure they got ahold of him before he went to work. They live in the central time zone and we're on the East Coast. So basically, the only family my husband has is mine as my dad calls him "the son we never had", though I have 2 stepbrothers. So, my bitchiness has yet to go away...

I know, I know, this all takes time. One quick question though.... I took the progesterone last night for the first time (I fell asleep before I could take it Friday night) and woke up with a hangover feeling and excessive drowsiness currently...is this normal? I took it around 9 pm and woke up at 410 am when my 115 lb Rott jumped on the bed. Hubs slept in the guestroom as he's a stage IV snorer and only wears his C-Pap about 55% of the time.🙄

Ill try taking the progesterone earlier tonight to see if that helps.

As Always, thank you for taking time we out of your day to my tale of woe... 😞

ETA: Thank you ALL for the words of encouragement. You have no idea how much that means to me.....

I’ve recently increased my E patch dosage due to hot flashes and night sweats. I’m 57 and been on E and P for 7 years. Hot flashes and sweats are gone and even my frozen shoulder has improved. But my nipples started to get really sore a few days ago (about a month into the higher dose). Has anyone experience with this? Will it eventually go away? I like to stay on the higher dose but my doctor likely wants me back at the lower dose. She previously said that breast pain indicates that E is too high.

I just fell into a rabbit hole about iodine deficiency and there’s a shocking number of similar symptoms. I’ve been exclusively using kosher salt for decades, now I’m wondering if I should beef up my iodine for good measure. The recommended is 150mcg/day! definitely not getting that.

Can anyone recommend a holistic or functuinal menopause provider in Utah?

I feel anxious and depressed most of the time, and resent the brain fog I'm dealing with.

Any advice or recommendation is welcome!

I am 53 and went straight from BCP to HRT assuming i’ve reached menopause due to my age. This decision was made with my gynecologist. On HRT I bled for nine months with no more than a two week break. We’ve done two biopsies and a hysteroscopy and a polyp removal. After some testing we determined I am still in perimenopause so I went back on the pill. I got through one pill pack with no bleeding but now I’ve been bleeding for 10 days. I’m just venting. Meanwhile, I’m irritable, I’m sad, I have brain fog, and my body hurts. I miss the days before and look forward to the days after.

Any of you take progesterone for sleep issues and is it recommended post menopause? I am 62F post meno several years but have always struggled with sleep issues. I’ve never been on HRT. I have a Dr appt next week to talk about this. Any negative side effects to taking this?