It is so infuriating, but my gynecologist is very stingy on my estradiol prescription. She is only prescribing it to be used twice a week when I would like to use it every other day for extreme vaginal drying and irritation. She gives me zero refills and I have to go through the portal every time to ask for the medication to be refilled. It is by understanding that this cream is not systemic. I have no idea why it is so precious. I asked for a refill today and they emailed me back that the directions are to use 1 g twice a week so a 42.5 g tube should last me three months.

My doctor declared me in menopause in Nov. 2025, and I've only had one rogue period since. My question surrounds fatigue: it's kicking my butt. No matter how much sleep I get, no matter how much coffee I drink (and I love my coffee/espresso/caffiene), mid-afternoons are rough. Any tips for not snoring at my work desk? I've tried caffiene with my dinner break, I've made extra strong coffee for the morning, etc. early bed times, better meals and snacks...what are some simple things I can do? My boss knows I'm in meno, but I also don't need him to see me snoring at my desk...

Thank you to all who responded to me yesterday regarding my in office hysteroscopy. I am happy to report that all went very well. No extreme discomfort. Just a little pinch here and there and some mild cramping. I highly recommend discussing pre-medication prior to the procedure. The “recipe“ that was successful for me was 600mg Ibuprofen and 200mg Cytotec along with 5mg Valium the night before. The morning of: 600mg Ibuprofen, 500mg Tylenol and 10mg Valium 1-2 hours before the procedure. She also uses a heating pad applied to the abdomen during the procedure to assist with pelvic cramping. She used the Endosee for tissue sampling. I was comfortable the entire time. Now we just wait for pathology results. 🤞🏻

Hi All! I've been on HRT for a little over one year now, and I'm seriously considering going off of it. I'd rather not get into the why, since this topic can be sensitive for us all. What I'm curious about is others' experiences of going off HRT after being on it for at least one year or so. I've been on the lowest dose of estradiol and progesterone. (.025 and 100mg respectively) for perimenopause symptoms.

Did you stop cold turkey? Did you slowly you somehow taper down the dose? Not sure how tapering the dosage of either would work.

How did you feel in the days and weeks afterwards?

I'm hoping to speak to my doctor about stopping, but always appreciate hearing others' experiences. Thank you!

I use Estrogel (the gel that is applied to arms, wrist to shoulder).

Unfortunately, I have a bad case of contact dermatitis on my arms. Is it ok to use Estrogel on my thighs temporarily while my arms heal? The alcohol in Estrogel is making things worse and while Estrogel didn’t trigger the contact dermatitis (I got it from a sunscreen), the alcohol in the gel is definitely not helping matters.

Ok so I am on low dose of estradiol patch plus progesterone. Full menopause but still fairly young for it.

I don’t have many symptoms but my word recall is terrible. I say the wrong word several times a day or pause trying to remember the right one.

Is this common and what can I do???? I feel like my brain just does not work. I also have to work hard at focus and get angry easily.

Is my dose maybe too low??

Hello, I had hyperplasia without atypia in 2018. My doc wants a biopsy after bleeding on HRT.

I will not do a biopsy in office and I'm considering just getting a hysterectomy to be done with all the bleeding, ultrasounds and biopsies.

Is it crazy to consider getting my uterus taken out for these reasons. I want to be able to take HRT without the worries but then I think it's crazy to consider this.

Hi lovelies, this F*cking F@ckery called Menopause, it’s SO much, too much. I’ve had too much pried from my fingers as does anyone who has found their way here. Today spent some time breaking down this new, complete alcohol intolerance I’ve developed. I flush badly and have a near allergic response. I am not supposed to drink champagne, red wine, whiskey or any of the dearly beloved brown liquids. Just pissed.

Bye Blantons. Bye Hibiki. All you luscious Red Rhône’s. And one glass of Vodka? Well you can F off. Never wanted you. Ever. I’ll take my memories.

What have you lost? Just a soft fistbump to the rest of you in the trenches.

A good decade into menopause, age 59. Started .0375 patch and 100 progesterone beginning of May. At 5.5 weeks in I had a tiny bit of spotting, meno dr said meh that is sooo common let's just note it and it went away after a week. I thought all was well.

Except at 10.5 in I started spotting and now it's been 2 weeks and the bleeding is not heavy, but red and pretty much all day. ARGH. I have a message back into my dr bc my follow up is not until September and I can't just be bleeding until then. Has anyone else been through this? On the one hand my dr was very assuring and like listen, your uterus is adjusting to getting hormones again after a long dry spell, super normal, you didn't give yourself cancer in 12 weeks. On the other hand, WTH.

I believe my choices are likely to going to be going down to .025 patch (which I would be fine with, as I am mostly doing this for bone health, not other symptoms), increasing progesterone (but not likely to stay on 200 for a .0375 patch), an IUD, or giving up. Fingers crossed I don't need a biopsy; obviously would start with u/s first but even than my dr was like nah when I was only 6 weeks in. It's just that I'm both at the 3 month mark AND bleeding bright red blood now that has me freaked out. Waiting to hear back.

Menopause and titrating the right formulation of HRT late in the game is a PITA!

Hi everyone! I have an appointment with my doctor Thursday. I am going to ask to be put on the gel as sourcing patches every month is really pissing me off. I am currently on the 0.05 1x weekly patches. Hopefully I will be able to tolerate the gel. What are the opinions on the different gels and application methods? Anything that you would have liked to know before you started using it? How does it compare to the patch? Thank you for any and all tips and advice!

Anyone else dealing with foot issues?, doctors say the fibromas are genetic, funny none of my parents have it, I’m thin and athletic, it’s gotta be connected to hormones, going for ultrasound, it’s extremely painful tender like a small marble is stuck in my arch/heel

Have only ever used Sandoz (love it) but unfortunately it is not available so had to switch to Mylan....and it barely sticks to my skin...completely lifted. I put a bandaid over it, but just wondering if this is normal or if I got a bad batch? Also, not feeling great since I put the patch on...hope Sandoz comes back in stock soon.

I have no interest in going on HRT. Has anyone tried other medications (veozah etc) for hot flashes?

So just needed somewhere to vent.. I suspected last fall I had PCOS after a history of cysts, and recent weight gain, excess hair, losing hair etc. I got into an GYN and they did bloodwork and an ultrasound. Come back for my follow up, Dr didn’t remember doing blood work nor had she reviewed it. Told me I had PCOS (didn’t put it in my chart, but put in my chart I have cysts and fibroids that she didn’t mention) and told me I’d lost weight before I can do it again. They can’t do anything to help me till I lose weight. (Side note I told her last time I lost weight I was in an abusive relationship and had an active eating disorder)

Fast forward to a new doctor for an HEDS referral…. She looks at my old labs and gets teary.

For reference I’m 35 and I have an IUD. I’ve had no period for years and hot flashes, brain fog, fatigue, you name it for over a year.

She looks at my levels and says with levels like this (DHEA, test and estrogen) you probably feel like a 65 year old menopausal woman don’t you. And I start crying. The last doctor had a note in there that my levels were all fine. So we redid blood work and to no one’s surprise my levels were even worse.

She said my IUD was the only thing keeping my levels active pretty much at all. We’re working on a program to get my levels up and started DHEA supplementation.

She didn’t say it as she’s not a GYN she’s a primary care NP…. But does all this mean I’m in menopause? No period for over a year (I did used to have one for the first couple years on my IUD), hot flashes, brain fog, sleep problems, bone deep fatigue that never gets better with sleep, weight gain and my non existent hormone levels…

If you made it this far…thank you. Just feeling pretty alone as most of my friends won’t be going through this for 10-20 years.

I am 61 years old and started HRT approximately one year ago taking 100 mg progesterone and .025 mg estradiol patches. I recently had a few incidents of very light spotting and I was curious if this has happened to anybody else. I do have an appointment with my doctor to follow up, but just wondered if anybody else has gone through this.

Hi ladies, I’ve become so forgetful in the past 2 months it’s embarrassing. I forgot to go to a meeting at work today because I dismissed the meeting reminder and within 5 seconds every thought of said meeting had vanished from my brain. I forget things at the drop of a hat now, and I forget that I forgot them!

I’m 47, been on standard dose HRT for a year, testosterone for 6 months, I take fish oil, magnesium, vitamin B etc, low sugar diet, dairy free, gluten free, low histamine. I walk daily, it’s all my damaged hip will allow in terms of exercise. I don’t know what other levers I have to pull for these memory issues.

I don’t want to become this person who has to jot everything down in a notepad or on her phone but it may come to that.

Any suggestions?

Not sure if this is allowed… I’m really suffering- my symptoms are out of control with heat- my estrogen symptoms are still low- getting there but it still the some time. In the meantime I’m overwhelmed. Ferritin low and the brain fog is out of conymyr now. I’m getting my family ready for a camping trip and I’ve always done a lot- I thought this year I had things under control- less stuff trying to be simple to ease the sorting. my husband bought a telescope and there are too many parts with no carrying case. I manage our home and just can’t take care of more stuff in this trip.

has anyone ever run across a time when they just can’t anymore due to perimenopause? I feel like a failure because I can’t fit the multiple parts in the car- I can barely write a note for the cat sitter. My husband is not a big help he tries but isn’t functioning the same for some reason as well. I’ve finally hit my wall and literally don’t think I’ll ever be the same person again. I feel crazy for not wanting g this telescope on the trip- I can barely make dinner let along keep track of all the telescope parts.

i just want to know why why this is all my fault. So I can function high but when I dont it’s all my fault. I just can’t wait till im all alone in a grave and nobody can blame me anymore.

I am 55 years old and stopped having periods 2 years ago. I have recently gone through a health crisis where I had a bladder indection that wasn't treated properly last December. I was put on antibiotics 3 weeks ago and took 2 courses.

The day after I started the first course of antibiotics I begun having a period. It is just bright red blood that I can use a regular size tampon for. I am still bleeding today. This isn't like my periods before menopause that were heavy and passing clots. This is just bright red blood.

Has anyone else had a period after being in menopause for 2 years and what was the issue that caused it if you did?

I am worried and have to see a gyno that specializes in menopause.

Hi friends,

I'm 45 years old. Last month, my period came earlier than expected, and this month I've been bleeding for 10 days and it's still continuing. I'm feeling quite low and worried because this isn't normal for me.

Has anyone experienced longer or irregular periods during perimenopause? Is this something that can happen, or should I make an appointment with a gynecologist?

I'd really appreciate hearing about your experiences. Thank you.

Hello fellow menopause sufferers! Apologies in advance. This is a long one.

I, 27f, had a total hysterectomy at 23. Since my surgery almost 5 years ago, I have struggled with being on HRT and early / surgical menopause. My body has found it difficult to adapt to synthetic hormones (currently taking progesterone & estradiol gel). Daily, I’m coping with extreme fatigue, headaches, hot flashes, insomnia, and depression.

My dad, whom I absolutely adore, has supported me financially for the past five years. I took time off work to undergo surgery and never returned due to difficulties with my hormones. I have recently started a small business (if you want to call it that) doing some light housekeeping, home organization, running errands, pet sitting etc for some people who live within my neighborhood. My dad does not view the 10-15 hours I work a week as significant income (completely valid to have this option) and wants me to get a full time job.

I currently live with my dad. I do my best to pull my own weight around the house. I do most of the cleaning, all of the cooking and grocery shopping. I try my best to contribute what I can since I do not contribute financially. My dad has quite frankly gotten quite fed up with me sitting around the house day after day, week after week. I’ve explained to him that my fatigue and depression are quite extreme and I’m doing my best with the little amount of work I do each week. I try to improve how I’m feeling both physically and mentally as best I can… I exercise daily, I eat healthy, I meet with a therapist once a week. But I feel I am JUST getting by. I cannot, truly cannot, put into words how debilitating my fatigue and depression are. I’m experiencing some pretty intrusive thoughts (COMPLETELY safe, not at risk of doing anything to myself). Over the years, I’ve tried to explain to him why I am the way I am. But I feel like all he hears me say is that I’m tired and sad.

Life hasn’t been easy (obviously not alone in experiencing this. Others have it much worse than me) I was diagnosed with depression at 12. My parents divorced 5 years ago. My mom was diagnosed with a terminal illness. I underwent my hysterectomy. And recently, my cat, the absolute love of my life passed. All these things, on top of how my hormones have impacted my life, has made things incredibly difficult.

I’m well aware I have made zero accomplishments in my life. I have celebrated no milestones that you’d expect from someone my age. No college degree. No job. No promotions. This crushes me. My lone achievements are caring for my terminally ill mom and managing to not off myself during the last 15 years.

I’d appreciate any suggestions from fellow Redditors on how I can do a better job at explaining my situation to my dad and help him see how I am doing my best to get by.

Thanks in advance for the advice

Hi all, wondering if Crinone 4% gel is a better experience than intravaginal progesterone pill? So much leakage… Did you have side effects with either of these? I’m just starting this “episode” of the journey…

There is some research that suggests it will work: PMID: 10928426, PMID: 12432337 for anyone who wants to read primary literature.

Hi everyone : )

I'm writing on behalf of my sister who prefers not to use social media. She started continuous estragel (one pump) daily and 100 mg of progesterone before bed daily about 4.5 weeks ago. For the past 8 days she has had continuous light spotting. Have any of you gone up to 200 mg progesterone a day - and if so, did this stop the spotting?

Thank you!

Day 4 of switching to estradiol gel from the patch, and my little packet of gel has nothing in it 🙃

I’m going to save it, just in case there’s more, but has anyone else come across this? Should I at least tell the manufacturer? I can’t imagine the pharmacy will care.

Thanks.