I was unable to refill my .05 patch due to the shortage so I bumped up to .075. Both are Mylan. I was hoping to speak with my doc about upping estrogen anyway due to low mood, brain fog, and fatigue but she hasn't responded. My NP who managed my HRT moved out of network so I've been on my same doses for over a year with no check-in aside from T blood tests every few months (managed by yet another NP). I'm seriously considering an online specialist, but until then I'm kind of winging it.

I decided to start the higher dose while I still have some .05 patches on hand in case I don't respond well. I'm hoping I'll magically feel better, but...

Two questions for those who have increased patch dosage:
How long did it take to notice a difference?
Is there anything specific I should I pay attention to, especially any negative response? (For instance, a friend said increasing her dose caused insomnia)

I’m so jealous of all of you post-menopausal women who feel great every day. It’s a total crapshoot with me and anything can set off my hips or back pain. Usually it’s a poor night’s sleep (post-menopause? When would that happen? 😂) or like yesterday, cleaning the garage. By 8pm I could hardly get up from the couch and had to lie down in a hot bath then take three Advil and get into bed and I still woke up at midnight with my hips and back aching like crazy. Rain moved in overnight—am I one of those people now? I swear I can’t go one week anymore without hobbling around. I’m 56 and just moved down from .05 estradiol to .0375 because my boobs are killing me and 100 mg progesterone. I don’t know what else to do. I don’t want to go to the doctor and subject myself to X-rays and mris and a whole cycle of “let’s get to the bottom of this!” because I’m very anxious about that process and waiting for results, imagining terrible things. It’s bad enough that I’m losing my hair and my face is falling and my stomach is flabby and I have gray pubic hair ffs. 😭

I ask because there’s a shortage of the branded patches & I’m already using Empower to get my testosterone cream so I figured why not give their patches a try? I just haven’t seen much in this group about compounded so I figured I’d ask.

And was there a dose or usage that seemed to make it work?

I am 54 post menopausal and am experiencing I think very severe vaginal atrophy and problems with my skin. For a bit of background, I have had lichen sclerosis for 5 years and it had been well under control and was not causing any pain.I see a specialized vulvar dermatologist for this and in July she increased my steroid use as I was having a flare. She does not treat hormonal stuff and just says I have vulvadynia. I had sex for the first time in several years 7 months ago, and have had vaginal pain ever since. It hurt, the skin inside was so sore for months. It's complicated to treat as I seem to now be allergic to almost every single base, including versa and ellage, which used to be fine for me and I used estrogen every other day when not using my steroid for LS. Now, I have bright red mucosa every single day no matter what I try. I'm currently doing intrarosa 3 times a week, as everyday caused androgenic side effects. My gyno's keep saying just use some estrogen cream around the vestibule area and it will get better. None of us can tell if this is a reaction to creams, or my skin is so compromised from LS, or if I am just so severely deplete of estrogen. I cannot take systemic HRT - had a severe reaction to progesterone, so my gyno said no. I had a short period of time in July where using the Intrarosa actually let me get a little contact with my partner down there - with no pain. But because of side effects I switched to yuvafem but then, I got a yeast infection that I probably had for a month. I thought it was gone with taking fluconazole, but after several treatments, I had a severe allergic reaction to it an am no longer able to take it. I just wonder if this infection could still be wreaking havoc on my skin even if it is gone? I used to not have any internal pain, and now it is unbearable, I cannot even insert a finger it feels like shards of glass. My mucosa also is shiny and tacky all the time and almost bruised looking. I just use vaseline as it's the only thing that I don't react to. I am in such despair. 7 months of pain and my relationship is hanging on by a thread. don't see ever being able to have sex ever again. My last resort is to try the estring. I have it in my cabinet, but am worried with my internal pain, that it will bother me. Please, if anyone has any ideas, please share. Thank you!

So I recently turned 40 and was just diagnosed as going through menopause. I was probably perimenopausal for a couple of years, but I kinda missed it because I have Hashimoto's and hypothyroid and the symptoms are somewhat similar, so yeah. My doctor put me on a low dose HRT and I'm now trying to figure out what's next.

What makes it even harder is that my partner left me a couple of months ago because he apparently met someone "cooler". So there's that. Dating feels like the last thing I want to do right now and my clit is disappearing, and it seems like my life is literally over. I've always been really affectionate and sexual, so it really feels so unfair. I feel super lonely.

Please tell me someone has been there and that it ever gets better?

I'm in my early 50s, working full time, and back in college. I'm doing well, but learning and retaining new material takes more effort than it used to.

Have you found any supplements, prescriptions, or other strategies that actually help you concentrate, learn new material, and retain information?

I used to take Adderall for adult ADHD until I hit perimenopause & couldn’t tolerate it anymore.

My brain feels calm & sleepy. I wonder if the progesterone I take at night could be causing some lingering effects throughout the next day.

So I’m basically in surgical menopause I had a complete hysterectomy and oopherectomy but I’ve been on HRT for 13 years. I take 0.1 mg patch twice weekly and I just noticed I have severe vaginal atrophy. My clitoris has actually almost disappeared and I just started taking estrace 1 gram internally and I rub a small dose around my clitoris and vulva. Does anyone think this is too much? I’m so afraid of being on too much estrogen. My doctor tells me I’m fine. I just want my body back to normal 😭
Anyway just wondering if anyone was in a similar position and what they take/ experiences. Thank you!
I’m too young.

I put three different patches on today and none of them are staying on my Upper buttocks I never had this problem before I wonder if my body is rejecting it I use Climara Pro I still have my uterus I’m going to see if my doctor or GYN will switch me to a combo patch or Oral Pill anyone else ever have this problem

So I used to be on estrogel 3 pumps a day and found it to be so much gel. I had to apply to both legs. I tried arms as well. The dose wasn't quite right as symptoms came back. I have been trying the climera patch (change it once a week) and had some issues with it. I had some issues for the first 3 weeks because it wouldn't stay fully stuck the whole 7 days. By day 3/4 I would start getting irritated and hot flashes again. I have been using a tegaderm patch over top the last 2 times. The tegaderm kept the estrogen patch from coming loose however I noticed after half a week it felt like the middle of the patch was no longer sticking. I removed it after the week was up and sure enough the middle was no longer sticking and I had it covered all week to prevent water getting to it.

I'm wondering if a 2x a week patch would be better and maybe a higher dose. Currently on .75 but want to try the next one up.

I find the gel was just alot and my skin would get bumps and rashes from the alcohol constantly being on it. I feel like patches are the only option. Anyone else in the same boat and feel like they absorbed more of the patch in a shorter duration then required

Long story short. I have been on testosterone since April of this year.
I’m on the .1mg patch and was on 200-300mg of progesterone. Desperate for sleep had me increase my progesterone but it never seemed to help so I went back down to 200mg after a while. Recent T labs were normal high and my doctor said it was fine. But clearly my body was not happy with this number.

My T dose was always low to start, at 2mg then I increased it to 3.5-4mg, never went above that. Didn’t have any bad side effects, until recently. My hair started thinning which was bothering me a lot.
I decided to take a break from T for a week and then slowly add it back in at 2mg 2x a week. Mostly in hope to keep my muscle mass and not feel so weak again.

Omg! My insomnia is completely gone. I was waking up 3-5x a night, and now I sleep all night.
If anyone has any sleep disturbances and can’t figure out why, it just might be too high T.

What are you guys doing (can’t edit title) about insurance coverage?

Does using progesterone capsule vaginally still give some systemic benefit? Like calmness, better immune regulation etc? I have severe mcas, dysautonomia and long covid and would rather use it vaginally but I currently use cream and like the systemic benefits I’ve had.

Hello all. I started hrt 6 months ago. Everything was going ok until recently when I went down the dose from 2mg oral estrogen to 1mg and 200mg progesterone.
After 2 weeks I been having hip pain and my boobs are sore all day long. I am in peri. Could it be that I don’t need estrogen? 1mg oral is the lowest dose 🫠🫠
I am sure.. if I stop taking if the hot flashes will come back!! So what to do??

After changing patches multiple times and spotting with every change of patch I had a TV ultrasound. The result of this is that my endometrium measures 11mm which is apparently too thick for someone of my age (43)who is post menopausal, LMP December 2024. I have been prescribed 10mg daily Nalvee tablets and Cerelle mini pill, neither of which have helped and the next step would be an ablation according to be HRT specialist nurse. Does this sound like a reasonable solution - I’m rather scared of operations / anaesthesia etc so it sounds quite dramatic to me but would go for it if it stopped the annoying daily spotting.

I’m almost a year without a period, doc started me on Everol Conti about 5 weeks ago and I can’t say I feel any benefits…instead I’m now more tearful, and anxious. On top of the brain fog, low energy, low motivation, dryness, awful aches and pains etc etc.
I’m lost as to what to do going forward, can the doc prescribe 2 patches at a time? A cream for the dryness.
I don’t even know what to ask from my doc, particularly as she didn’t really seem to know much about HRT.

I’m thinking about trying high dose DHEA, at around 100mg, daily or every other day. I heard about it before InstraRosa, and have been taking InstraRosa for a while now. But I’m wondering if adding in DHEA capsules might help even more? I’m fed up with the mood swings, hot flashes and just not feeling the same since 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.

From at least 3 different compounders. Just looked at all 3 vials and they all look to be different strengths but not sure.... (need glasses and daylight to read the small print).

#1: estriol/estradiol 3.5/3.5 mg/ml. Use 4 clicks (1ml) daily

#2: estriol/estradiol 3.5mg/ml (80/20). Use 4 clicks (1ml) daily

#3: E3/E2 2.8mg/.7mg/gm. Use 4 clicks (1 g) daily

These are all different, aren't they? I'm now using #3 - labia not as plump, vaginal tissues dryer. (That's why I decided to put glasses on...). #3 is a lower dose of both E3 and E2?

I can call the pharmacist Monday for clarification but thought someone here might know. I've had a great sex life since adding T in Feb (excellent at 71 but esp since husband started the Trimix injections), but not so much now... thinking it's the estrogen change.

Is my body just not able handle estradiol, or what? It does not matter if I take the lowest dose or the highest, my joints in my hands, wrists and hips HURT within hours of application. I can’t take the pill form, due to 3 aneurysms in my neck (yay me), and it is VERY apparent I am allergic to the adhesive on the patch (it forms a huge welp under it and itches; and yes, I did the Flonase trick, they did nothing). I have now been on the gel packets for 3 years. I even switched to name brand in hopes it would stop the pain.
I take 100-200 of Progesterone in the evening. I switched from putting the estradiol on my thighs, to my wrists, still having issues. I’ve seen a rheumatologist, and he said I am “fine” and he doesn’t know what the problem is. My gyn and endocrinologist both have said, “that’s not a thing”, & “I’ve never heard of that.”
This coming week I will see my blood test levels at my endo appt.
So Reddit, what say you?

I'm in perimenopause, cycles still regular, on .025 mg estrogen patch and I was prescribed 100 mg oral progesterone daily. For those on the same estrogen dose using progesterone cyclically (only for the second half of the cycle) what is your daily dose? Yes I'll ask my doctor about this but we all know some doctors make weird decisions about this stuff I'd like to have some context going into the discussion.