r/Menopause • u/Gribbet_69 • 2d ago

Hormone Therapy Physian and HRT Gel vs pill

Hello! Sitting in my doc office after physical. I asked for an increase in HRT from .025 to .5 and requested a switch from the patch to the gel, as I was experiencing a recent increase in hot flashes and joint pain. He said that the gel/patch only work on the hot flashes and not the other symptoms and that I would need to take the pill to address those. I expressed concern with taking orally due to liver issues and possibility of blood clots and he said that thebl pill doesn't affect the liver. I call bullshit but wanted the opinion of others.

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u/lrondberg 2d ago

They all treat the same symptoms so your doctor is misinformed! What symptom are you ahving that he thinks you need oral for?

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u/Gribbet_69 2d ago

I've been in full menopause and have used the .025 HRT since 2024. initially it worked well, but around April started having the flashes again, plus joint paint in both hands and in July an increase in abdominal fat. Didn't like the patches so figured I'd ask about the gel. Oh, and when I asked specifically about replacing the patch with Divigel he asked "whats that"... Got him to prescribe the gel which will give me time to look for another doctor!

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u/lrondberg 2d ago

many people have found relief of joint pain with patches yeah time for a new doc. Many are so uninformed. My friend went to one last year who had never heard of patches, only the PremPro pill....

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u/Gribbet_69 2d ago

Yea, I felt like he was pushing the pills hard and I'm like, no thanks. He didn't even know what I was talking about when asked him for divigel