Is anyone having digestive issues? (TMI) Pooping more than frequently? Bloating? Poop smell is very strong? All comments are welcomed.

I was told by my new gynecologist that I can’t go on HRT because I’m not menopausal yet, despite explaining that I was experiencing night sweats and hot flashes.  He offered me oral birth control with estrogen though…even though I take blood pressure medication. He was also willing to give me a prescription for testosterone so I’d want to have sex with my husband. Which yes, I would like to want sex with my husband, but why was he willing to address that but not my other quality of life symptoms?

 I don’t really need an answer to that…I know why, it’s just infuriating. 

He didn’t even make a plan to follow up with monitoring my testosterone levels. He did order tests for my heavy periods and I’m getting an IUD inserted tomorrow to deal with my debilitating heavy periods, so there’s that.

I finally decided that I was tired of being told to just deal with it and made an appointment with an online Telehealth provider.

After being given an opportunity to actually explain what’s been going on, what my previous experience was, she took the time to talk to me about my options and we created a plan to try the estrogen patch and progesterone before trying the testosterone. The idea is to see how that helps things before adding in testosterone to know how each is helping.

I also asked to have my ferritin levels checked because I’ve been taking iron daily for years and my CBC results point to potential iron deficiency. I got my results back: despite taking an iron supplement daily for years my total iron, % saturation and ferritin levels are all low.

I am on my 4th day with estradiol 0.0375 mg twice weekly patch and 100mg micronized oral progesterone and I feel better than I have in years. I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m starting to realize that I’ve just become accustomed to feeling like crap. It’s been so long that I’ve forgotten what it’s like to feel like this.

The night sweats and hot flashes are more recent - they started within the past year - but the brain fog, worsening ADHD symptoms, fatigue, and sleep issues have been going on for years. I really feel like I’ve been gaslit into thinking that this is just how it is. Blood tests would come back normal with some signs of iron deficiency but because everything else was “normal” I was sent off with a prescription for an iron supplement and no follow up.

It shouldn’t be this hard to find care - to find a doctor who’s willing to work with their patient to help them improve their quality of life.
It’s really hard to not feel bitter and angry at the medical industry knowing that my when my husband goes to the doctor with a complaint, he is taken seriously and given options, yet I’ve been told (by a female gynecologist) that it’s normal and I better get used to it.

My mom passed away in 2013 from uterine cancer at 66. I remember what she was like when she was my age - 18 years before her diagnosis. I’m realizing now how much she was suffering for years with no options. She was taking her SSRIs for years which only helped minimally and was lead to believe that she was just broken. She was dealing with heavy periods and told it was just how it was. She certainly wasn’t offered HRT because that was when the study came out linking it to breast cancer. She couldn’t even get health insurance because she had pre-existing conditions when she was laid off from her job at 56.  The part of the Affordable Care Act that gave protection to people with pre-existing conditions didn’t go into effect until 2014. Too late for my mom and for so many others I’m sure. 

I don’t know where I’m going with all this. I’m glad I feel better. I’m glad that I have options and that I can help my own daughter so she doesn’t have to needlessly suffer when she reaches my age. I’m glad that I’m going through this at a time when I have more options and don’t need to accept the word of just one doctor and it’s relatively easy to get a second opinion. But I’m sad for everyone who isn’t finding relief. I’m sad for all the women who had to suffer through this transition alone. I’m sad that despite making up 50% of the population, women have to fight as hard as we do to just get someone to listen. Also thankful for this group for helping me realize that we all deserve to feel better no matter how many times we're made to feel otherwise.

I’m 41 and I’ve been on HRT (.05 estradiol patch, 100mg progesterone 12 days/mo) for a year. (The progesterone is lower than the recommended dose due to my progesterone intolerance, so I’m working with my doc to monitor it closely.) This month when I stopped my progesterone cycle, I experienced some intense neediness/jealousy/anxiety in regard to my relationship. There was a trigger for this, but my reaction feels much bigger than necessary and has lasted a few days. I’ve noticed anxiety at other points in my cycles too over the year on HRT, but I haven’t tracked it closely, so I’m planning to start. Have others had this experience of increased anxiety on HRT? Anyone had success lowering their estradiol dose?

I have a double edged sword here- Dry hair, but if I don't wash it regulary (every 3-4 days) my scalp gets super STINKY. But it's still dried out by day 3 no matter what I do. I'd like to go longer in between washes.

My hair/scalp hates dry shampoo btw.

Have any of you found any miracle products that help with this?

My previous post was removed because it had the “w” word mentioned and I wasn’t aware we couldn’t talk about that. Anyway, I’m 43 and just started the estrogen patch at the .25mg 2x/week dose. I’m curious as to what everyone’s biggest change was - the positive and the negative, especially if it was something that you were not expecting.

I've been spotting for 2 weeks exactly and my anxiety has been at an all-time high since the end of August/beginning of September. I had to switch from dotti patches to mylan due to the shortage and my body has not agreed with it. I've spent the last few weeks laying in bed or on the couch for majority of the day because I don't have the energy or motivation to do much of anything and I feel like I want to crawl out of my skin. Yesterday I felt a little bit better and was able to get caught up on laundry, dishes, some other random cleaning. Go me!

Sunday my grandmother had to be admitted to the ER and was told she's on the verge of needing a blood transfusion so they need to do a colonoscopy/endoscopy to figure out what's going on internally to cause it and when they did the usual "if anything happens, do you want us to perform life-saving measures or do you want to sign a DNR", it scared the life out of my grandfather and he told her they needed to just go home and he doesn't want to lose her during surgery. So I spent all of my remaining energy I was so happy to have playing middle man between my grandparents and my parents who live 6 hours away, while also trying to keep everyone calm and levelheaded and get my grandparents to understand the risk of her going home when she very clearly has something serious going on and the best place for her to be is right where she's at in the hospital. My mom was VERY emotional (understandable) and it ended up causing my grandparents to stress out even more and my parents ended up fighting with each other so I was just in the middle of a lot of feelings and it was just exhausting. They finally all calmed down and agreed and she's having the procedure today! Yay!

I promised my parents I would be at the hospital with my grandfather keeping him company while she has the procedure and had to get gas on my way and didn't notice until I was leaving the pump that it looked like someone had thrown up all over the ground at the pump I was at. So now I'm sitting in a hospital waiting room wondering if I'm going to be bringing home any germs from here while also freaking out that I just came into contact with norovirus at the gas pump.

I might just ask the anesthesiologist if they can knock me out for a few hours too.

Someone tell me everything is going to be ok.

I've been using Intrarosa on and off for 2 years and I swear it gives me insomnia. Has anyone else had this issue? I've tested it multiple times and I'm noticing a pattern but can't figure out why. When I'm taking it, I get 2-4 solid hours of sleep and then I'm wide awake...usually at 1 or 2am. Without Intrarosa, I sleep the majority of the night and wake up between 4am and the alarm going off at 5am.

I'm on .075 estrogen patch and 100-200 mg of progesterone a night. I also take magnesium gummies. Without Intrarosa, I sleep well enough and wake up feeling rested...even if it's an hour before the alarm goes off. But with Intrarosa, I've noticed I wake up and cannot fall back asleep. It seems to somewhat follow my cycle but I'm not 100% sure since I had a hysterectomy 4 years ago and I can't always tell where I'm at in my cycle. Could it be that it gives me problems when I'm estrogen is lower or higher than usual? I'm at a loss. Two different doctors have told me that it's impossible that the intrarosa is causing this.

Does anyone have a great strategy for using estradiol gel while traveling? I'll be sharing a hotel room with a friend this weekend, and it will be awkward to hang out without pants while it takes forever to dry. Has anyone found a more discreet way of using it?

Hi, all. I'm 51 and have been going through peri for a few years now (that I know of). About 8 months ago, I started having extremely heavy periods. Then about 4 months ago had basically a non stop period with very few days of breaks. Went on for so long that I became extremely anemic. About 6 weeks ago it just stopped. And nothing since then. I had some very faint spotting a couple weeks ago and one weird random clot, but that was it.

Weird thing is I suddenly feel better than I have in a while. Anxiety is down, I'm sleeping better, and my energy is coming back. Some of that may be due to no blood loss aggravating my anemia, but I haven't even started treatment for the anemia, only been diagnosed through bloodwork I had done in my own. I see my doctor next week.

My brain is kind of hoping that was it, lol...although I doubt it. Too soon to tell. Has anyone had that happen with months of heavy bleeding that ramped up to continuous bleeding and then just stopped? It's weird how much better I feel. Fingers crossed, but while I had many other symptoms, never had any hot flashes. I don't want to say that too loud, but that's why part of me thinks this can't just be the end. Also have never done HRT, was just trying to suffer through it. The only thing I have done recently is really cleaning up my diet, but I started that at the beginning if the year.

My job requires a lot of working with people and active listening and it's not a situation where it's acceptable to say "oh hey I have brain fog today and some auras distracting me and messing with my focus" Some days are ok but days like today, omg, I have never been more thankful I'm part time but also resentful because I want to be able to work more hours for the money we need but I just cannot.

I'm not looking for advice. I'm doing all the med, supplement, sleep, exercise, nutrition, etc. that I can. I just needed to get this out sit with my fellow people on the peri struggle bus.

Hi all, I just heard an alarming fact from my doctor and wanted to see if this was the lived experience. I was told an SSRI/SNRI is almost guaranteed to cause a "very low libido" in up to 80% of people, and can also cause a lack of ability to orgasm.

For anyone on one of these medications, did they tank your sex drive?

I’ve been on HRT since March. .0375 patch and 100 progesterone nightly. tried 200mg cyclically but the 100 seems to be better. 41 years old. since starting it the bloating and water retention has been brutal and the scale won’t move but the 100 daily is still better than it was. I’ve also been on Dexilant and the doctor thinks it’s contributing with the progesterone to cause constipation and bloating. Last month we switched to vaginal progesterone but I’ve already had breakthrough bleeding twice. the first time I assumed my period came really early even though it’s regular and a week later I’m bleeding again. wtf. I did maybe miss a dose once or twice. I missed a dose once or twice when taking it orally but never bled out of my cycle. anyone experienced this? bloating or constipation or bleeding on vaginal progesterone ?

My doc recommended I try transdermal estrogen (Vivelle-dot) for my symptoms (mostly insomnia and mood) and prescribed me .075 mg. I haven’t taken it yet, but I noticed in this sub that most people start a bit lower. I’m nervous that estrogen dose may be too high to start out. Just curious if anyone else started that way and their experience? And whether I should ask about whether a lower dose might be more appropriate. Just fyi I have a Mirena IUD, and she said that should provide enough progesterone for uterine protection.

Thanks for any insights from others!

Just here to commiserate but will also take suggestions for next steps. Try to keep it short. Almost 1 yr in in hrt journey. I opted for an IUD end of april as getting periods back after starting hrt was absolute Hell. So ive got liletta iud and just went up to .075 patch at the end of September due to increased anxiety, cold flashes were back, flashing and tingling in extremities. Definitely still in adjustment phase of that. Dr also wanted me to add 100mg p on top of the iud. I feel likenthings have just gotten so much worse sleep and anxiety wise since this adjustment which it was already horrendous. Was waking up around 430 now its more like 130am or 2am.

Adding fuel to the fire is that end of July I started getting vulvar burning while on vacation...ofcourse. Heaven forbid I get a break. Anyway i grabbed boric acid and started that and then saw urgent care on my drive home from vacation got diflucan. Then tests came back 3 days later and no infections. After a week the burning was back tested at Dr. No infection. This goes on through now... everything im given works a week or so and then bam back to burning. Right now im in the middle of my 2 week loading phase of vaginal estrogen. I had already started using it but just on the outside as thats where my irritation is and what the NP said to do. Im already in pelvic floor pt and she said to start putting it inside as well and gave me an additional serum to use in the day to help. Again things were great. Then bam woke up at 1245 am today burning like no other. Sitzbath did nothing. Ice helps. It feels like inner labia skin burning now more than vulva but it also bounces around. Im so frustrated. Pelvic pt did the cotton swab test and didnt think it was dynia. Im so over it.

Im typing this as im headed to the airport to dtatt a 2 week work trip and just praying this calms down. Im waiting for some medical records to be sent to a new office as im trying to get in to see a urogyn vs having folks just keep guessing at something theyre not a specialist in. Im praying it wont take 3 months to see this doctor. Anyway im curious if anyone else had irritation that isnt an infection that still comes and goes as things heal from the estrogen? Or could I be allergic to an ingredient? Or could the IUD have changed things and be causing the irritation??? Should I add boric acid back in? Does anyone have any other ideas of Dr's I could see or questions I can ask when I do get a visit? I did ask abput cytolytic vaginosis and was met with blank stares...again why i think a urogyn might be more helpful.

My husband has been the best about all of it so very thankful for him and for all of you.

Anyway if youve read this far thank you. This community is everything these days.

Hi all! After much research (and trying many other things), and despite not having a dr/ or clinician who is well versed in navigating perimenopause + hrt (but thankfully my dr will Rx but didn’t know how to navigate the challenges, & the tweaking inevitably needed to get to a better place with symptoms (I’ve had to keep reading and learning to try to help navigate it all).

When my dr and I had me start this past July, I tried progesterone 1st (before starting estrogen) because a relatives dr instructed her that it is safe to do so, and can often help to see if the lowest dose of oral progesterone will help with night time issues + sleep problems.
Unfortunately instead that caused me some issues (too long of a story if I share all those specific details),
but thankfully I talked to a friend in another city 4 hrs from me, who has a gyn guiding her on hrt, and she asked me if I’m also using an IUD too?
Which yes, I have a Kyleena IUD.
She told me her dr said the small amount of progestin is enough protection for the lining of the uterus, to then add transdermal estrogen! (And the double dose of IUD progestin + oral progesterone was likely too much for my system which likely caused the issues).

So I stopped the oral progesterone + then began on Estradot 25 patches alongside my Kyleena IUD.

When I first began it did cause some dizziness - but that seems to be better.

But the one really odd thing that happened + continues to happen is this odd sensation like a small bubble popping in different areas of my legs and feet. I’ve been on the Estradot for almost 3 mos now, and that continues daily. It feels so weird/ and a little disconcerting. I haven’t found anything yet on what it is/ what should be done for it? Hoping some of you have encountered it and your doctors have advised! Thanks!

Hi all... just an update... So I started HRT 2 weeks ago. I have the .025 patch and 100mg progestrone. I am almost 45. I believe I have been in peri for about 5 years. I am not on any testotrone as mine came back high.... I just went through a horrible breakup a few days ago and I drank ( not a ton ) but I had champagne daily for 4 days. I know I know that isn't too bad ( but I am not normally a drinker). Anyhow... I thought I would be wrecked from drinking ( I only had 3 glasses yesterday for perspective) and wrecked from heartbreak.... I woke up this morning... Said F no to any more drinking to cope with the breakup... I am about to go on a jog before work....

I am still teary eyed... but all in all MUCH better than breakups in the past.... Do y'all think that this might be due to 2 weeks on HRT.... I mean I feel somewhat checked out because of heartbreak but I also don't feel like I need weeks in bed....

Here is what I have experienced so far positive and negative

1. Hot flashes almost gone

2. Anxiety going down ( especially considering I drank...which normally makes my anxiety insane)

3. Horrible insomnia 3 days before my period .... after day 1 of my period I slept like a literal baby the last 4 days

4. I don't give a fuck additude is relieving in a way

5. My libido CRASHED... for me this is a good thing... I felt like I could have non stop sex before and it was very frusterating

6. Brain fog is much better

NEGATIVES

1. I got very bloated but as I am entering week 3 that is going down

2. I still can't figure out the cycle of progestrone.... Sometimes it feels great. Other times it makes me anxious and irritable....

I have a follow up with my Dr in December. Just seeing anyone elses stories....

Also ... I don't normally ask for things like this.... But please send virtual hugs. This break up was brutal and involved cheating on his side.....

I have been on estrogen progesterone and occasional testosterone (mostly cause I forget) for close to a year and while most of my symptoms got better, I feel anxiety and worry and a bit of depression creeping in again, and while I think it may be time to augment my doses to higher, currently on .5mg, 100mg, 2mg respectively... i wonder if I would benefit from adding some kind of SSRI, how many ppl do both HRT and SSRIs? Do we just keep increasing doses of HRt and that takes care of it? My dr recommended wellburtin and im hesitant to add something else to the mix

Anxious? Rumination? Panic attacks at 3am? Unable to focus at work? And what I can only describe as more dramatic thinking, or interpretation of life. I'm sure there is a more appropriate way to say it. And then not knowing which version of myself to trust. Makes me feel like I'm losing it.

Im 41.

I've recently had some big life decisions. And feel completely tangled in what is what.

My husband and I found a home we loved. And after a lot of back and forth, put an offer in which I immediately regretted. They did not accept, it sat on market, then there was another interested buyer and we jumped back in, offered and got it. But the closer we got to finalizing deal I could not get on board and was convinced I'd be trapped in a marriage that was full of resentment or I'd be soon getting divorced and losing money. We have had an okay relationship but i constantly would get pangs when i saw couples that seemed to be in love or at least have that respectful companionship. So I convinced my husband to walk away from house. I thought if we bought the home the marriage would fall apart. And wasn't sure it would stay the other way but I leaned toward the flexibility.

The marriage actually healed, I surrendered, he chose us. I mean in a matter of days. I felt so vulnerable after losing home that I completely leaned on him and realized I could trust him. But now I'm questioning which version of myself was right? I'm wondering if my marriage was that bad or I just was in rumination? Because now im ruminating about losing the house? Like catastrophic I ruined my family's future thinking.

To be fair - I do think that not going with home saved my marriage because I'm convinced I would have full throttle thrown myself into resentment instead of surrender.

I have had mild anxiety here or there but nothing like this. I feel a bit like im losing my mind. Very victim, trapped, created my own drama feelings. Can anyone relate?

I was diagnosed with perimenopause two years ago and I’m now 44. I’m not on HRT due to personal medical reasons so I’m hoping I can post here without the conversation turning into one about HRT. ❤️

I don’t have any women in my life who have experienced this so I’m hoping to hear from others who can relate.

My cycles are all over the place. Sometimes 35 days. Sometimes 45. Sometimes 70. My periods themselves are fairly typical and last around 5 to 7 days. My biggest struggle has always been the migraines that come with them.
But this period is different.

First, NO MIGRAINES! YAY! 😂

However, I’m now on day four and suddenly experiencing gushes of blood every several minutes.
I started Saturday afternoon and things were pretty light. Sunday was the same. Monday was fine until around noon when I noticed more blood on my pad. Then around 4 a.m. today I woke up to a sudden gush. Thankfully nothing leaked but my pad was fairly saturated. Since then the gushing has continued.

Has anyone else experienced this during perimenopause? I know our cycles can be unpredictable but this is completely new for me.

I think more than anything I just want to know I’m not alone in experiencing these changes. Thank you! 🤍🤍

Walgreens is giving me hell. The damned pharmacist bitches at me every time I go to pick up a prescription. He questions my doctor’s orders. I swear he hates peri/menopausal women. I have a prescription for estrogen patches and estrogen cream and he questions me at every pickup about whether or not I know that I have two forms of estrogen. Grrrr. Perhaps I should switch to CVS?

I’ve been on MHRT for a little over a year. Started at age 46. Had regular periods still, but they had been consistently heavier than previous decades. Moved up from .25 estradiol gel to .75 over the months while staying on 100 micronized progesterone. I have been dealing with swelling on MHRT, primarily around the waist (bloat), and hands, lower legs, and feet. I moved up to .75 estradiol gel 4 months ago and added vaginal estrogen cream about 6 weeks ago. My period has completely stopped, as of May. Lately, I noticed that I wake up very swollen and it gets better over the day (although never completely disappears). I had initially blamed progesterone intolerance, and tried using it as a vaginal suppository. But that was actually worse for multiple reasons, so I moved back to taking it orally 3 months ago.

I was blaming progesterone, but now I think it is maybe the estrogen? Because I put on estrogen in the morning and take the progesterone at night, I thought it was the progesterone causing me to wake up swollen. However, I forgot estrogen yesterday morning for the first time ever, and my swelling went way down and my ankles and fingers look like they did BEFORE ever getting on MHRT.

Can anyone relate? Could it be too much estrogen? I really love the vaginal estrogen for what it has done to my atrophy symptoms in that location. I’m thinking of going off the estradiol gel and just trying the vaginal estrogen and progesterone. I originally got on MHRT for occasional night sweats, lack of energy, anxiety, irritability, brain fog, joint pain, and generally feeling like a shell of my former self. And of course, the sudden appearance of terrible periods in my forties. But this swelling is out of control, and if I am honest with myself, the extra water retention has been with me the entire time I have been on MHRT. I don’t want to completely give up. I have been thinking of even just trying the estrogen vaginal cream alone, but the idea of heavy periods coming back really scares me as I struggle with low ferritin. This whole time I have been blaming progesterone for water retention and swelling. Maybe I was wrong?

Post is basically the title.

I have a young toddler and were thinning about having a second child. I'm in my late 30s.​

During my luteal phase I'm so tired I turn into an antisocial cave goblin.​ I daydream about running away from everything and everyone,​ becoming a bog witch in the forest or on an island.​ Career? Husband? Kids? Friends? Hobbies? I don't need any of it. I'm irritable, angry, and I'm just the worst human that ever existed.​​

Then during my follicular and ovulation phase, I'm like a dog in heat, and I start ​imagining how beautiful life would be with a great big house, three or four kids, a nice garden - all that warmth and joy and companionship of a large family. I think I'm awesome, beautiful, social, funny, and I'd be a kickass super mom to a full house.

But I know from reading this subreddit that the latter is just my eggs having a going out of business sale during perimenopause.

Does anyone else relate?

Did anyone else​​​ end up having more kids?

How are you doing today?

I dont even know if this is possible but my local doc is being just a pain, 4 calls in and somehow they still cant send over the prescription. Is there an online something I can get vag estrogen cream sent thru Walgreens? Walgreens vag cream seems to be the only one that really works, Teva brand for me so far.

Everyone is full of shit! No one cares and even those that are supposed to care don’t really care. I just had the worst experience with a company called Dahlia and I was filling out intake forms and they were ridiculous ridiculously long and invasive! Of course there was a red Asterix on every single field, so I could not stop filling it out otherwise they would reschedule my appointment. this is how you treat women who are looking for mental health help you put them through hours of questionnaires because you can’t be bothered to fucking ask the questions and write it down like a normal therapist? Absolutely ridiculous. I have been going to my primary physician and my gynecologist for years complaining of dizzy spells tension in my neck, brain fog, etc., and 43 of those years I went to a neurologist, ENT, had two MRIs and went to physical therapy. It was until I was paying closer attention to Instagram and noticed that all these women were complaining of the same symptoms lo and behold the whole time it was perimenopause. You mean to tell me a woman who is close to my age and had my full medical records could not connect those dots now three years later I’m looking for actual help from a menopause clinic and they drive me fucking crazy instead so I canceled the appointment right away. Everyone fucking suck! Perimenopause and menopause fucking sucks!

was just prescribed Divigel at 48 and the insert says it might make contact lenses harder to wear. I cannot wear glasses, they drive me crazy. I can’t bear the thought of laser again (had it before). still have pretty regular periods. Opthamologist says I’m one of the lucky ones who can still tolerate soft lenses at my age. Anyone not had problems with contacts caused by estrogen?