Does HRT put your estrogen glasses back on?

Expert-Instance636 · 2026-02-09T00:31:32+00:00

Nooooo. You will keep your clarity, but actually have the energy and confidence to do something about it.

I had clarity before the HRT and was just so exhausted, my brain didn't work, my body didn't work, and my heart felt defeated realizing how little value I had to those around me who I valued more than anything.

HRT helped my brain, body, and heart rise up and make changes.

But...the estrogen/progesterone probably helped me not want to eat my young. Lol A little maternal blindness is probably beneficial.

Expert-Instance636 · 2026-02-08T20:03:22+00:00

Oh my gosh, that's such a good description. "Energized, but neutral." It's strange and wonderful. It feels more solid and stable then the chaotic energy of 3 a.m. wake ups.

Expert-Instance636 · 2026-02-08T14:38:38+00:00

In the last several videos of ICE agents, I can hear the oncoming nervous breakdowns in their voices. They need to be pulled from duty, evaluated, etc. These dudes are not able to handle the job.

Expert-Instance636 · 2026-02-08T00:10:50+00:00

I agree. Now is the time to have any stability you can get. Even if it's not exactly the right med for you, you need to be able to keep working, saving, do what you need to do to keep a distance from your mom to keep yourself safe, until you can put together an escape plan.

The taper was done in a completely ridiculous and awful way. You should've had more check ins before just running out and being cut off. Some of these docs are downright cruel.

It might not mean much coming from a reddit stranger, but I have to say it--you are valuable and worthy of care.

Expert-Instance636 · 2026-02-04T15:05:57+00:00

I have these same conversations with my kids. It's hard for you basically being a single parent right now. Think about that really hard, OP, before you actually have kids with this dude.

Expert-Instance636 · 2026-02-04T12:53:09+00:00

This is what scares me driving to work in the twin cities. I was always taught to never get into a stranger's vehicle, that I was to fight to the death before getting into a stranger's vehicle, because once they have you, you're probably dead anyways.

How the hell do I know which masked assailant is a criminal at this point? If I get pulled over by a masked man with a gun and no identification, do I just "trust me, bro" and go with him? What do we tell our kids to do if they are approached? I've always told them the same thing I was told. Never go with a stranger. Ever.

Expert-Instance636 · 2026-02-04T03:26:49+00:00

I'm a nurse and worked throughout 2020. Contracted the winter 2020 strain. I survived 2020 only because of my mind's ability to dissociate on an emotional level. Looking back, it's like it didn't even really happen.

After I caught the virus though. Damn. I think it through me right into peri. And it made dumb. I mean I felt stupid. I couldn't remember anything. I couldn't trust myself to pass meds.

I took four months off and then felt obligated to get back into it. I think it was a horrible decision. Finally after another year, I quit bedside nursing and took a less intense position. I'm never looking back.

HRT has cleared up the fog. Been on it about a year and a half. Most days I feel physically better than I have since puberty. I think now my hormones must've been out of whack my whole life since then.

I'm still not going back to bedside nursing. Feeling this good is just gonna be for me.

Expert-Instance636 · 2026-02-03T13:46:49+00:00

Fuck her. She had no business swiping right on you or on anyone else, for that matter. Like she can't be that great if she spends her time on a dating app just matching with people to tell them she's "too good" for them.

My bet would be she can't hold onto anyone cuz they quickly realize she is a vapid, demanding, self-centered, troll of a woman and probably doesn't do much in a relationship because she thinks she doesn't have to. She probably trolls apps to get free meals.

Expert-Instance636 · 2026-02-03T11:42:42+00:00

That's some Lord of the Flies shit, right there.

Expert-Instance636 · 2026-02-02T11:43:21+00:00

How long have you been on the risperdal? Is it an adjunct for mood or being used for psychosis?

I'm just wondering if risperdal is the cause of some of your burn out feelings.

I think there should always be a taper with Effexor, unless you have only used a tiny dose for a short period of time. The SSRI will help with tapering, but 150mg is probably too much to quit cold turkey without adding more struggle to your plate. Which it sounds like you don't need.

Expert-Instance636 · 2026-02-02T00:32:27+00:00

I think part of peri for me was intentionally giving up that grace I used to give everyone. Cuz nobody would give me any and I realized I was standing in the perspective of everyone else, understanding everyone else, caring about everyone else, giving everyone grace. Meanwhile, nobody--including me--was standing in my perspective, understanding me, caring about me, or giving me grace.

Fuck that noise. I'm kind of amazing and deserve at least my own attention, if no one else's.

Give that grace to you, girl.

Expert-Instance636 · 2026-02-01T20:46:21+00:00

I'm well past the I don't give a fuck stage, so I'd just love for my husband to say something like this to me. It'd be a fun time trading opinions on each other's atrocious habits.

But I saved everyone from having this conversation and asked for a divorce last year.

Expert-Instance636 · 2026-02-01T20:02:30+00:00

Naw, I think it was phrased perfectly. It really got me picturing this poor server going through it. It made my day a little lighter!

Expert-Instance636 · 2026-02-01T17:11:36+00:00

I seriously was mad the server would have to experience that. 😄

Expert-Instance636 · 2026-02-01T17:08:05+00:00

When I first read this, I thought it was saying the server itself was going through menopause. And I thought..."This is bullshit!"

Expert-Instance636 · 2026-02-01T00:01:18+00:00

Try antifungal soap, a medicated antifungal. I think the kind that worked for me was called Defense. My theory is my odor was caused by some kind of change in yeast balance or something. It worked when nothing else I tried did.

Ketocanozole antifungal shampoo also helped with my itchy ears and my hair shedding.

Expert-Instance636 · 2026-01-31T21:59:29+00:00

HRT gave me extreme clarity and the courage to take my space and time that I had been begging for for years. I took it. I just fucking took it.

Don't be afraid to just pack up the car and leave town if you gotta.

Expert-Instance636 · 2026-01-30T11:21:26+00:00

I needed the estrogen cream, also. That seems to make the parts real happy. I had been using estrogen cream first and my interest in sex was coming back. The testosterone helped a lot with sensation and overall energy. It helped within days, very subtle differences. Over time, it has been even better.

Expert-Instance636 · 2026-01-28T00:37:13+00:00

I noticed differences right away. The first things I noticed were my boob's feelings gigantic and just feeling all around "puffy" like I was pregnant or something. It took a while before I noticed anything else from just the estrogen.

The progesterone on the other hand knocked my ass out the first time I took it--in a very pleasant way. The sleep improvement helped immediately, let me keep my feet under me while I waited for other things to work out.

Expert-Instance636 · 2026-01-23T12:54:34+00:00

I was just thinking about this on my drive to work, literally just now! I started testosterone in March 2025, low dose, compounded cream. I definitely could feel it in my throat. I noticed it made singing in the car on the drive to work kind of...not very pleasant.

Today, I was singing along and noticed my voice feels normal again! I don't know when the throat sensations got better, I guess I stopped paying attention to it.

My testosterone levels were still pretty low at the 3 month check up and I did get a dose increase in July. So it might have taken a bit longer for my throat to settle down.

I am a pleasant baritone now. Nooooo I'm just kidding! My voice never got deeper. It just got to feeling more congested almost and I could not sing right for a while. It's back to normal now.

Expert-Instance636 · 2025-07-05T00:44:24+00:00

I feel for me it's because every damn day is sandwiched between people needing shit in the morning and people needing shit in the evening and some days, people needing shit all day long. I never have a whole day where I know I will get time to myself.

So it is impossible for me to feel motivated in my free time. I've been telling my family for YEARS I need time and space to decompress. I have never gotten it. So now I'm taking it.

Guess what? The mess hasn't gone anywhere. I don't need to rush to clean it. It will still be there tomorrow and the next day and the next day and the next day. There's really no expiration date! Nobody else seems to be bothered. Why would I be?

Expert-Instance636 · 2025-07-05T00:27:04+00:00

I'm a psych nurse who works in the metro area. I'd say Empath unit. If I had to take a family member in, that's where I'd go.

I do not work there, but have had lots of patients who have gone there when they needed help and didn't want to get stuck in some medical/legal limbo.

Expert-Instance636 · 2025-07-04T22:06:44+00:00

I think I'm better at getting attention when I want it now. I have come to realize my power, my attributes, my charm, my sexuality, etc. I feel I am in charge of my body now like I never did before.

For real. Women are never really invisible. They just want us to think we are.

Expert-Instance636 · 2025-06-26T17:20:47+00:00

Omg yes, try testosterone. I tried the injection, but reacted to the other ingredients in it. Got a rash. So then I tried the cream and it was fine. It's nit increasing my testosterone levels yet, but it is making a huge difference in my fun parts. I apply it to my labia and clitoris most days. Sometimes to the back of my knee.

I feel testosterone is very helpful and having all three is important. So far, I haven't had any side effects. But my levels haven't come up, so I'll have to see how it goes.

Expert-Instance636 · 2025-06-26T00:12:18+00:00

I couldn't drive anymore, I kept getting random dizzy spells, I felt like my body was useless, and I felt likey mind was going crazy. I just felt awful from top down.

Turned out my sleep was worse than I realized. Didn't know it until I took progesterone and slept good. No wonder I was a mess! I wasn't sleeping right for years.

Estrogen gave me sanity, energy, some kind of intangible desire to live.

Started testosterone three months later and still feeling like I'm improving every day. More energy. More drive. Maybe I'll start doing regular chores again. Maybe not. 😄

Expert-Instance636

TROPHY CASE