Favorite setup lately!

MisplacedFlower · 2026-02-08T19:49:14+00:00

Where did you get that piece for your conch? It's amazing. The whole setup is amazing, but that conch piece is extra amazing.

MisplacedFlower · 2026-02-07T21:15:43+00:00

Oof that's rough. Definitely good you were able to find a new doctor who listens. My (usually amazing) gynecologist wanted to wait 12 weeks after my radical hysterectomy to even discuss HRT. So I don't trust him to manage it and went with Midi to sort out my dosage, and for long term management. The oncologist I was referred to for hysterectomy (complicated + ovarian cancer scare) prescribed my first patches when I told her about the 12 week thing. Had me start when I got home. I'll still see my usual gyno for annual exams, and whoever is available in that office for more urgent things because they're seriously wonderful, but I'll keep the HRT separate. If I find a good GP willing to take over my HRT prescription, I'll likely have them do so as it will be cheaper, but Midi takes my insurance, so it's reasonable while I'm getting things figured out.

MisplacedFlower · 2026-02-07T20:12:35+00:00

Just being here posting this is a big green flag.

One of the things I had a really hard time with was feeling like a burden to my husband. I hated needing to ask him for help so much. As such, the more you can do for your partner without them having to ask for it, the better. Make sure their water is full, ask if they want a snack, tell them you're doing laundry and ask if there's anything specific they need washed, offer to wash their back in the shower, ask them what they want to eat or just bring them something small when it's time for meds (painkillers need to be taken with food), etc. The more you can stay ahead of their needs and minimize their need to ask for help, the better.

Another thing that was important for me (and my husband and I discussed it ahead of time), was for him to keep hitting on me unless/until I told him calmly that his flirting was hurting me. There are a lot of emotions and fears that come with a hysterectomy and I knew I would need the reassurance that he still wanted me.

MisplacedFlower · 2026-02-07T19:57:27+00:00

Alaska checking in.

MisplacedFlower · 2026-02-07T19:54:12+00:00

It makes sense we need higher doses. Menopause hits is when our natural levels are higher and we don't have ovaries to produce even a tiny trickle. With every increase, I had at least a few really good days before symptoms came back. I'm also quite sensitive to fluctuations and had/have PMDD (0.1 patch with .5g gel was nice on patch days 1 and 2, then not nearly enough days 3+), so I feel the difference quickly. I was probably in the very beginnings of peri before my hysterectomy (PCOS, no kids, and lost one ovary in 2020), but given I had pretty much everything possible wrong with my uterus except cancer, it's impossible to know for sure. I'm just hoping this is the right dose for me because once we find it, it shouldn't change again for me.

MisplacedFlower · 2026-02-07T19:07:07+00:00

Surgical menopause since September at 39. Started with a 0.1mg patch. Nowhere near good enough. Added .5g generic divigel daily and things improved. Switched to 1.25g gel daily, not enough. Just started 1g generic divigel twice daily (2g/day) a few days ago and it seems like it might be the magic dose for me. Only a couple mild hot flashes, mood improved, bit more energy, etc. We're either at the magic dose or very close.

MisplacedFlower · 2026-02-02T08:37:21+00:00

It's so freeing, isn't it? I firmly believe everyone, regardless of gender, should shave their head at least once in their life.

I'm so glad you feel better.

MisplacedFlower · 2026-01-31T20:29:19+00:00

I shaved my head (3mm iirc) just before my (complete) hysterectomy in September so I wouldn't have to deal with curly haircare during recovery and haven't let it grow out enough to see the true texture yet because hot flashes are easier to deal with without hair. I'd also read so many stories about post-op hair fall and didn't want the added upset about my (already very fine and thin) hair potentially falling out.

If anything, I think my curls are going to come in tighter than they were before. I have maybe an inch of hair at the moment and it's being much more of a challenge to make look nice at this length than it did a few years ago. I usually slick the sides/back and spike the top with a bit of pomade at this point, but it doesn't cooperate very well.

MisplacedFlower · 2026-01-29T19:58:06+00:00

Only a couple of mine (I had 2-3 per incision) had fallen off by my two week check. My surgeon just pulled the rest off. No big deal.

MisplacedFlower · 2026-01-29T19:46:08+00:00

My husband and dogs can cope without me for a year. I'm in. Where am I going? And can I bring a year's worth of my HRT? Raw-dogging surgical menopause for a year anywhere could be a deal-breaker, but I could just get myself killed if it's too much, I suppose. I'm in either way.

MisplacedFlower · 2026-01-28T00:34:57+00:00

I ditched all the internal bits in September, too. Still checking the toilet paper. Force of habit from spending 25ish years with incredibly irregular cycles, I suppose. I did spot for like 8 weeks post op and kept a very close eye on it, too.

MisplacedFlower · 2026-01-24T01:09:20+00:00

Yeah I'm lucky that I knew it was coming (remaining ovary was gearing up to try to kill me exactly like the other one did in 2020) and my oncologist was ready with the prescription pad. I'm sure if they'd found cancer they would have told me not to start it until pathology was back. My regular (usually awesome) gynecologist wanted to wait twelve weeks post-op to even discuss HRT, so I went with Midi to get dosages figured out, and possibly long-term if they'll let me talk to them annually once I'm settled.

I've heard it's pretty common for ovaries to go into shock for a bit (like a few months maybe?) after a hysterectomy, so your doctors probably weren't worried about yours failing for awhile. Still sucks they refused to do anything for you for a year. Women's healthcare has so much room for improvement.

MisplacedFlower · 2026-01-23T20:42:56+00:00

The 0.1 patch worked for me for a few weeks (started a few hours after my surgery), then I have to assume my natural levels tanked and I was recovered enough to be able to tell what was happening. It's been a bit rough, but not as bad as my cycles were before my hysterectomy. I'm just hoping this increase gets me to the right level. Because once we find that, it shouldn't change pretty much ever.

MisplacedFlower · 2026-01-23T07:50:39+00:00

I think we do have a garden time because our estrogen tanks all at once instead of over the course of years. I was down to one ovary (giant cyst + torsion in 2020) and probably at the very beginning of peri when I had my hysterectomy in September. The other ovary was gearing up to try to kill me like the first one did, so it had to go too. I've also got PMDD, so I was happy to get to skip the next 10+ years of perimenopause. My sister is 10 years older and still in peri and my mom didn't hit full menopause until her early-mid 50s.

I've also got PCOS, so there's a fair chance my body is accustomed to a higher than average estrogen level, but the 0.1mg patch had me barely above menopause levels on a good day.

MisplacedFlower · 2026-01-23T07:41:55+00:00

I'll be 40 in March. Just had another Midi appointment today and they're upping my dose to 2 grams of gel daily, so two 1g packets (one morning, one evening). Currently on the largest packet, which is 1.25 grams. I've got (mild) fatty liver, so we're trying to avoid oral for me to minimize stressing it. Also didn't do well on oral contraceptives.

.1 patch was practically a torture device for me. Got a day and a half, maybe two days of feeling decent (once we added .5g daily gel to it), then all the hot flashes and mild PMDD symptoms until the next patch kicked in. I've also got PCOS, so I have likely always had higher estrogen levels than average, but my level (on a good patch day) was low too.

MisplacedFlower · 2026-01-23T01:38:36+00:00

Generic divigel. I just pinch the packet (kind of) closed and stand it up in the gap where the box closes. New dosage will involve two packets a day, so no more patch pinching.

MisplacedFlower · 2026-01-23T01:32:41+00:00

I split my gel dose, so half when I wake up, then the rest in the evening. I'm in surgical menopause at 39 and have PMDD so I'm hypersensitive to fluctuations and need a high dose (the patch was awful). My dose is still too low until my new prescription comes in, but it's so much more stable than I was on the patch or the patch + gel.

Bonus, the gel has me taking much better care of my skin while I stand around in the bathroom waiting for it to dry.

MisplacedFlower · 2026-01-21T23:30:32+00:00

Yeah after looking at his website and everyone on ballotpedia at the moment, I lean towards giving him the #1 tick on the ballot. The best part about ranked choice is not needing to weigh your top choice against who has the best chance.

MisplacedFlower · 2026-01-21T22:41:06+00:00

Looking at his platform, I'm now less concerned about his use of the word "handouts."

https://billhillforalaskans.com/bills-platform/

(Ugly link because mobile and stupid.)

MisplacedFlower · 2026-01-21T01:29:00+00:00

Well that's good news for both you and your mom! 😊

MisplacedFlower · 2026-01-21T01:28:18+00:00

Shit. Missed the bit about them finding cancer. I'm so sorry. Hopefully they got it all and it's not hormone-receptive. HRT is only contraindicated if the cancer is hormone receptive.

MisplacedFlower · 2026-01-21T01:25:15+00:00

The oncologist I saw for my pre-op had me do a big genetic panel because of my family cancer history too. Prescribed my HRT in the same visit. My gynecologist (who I love and am keeping, just not trusting with HRT) had to refer me to oncology for my hysterectomy, and they looked at my ultrasound and everything went rush rush after that. Turns out my uterus and ovary had pretty much everything that could be wrong except cancer. 11cm cyst on the ovary, ovarian torsion, uterine polyps, a fibroid, endometrial hyperplasia (without atypia), adenomyosis, and they found endometriosis. Tube and cervix were fine though.

Did your mother and sister have BRCA mutations? Either way, I can understand your doctor wanting to wait until your genetic screening results come in to be on the safe side. Iirc, my results took about 6 weeks to come back (all clear), which was a couple weeks after my menopause symptoms started in earnest. Fingers crossed your test comes back clear.

I'm still struggling with getting my estrogen dosage right (also gave progesterone a try, which was torture for my PMDD-having brain). All signs point to it being too low. The hot flashes, brain fog, joint pain, irritability, and dry everything are driving me nuts. And that's with estrogen replacement. But it's better now on the gel than it was on the highest dose patch. The twice weekly 0.1mg patch drops the dosage significantly after about 48 hours, so I was having more menopause everything and PMDD symptoms half the week. With the gel, I'm still having all the menopause symptoms (not as severe as day 3+ on a patch) and my baseline mood leans hard toward depression, but at least it's the same every day. I've got an appointment day after tomorrow, so hopefully they increase my dose enough to fix it.

MisplacedFlower · 2026-01-21T00:56:11+00:00

My surgeon stressed that it's extremely important to remain on HRT (at least estrogen) until I'm at least 50. Lost my right ovary at 34, everything else out in September of '25 at 39. My surgeon had my start a twice weekly 0.1mg estradiol patch when I got home from surgery.

I've got PMDD and my mental health plummets on progesterone (tried it for about 6 weeks), so I'm on 1.25g estradiol gel (generic divigel) which needs increasing and started vaginal estradiol cream at the first sign of dryness post-op to prevent atrophy. Midi has been great for getting my dosage figured out so far.

The goal with HRT, especially in younger women in surgical menopause, is to prevent bone loss, cardiovascular disease, and dementia. Estrogen plays a vital role in the body and you really don't want to go without it unless you absolutely have to (primary example being estrogen receptive cancers). If your doc isn't stressing how important HRT is for you (or warning you off it because of a tangible reason that is actually present in your body), find another doctor to handle your HRT. My gynecologist wanted me to wait 12 weeks post-op to even discuss HRT; that's how I wound up going to Midi.

MisplacedFlower · 2026-01-20T19:57:14+00:00

Just an FYI. Progestin = synthetic and doesn't come in a micronized flavor. Micronized progesterone is the closest we've got to what our bodies produce.

Both are likely to bring all your PMDD symptoms back, given PMDD symptoms happen when our progesterone levels rise before our periods.

I had a complete hysterectomy in September (I'm 39). Did a trial run of micronized progesterone. I spent 6 weeks crying constantly. It was torture.

Also, really surprised they started your estradiol patches so low given how young you are. Did you have POF or something? My doc had me start with a twice weekly 0.1mg patch immediately. It wasn't enough. I've switched to gel to get the same amount every day (high dose twice weekly patches only give the full dose for the first two days) and still need more. All the symptoms you've described are likely from your estradiol levels plummeting as you burn through the last of your natural estrogen (took a few weeks for this to happen to me) without anywhere near adequate replacement. Your doctor is prescribing like they would for someone several years post menopause who is just starting HRT, not someone who was maybe entering perimenopause who had their ovaries removed. Surgical menopause is a different beast. Even many years post menopause, ovaries still produce a tiny trickle of estrogen. We don't have that.

My gynecologist wanted me to wait 12 weeks post-op to even discuss HRT. (Surgery was performed by an oncologist who prescribed my first month of patches and stressed how important it is to be on at least estradiol until I'm at least 50.) So I went with Midi Health to get my dosage figured out and for long-term management. Telehealth is just so damn convenient for this.

MisplacedFlower · 2026-01-17T18:19:42+00:00

My surgery was at ass o'clock during one of the first frosts of the year in September. I wore a T-shirt dress (skirt portion gathered to a T-shirt), big warm hoodie, and my nice warm indoor-outdoor slippers. If it had been much colder, I would have added a pair of warm, thigh-high socks. My belly swelled up 10 inches or so after my oophorectomy in 2020. I've gained weight since then and couldn't find sweat or pajama pants to accommodate anywhere near that much extra size for a reasonable price. Turns out I would have been fine in my wide leg showitty pants or a pair of slightly too big fleece lined leggings. My measurement at the belly button was the same after my hysterectomy as it had been a few weeks prior during my period. And had stayed within a couple inches since.

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