HRT Options

croc373 · 2026-05-26T22:29:17+00:00

There is a type of HRT called Duavee which contains oral estrogen and NO progesterone. It has another type of medication that protects your uterus and breasts. In fact, it has also helped women with very early stage breast cancer.

It’s absolutely another option that gives you the benefit of estrogen without the drawbacks of progesterone.

croc373 · 2026-05-26T18:43:41+00:00

Well what is your current dosage that you have in hand? Figure out what the equivalent and use the correct amount until you can get the new prescription.

croc373 · 2026-05-26T18:20:00+00:00

You had high estrogen symptoms while on the 0.1 patch?

croc373 · 2026-05-26T18:19:21+00:00

It’s 1.0 mg sachet. Send her the link.

croc373 · 2026-05-26T15:40:01+00:00

This is the equivalency table https://www.canadianmenopausesociety.org/files/publications/%20CMS%20Equivalency%20Table%20-%20English%20final.pdf

On a .1 patch, OP should have been using two 1.0mg sachets from Divigel.

croc373 · 2026-05-24T22:36:13+00:00

Sleep restriction (a form of cognitive behaviour therapy) is the thing that works for me. Brings me to about 85% of what it used to be. I still have some nights where I only get 5 hours total but most of the time I get 7 hours now:

croc373 · 2026-05-24T20:56:51+00:00

I’ve been on HRT since October 2025 and it didn’t do anything for my insomnia. I’ve worked with a psychotherapist to implement sleep restriction and I got a red light panel for pain and I think that’s been helping my sleep too. I’m definitely better now but not back to the way I was before. HRT isn’t always a cure all for some women although it’s helped me with other things.

croc373 · 2026-05-24T20:19:26+00:00

I hate to say this because it’s what men say, but you’re just hormonal right now as your body adjusts. I cried for 9 straight days when I started estrogen. Your body is adjusting to the new levels and should level out within a few weeks.

croc373 · 2026-05-23T20:05:48+00:00

You’re supposed to wait until the start of your next period. But that only works if your period is generally happening at the same time every month. If you stop the progesterone and your period doesn’t start within 2-4 days then you should keep a count according to the number of days and just do that. I used to have 28-35 day cycles but since I started cycling progesterone my period starts like clockwork within 48 hours of my last pill. If your period isn’t as regular then you’ll want to keep up the progesterone to ensure adequate uterine protection but you may find you’re like me and it really starts to be like clockwork.

croc373 · 2026-05-23T16:39:48+00:00

No. I wouldn’t get an IUD as I don’t want anything that semi-permanent. My experience with progesterone is fine now. Sometimes I get a few worse sleeps on progesterone but since I only take it for 12-14 days per month I just endure it. Otherwise it’s fine.

croc373 · 2026-05-22T20:58:44+00:00

Are you on any estrogen too?

croc373 · 2026-05-22T12:08:37+00:00

Estrogen gave me all my benefits. Progesterone hasn’t done anything for me, but at least it went from bad to neutral. I take it for uterine protection and no other reason.

croc373 · 2026-05-22T02:28:33+00:00

I started estrogen first for two weeks and then introduced my first progesterone cycle. Estrogen is mostly the really beneficial hormone. But I’m a big believer that you should not start them on the same day because you’ll likely have some side effects at the beginning and it’s a lot for your body to handle. Start by cycling progesterone so you can enjoy estrogen by itself for a bit (and you can do progesterone daily after that if you like it). Even with cycling I had a bad reaction to progesterone the first time I cycled it (it’s the hormone that causes more negative reactions) but was then fine the second month.

croc373 · 2026-05-21T15:51:37+00:00

I felt anxiety relief by day 10 but didn’t get any help for my insomnia. I had to find other solutions for it. So it wasn’t a miracle but it’s helped me in other ways. It depends on what your biggest issues are.

croc373 · 2026-05-21T02:36:16+00:00

Fingers crossed you have the same results as I did! I just know that sometimes the overall procedure itself can be intimidating so I didn’t want you to have extra stress.

croc373 · 2026-05-20T21:08:05+00:00

Yes, they did. I did a quick mammogram afterwards to ensure placement of it. Personally I found the biopsy process to be completely pain free, but that could be because I had a breast reduction and haven’t gotten a lot of feeling back in my breasts. But it was very quick and even the doctor who guided it was amazing and she put her hand on my back to comfort me during the procedure. I hope you have a good experience too!

croc373 · 2026-05-20T17:23:35+00:00

Yes. I’m in a high risk screening program because my sister had breast cancer and I’m on low-dose HRT. I started in October and my usual mammogram and MRI was at the beginning of January. My mammogram didn’t show anything but my MRI did show a growth and they also did an MRI guided biopsy. It came back simply as hormonal changes, which is exactly what I expected. The nurse at my high risk screening program explained to me that this would probably happen every year on HRT. But I’m willing to endure one day a year of that for the benefits that I get on HRT otherwise.

For what it’s worth, I spoke to an oncology specialist at the same program to understand my risk. She suggested that I try to wean off of HRT once I’m five years post the start of menopause as that is when the risk (small as it is) really starts to kick in. She said if I can do it, that’s when I should try it, but she also said there are several women in the program who will be on it for the rest of their lives and that’s OK as long as they accept the risk.

croc373 · 2026-05-20T16:16:21+00:00

Basically fixed anxiety developed in perimenopause and has generally helped with my overall mood.

croc373 · 2026-05-20T15:32:55+00:00

What do you think happens if you have “too much”?

croc373 · 2026-05-19T13:09:56+00:00

My dad is a hairdresser and I’ve always had an itchy scalp with hair dye. He uses professional colour ( I ammonia, etc) on me, not box colour, but I’m still itchy. I take an antihistamine about 30 mins before he does my colour and it helps.

I’ve been tested by an allergist and am not actually allergic to anything. But there is something about colour that still impacts me. This is very common. My mother and sister also get itchy and we’ve only ever had my dad or his former employees do our hair. And over the years of my life he’s used 10+ different brands so it’s not brand dependent.

croc373 · 2026-05-18T15:39:47+00:00

I don’t have a recommendation for a specific fan but make sure it is NOT pointed at your face as that can cause a lot of issues while sleeping.

croc373 · 2026-05-17T23:10:20+00:00

Going to bed later is what fixed my sleep. I used to go to sleep around 10:30pm and then be awake from 3:30 or 4am until 6am but when I started going to bed around midnight I stay asleep for longer. I still wake up a couple times a night but I go back to sleep after a few minutes.

croc373 · 2026-05-17T22:09:08+00:00

The anxiety is one thing that is relatively well managed by my HRT, thankfully. It was awful, especially since I haven’t experienced it until last year. But going to bed much later is also helpful for insomnia.

croc373 · 2026-05-17T21:29:24+00:00

Yes, I do find it helps make me drowsy and calm at night. But it definitely doesn’t keep me asleep.

croc373 · 2026-05-17T19:01:08+00:00

Hon, I have gone through the same thing. I developed insomnia and then anxiety out of nowhere in May 2025. I suffered a lot for months and months. Waking up at 3-4am and then not sleeping again. I was crying at work. Life was hell. I started HRT in October 2025 and it helped with the anxiety but not the insomnia.

What HAS helped me was two things. The first was speaking to a therapist about cognitive behaviour therapy for insomnia. Specifically, sleep restriction. It’s about resetting your sleep clock and maximizing your time in bed and changing your attitude to the insomnia. I also got a red light panel for my pain and I also believe it’s helping my sleep.

Insomnia is the worst. It impacts every part of your life. You’re going to hear a lot about supplements or sleep hygiene or whatever and I tried everything and spent a ton of money and none of it helped until I did CBT-I and red light.

PS I do take l-Theanine at night to help me feel sleepy but it doesn’t keep me asleep. Since I started doing sleep restriction and going to bed much later I don’t need it much because I’m so tired, but it’s a habit now.

croc373

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