u/BerryFit926

Hi all- I am 2 years post meno. I went from Biest E creams for a year to the E patch- .0375 at first, then .05 for 6 months. I felt amazing- energetic, less joint pain, no hot flashes, and more regulated- but got VERY tired of how bloated my stomach had become and seeing more lbs on the scale. I went to back down to .0375, and dropped a few pounds and felt amazingly less bloated, breasts smaller and less tender, but I felt so disregulated: grumpy, moody, etc. I got through that adjustment, so last week, decided to cut the .0375 patch in half to see what would happen. I got through a decent week of 1-2 hot flashes and several moody moments, not too bad- BUT suddenly, I am SO tired every day and my knees are starting to hurt again. I need a different method of delivery of Estrogen as I enjoy staying active, but I am not very open to returning to that "swollen" feeling on the patch. Anyone have good experiences coming off the patch with a different estrogen delivery? I should mention that I don't seem to absorb gels or creams well.

I am 53 y/o post meno and have been on an HRT journey for 2.5 years. I started with Biest creams and got rid of 3-4 hot flashes an hour and had no weight gain, but I was still low energy and grumpy. I then switched to the Estrogen .0375 patch for a year, along with a recent increase in Progesterone from 50 mg cream to a 100mg troche and my energy levels got so much better! But...the weight stall and the sleep issues.

I am super frustrated with my inability to stay asleep, that seems to have gotten worse since I started Tirz in January- I started at .25 microdose, and worked my way up to 2.5mg. I am also surprised and disappointed by the same 3-5 lbs lost and gained over the last 4.5 months! There is no real progress, and I have put in the work: I've gone from being dehydrated and a carb addict to 80 oz water and 80-100 g protein each day + walks and pilates reformer. Oh- and cutting my alcohol from 20 drinks a week to maybe 5 on weekends. You would think that alone + Tirzepatide would do some magic.

Is there anyone here who is on HRT and Tirz who has not seen the scale move much at all, and who still feels like crap/ can't sleep well? The scale just goes up and down and I am maybe at a steady 4 pounds lost since Jan 2026 (but it does creep up some weeks)

I have not slept well in over 15 years, but the 1am wakings started shortly after starting Tirz. My increase in progesterone helped for 2 weeks, then it was right back to waking 4 hours after falling asleep - no matter what time I go to bed, wine or no wine- even if I go to bed at midnight, like last night, I am up at 4am! 😞 Before I started Tirz, I wasn't waking up 4 hrs later- maybe 5 hours (still bad)- am I imagining things or can this drug affect sleep?

General feedback from my functional doctor is to up my Estrogen and try the RX 100mg Progesterone pill, but when I increased to the .05 patch last year for 5 months, I gained 7 lbs overnight and became so bloated, hindering me from being successful in my pilates reformer practice and being happy. Also, that dreaded RX Progestin pill makes me feel like a zombie the next day.

Thanks if you made it this far.