Hi all, looking to learn from the experiences of others, and maybe for some commiseration here in my first rodeo with the progesterone portion of HRT.
I started HRT a little less than a month ago, and my current regimen is 2mg oral estradiol daily, and 200mg progesterone only 12 days out of the month. I started the estradiol on 4/10 (it has been a lifesaver!!), but hadn’t taken progesterone until the past few days. My doc recommended taking the progesterone days 1-12 out of the month so it would be easier to remember, and gave me the go-ahead to wait until 5/1 to start taking it. I’d been feeling sooo much better overall until the progesterone, and I’m having a hard time not feeling discouraged about it now.
The past few days on the progesterone I’ve been feeling super fatigued, brain-foggy, unmotivated, moody, and almost like I’m coming down with a cold or something which is hard to describe. It’s basically a taste of how I used to feel all the time before starting the estradiol. I feel like the life drained back out of me and it’s making it hard to get through the workday. It feels pretty defeating, especially after feeling like I could thrive again for the first time in years.
I’m guessing this sudden drop-off is because of the progesterone, but if so, is this normal? Is this how it’ll feel every month? Does it get less intense over time? Do I just have to accept that I’ll predictably feel awful nearly half the days each month? Is this a sign that my dosage is off? How many months do I give my body to adjust?
Doing my best to just take it day by day and give my body time to adjust, but in the meantime I’d welcome any support to navigate the mental spiral a bit better 😅