Low energy after starting estrogen only HRT patch
50 yo, started menopause maybe 10 months ago. I say maybe because I had a hysterectomy a few years ago - did not remove ovaries. Since hysterectomy I had labs done a year ago showing I wasn’t in menopause yet. I did labs in Jan this year confirming I had started menopause. I suspect menopause started for me 10 months ago because I started having hot flashes then. Since then, my symptoms were mostly hot flashes (tolerable but definitely felt them) and waking up at 3am pretty much every night. I would wake up at 3, lie in bed until 5, then get up and was super productive . I suspected I was running on anxious or stress energy but it didn’t matter because I just wouldn’t feel tired or get good sleep. I was on the go.
11 weeks ago, I started HRT estrogen only (since I have no uterus). Right away, that first night I slept like a baby. I felt a heaviness in my chest as if telling me to keep sleeping. I thought this is great. I’m catching up on all the sleep my body was missing. It’s been almost 11 weeks and I’m still very tired. I’m sleepy by 10pm and could definitely sleep past 7am (my wake up time). During the day, I am sometimes normal but other times fatigued. Today, I felt almost dizzy and light headed. So I took off my patch and just curious how I would feel if I go without it for a week. Has anyone experienced feeling more tired after using estrogen only HRT? I also put on 3lbs (I’m small so that’s a lot on me). It could be the HRT or the result of being less active overall because of my fatigue,
Anyway - curious if anyone has had a similar reaction to HRT (estrogen only)? I’ve read that it’s important to find the right dosage before you feel better. However, I’m at the lowest dosage already. Could a higher dosage help me feel less tired when it seems the HRT is making me feel tired/sedated?