Asking because I really don’t want to have to switch to birth control if I don’t have to

I experienced a sudden trauma about 5/6 months before I became symptomatic. My doctor thinks it’s highly plausible that this trauma led to my POI.

I’d be interested to hear if anyone here had a similar experience? There are so many environmental factors that could contribute to POI, and I know it’s complex. But I’m quite interested in the role of trauma in the development of POI.

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I have had POF for 20 yrs since I was 19 and have been struggling with high cholesterol for at least a decade in my adult life despite I have always eaten healthy. I have had to cut my saturated fat way back to less than 15g a day and lost quite a bit of weight. Now my cholesterol is okay but still on the high end.

I was looking up how Estradiol is made and turns out your body uses cholesterol to create estradiol with a few steps in between. So considering my FSH is probably still high despite being on hormones (cause they never test it and just go by symptoms) then it makes sense that my body is making extra cholesterol because it wants my ovaries to make more estradiol but they can’t cause they don’t work.

And it bothers me because I’m also hypothyroid and they test my TSH levels every 6 months to verify my medicine is right but no doctor asks to test my FSH to see if my estrogen levels are high enough for my body to function normally. It’s like they (doctors and the majority of medical professionals) don’t care about the uniquely feminine. I just thought this was really interesting and wanted to share/vent.

Hi all, I have revised my recent poll to include the experience of trauma as an adult and in childhood. Both of which I have experienced myself, and as pointed out by other users this should be included as an option in the poll for clearer results.

Original post

I experienced a sudden trauma about 5/6 months before I became symptomatic. My doctor thinks it’s highly plausible that this trauma led to my POI. I also experienced quite a lot of trauma and neglect in childhood.

I’d be interested to hear if anyone here had a similar experience? There are so many environmental factors that could contribute to POI, and I know it’s complex. But I’m quite interested in the role of trauma in the development of POI.

If you feel comfortable doing so, feel free to share your experiences. 🩷

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My ob through Kaiser did prescribe estradiol after a high fsh reading on a blood test that she felt indicated I was in menopause already at 40. But I have lots of questions like should I take progesterone or testosterone? Should my dose be higher? Just .025 at the moment. My mirena is older than the 5 years it should be for hormone replacement but she said it was fine and I don’t need anything else. In general, I am glad she took me seriously and I know women often struggle to be taken seriously at younger ages and get estradiol at all, but I am still concerned. All of our appointments were over the phone too, which is what she recommended. I am so anxious and sad about going through menopause this young and need a lot of reassurance.

I have the chance to see a specialist but it’s self pay and $$$. I am also really anxious about doctors in general so I am not sure about going to another one. I’d still need to go to Kaiser if I needed lab work or something and convince my ob to order it because of cost. Would it still be worth going to the specialist? My therapist really thinks it would be good for me to have a better experience than I did, but I am so worried this specialist will think I am a little crazy for asking for a second opinion when I can’t get more treatment through her office.

What would you all do?

I want to say that finding this sub has been a lifesaver. Thank you to every single woman who has shared her experience and advice. I purchased the second skin film to put over my patch, and omg wow.

I got my official diagnosis on Monday, but anticipated this diagnosis based on my bloodwork (MyChart giving back test results before your doctor can review them is a whole other issue). I'm 33 and married, and this has been hard. I've cried a lot and have let myself grieve.

I started the estrogen patch at .025 and progestrone at 100mg. Based on things I've read in this sub, it seems like I might need to go higher on the patch? My doctor said she doesn't really do blood tests with HRT, but I think I'm going to request it.

Being here is bittersweet, but I'm so glad there's a community for this. I'm open to any advice, story, or whatever anyone feels like sharing. I'm doing literally anything I can to prevent myself from spiraling.

Hello everyone, I just got the diagnosis today after 2 years of amenorrhea, and I can’t really wrap my head around the fact that I am 21 and infertile. Sorry, there’s no real point to this post, but I have barely stopped crying for hours and I just am hoping to hear from someone who has been through this.

I’m a long distance runner so I always assumed my menstrual issues were due to my lifestyle, but now I know that there is nothing I can do, and I will never have a biological child. Obviously there are other ways to have a family but I am just absolutely crushed. I just can’t shake this inexplicable and completely irrational guilt, as if I chose this.

Additionally, of course I will need to start HRT and I am terrified of weight gain and throwing my already precarious body image through a loop. I have an endocrinologist appointment next week, and I don’t know if I can even bring this up as a concern? It seems trivial and vain to bring up my weight, but gaining will have a big impact on my life.

I apologise for coming on here just to complain, it’s not the end of the world I know, but I just feel really lost.

Anyone with painful breasts during period/ before and around ovulation? 🙄

I’m currently on Evorel 75 patch and 200mg micronised progesterone (continuous) which I use vaginally.

I’ve been bleeding on and off every 8 days for the last two months and it’s driving me crazy! What do I need to change so the bleeding stops?

I’m so tired of all the appointments, medications, regimes. All the horrible symptoms, side effects. Lack of information, lack of research, lack of understanding.

I so badly just want to have another body.

I post too much here:( An update: I am in search of a second opinion (I have 2 appts set up and will turn to telehealth options if those 2 fail). I have FINALLY gotten a hold if my labs. I've accounted for where I was in my cycle when I had my blood drawn... I wasn't expecting what I saw.

First labs (done by a walk-in when I was already having symptoms of low estrogen at 23yr, levels all normal):

-Estrogen at 266 pmol/L (normal range 220-850)

-Progesterone at 30 nmol/L (normal range 15-90)

-FSH at 2.5 IU/L (normal is under 7)

-LH at 2.1 IU/L (normal is under 15)

---

Second lab done by a menopause specialist at 23yr, some levels abnormal

- Estrogen at 44 pmol/L (normal range 220-850)

- progesterone at 1.6 nmol/L (normal range 15-90)

- FSH at 7.1 IU/L (normal is under 7)

- LH at 6.0 IU/L (normal is under 15)

---

3rd lab done by a menopause specialist at 24yr, some levels abnormal

- Estrogen at 116 pmol/L (normal range 220-850)

- progesterone at 1.7 nmol/L (normal range 15-90)

- FSH at 5.4 IU/L (normal is under 7)

- LH at 3.4 IU/L (normal is under 15)

My menopause specialist has been withholding substantial treatment for years because of these labs. For 2 miserable years, I have been told that my estrogen and everything looks fine and PERHAPS I was a tiny bit low on the 2nd lab, but in reality my estrogen and progesterone were very low for the 2nd and 3rd lab. She's been throwing around POI as a diagnosis but also treating me like I don't have any abnormal labs. My FSH and LH were never given a chance to rocket upwards because I was still cycling when the labs were taken, and then I was started on birth control which would suppress my FSH anyways. Meanwhile I was suffering from just about every peri-menopause symptom under the sun and wishing I'd just die already. Idk if this is POI... but my estrogen and progesterone are not fucking normal. No wonder birth control wasnt enough to resolve my symptoms. Not even taking 2 birth controls at once is enough (I know I shouldn't be doing that, just hella desperate). I recovered from a 10 year eating disorder at 22yrs. My bone density was at risk and I had precious years to max out on bone density before I reached peak age. Those years were WASTED.

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 😅

I just feel like every woman I speak to lately older and around my age (early 30s) all have or had some sort of hormone issue. I wonder if we would have more of us if doctors actually tested AMH in women’s 20s or if we made hormone testing a standard of care before prescribing birth control. Maybe if women actually spoke about their bodies without shame we could help each other. Just a thought

Good morning, my estrogen patch (0.1/2x a week) seems to work. I’m having issues with progesterone. My reproductive endo wants me to induce a period every 2 months and currently it hasn’t been the best.

I broke out, felt borderline suicidal before my period, felt very dizzy and tired, and my period is heavy. I took 10 mg of Provera for 10 days. I was wondering if continuous progesterone would be a better option for me? Honestly, my main concerns are acne flare-ups and having heavy periods.

If anyone can provide their insight, it will be much appreciated!

P.S: thank you for responding to me. I am early 20’s and my mom does not help me as much with my diagnosis. She sometimes makes fun of me and says that I will age worse and makes me feel bad that I cannot have kids. I never wanted kids, but it is making my self-esteem worse. I’m sorry for posting so much on here

I had been 3 pumps of the gel from August 2025 - Jan. With 200 mg progesterone everyday.

I switched to the 100 estradot, still kept the 200mg progesterone in Jan…and since March, my tastebuds have not been the same. Vegetables taste like plastic, sunflower seeds taste like plastic. Weird aversion to raw green bell peppers (I used to enjoy them, now I can’t.)

Anyone else experience anything similar with increasing on the patch? I had never been on 100 of estradot, only the 75. I’ve had to keep increasing due to hot flashes.

I also had COVID for the first time in July 2025. I felt awful. I don’t know if that’s why my tastebuds are being weird however, it seems odd they would react like this 7 months later….long covid possibly??

I talked to my doctor and she said because I’ve switched estrogen methods to just ride it out and everything should return. It’s driving me nuts though, I don’t want to eat because everything just tastes so bad :(

My menopause specialist sucks. She must have a doppelganger going to recertification meetings for her. I BEGGED her for HRT again. I explained that out of desperation I started taking 2 birth controls at once and the increased dosage helped me greatly. I explained that the vaginal estrogen dosage was still way too low. I explained that my boyfriend has had a vasectomy and I am not interested in a contraceptive and that my libido is very important to me.

Her response:

1. Put me on another birth control... this one is a combo patch with the SAME DOSAGE AS THE LAST PILL (the same pill that led me to desperately take 2 pills at once). The thinking here is that I might absorb it better because its a patch.

2. NOT increase my vaginal estrogen dose because of cancer risk. (I am taking 10mcg vaginally every 3 days, and 0.1mg/ml of estrogen and 1mg/mL of testosterone every 2 days and my vulva and vagina are wasting away painfully.

3. Suggest daily coconut oil for atrophy pain.

4. Plan to put me on a bioidenticle estrogen + Slynd (a mini pill) for progesterone management if the current treatment fails. This will not address my libido concerns.

5. Wait for an endocrinologist referral to come through to help with bioidenticle HRT prescriptions (that she should be qualified to do herself). This may take years.

6. Tell me to rebook in 2 months (better than 3, but devastating when I can tell that the treatment isn't enough in about a week.)

Everytime I go in there it's like walking into an advertising firm. There's products and treatments and brochures everywhere. 1 1/2 years ago she diagnosed me with pretty severe vaginal atrophy and said she will not prescribe me vaginal estrogen until I attended pelvic floor therapy. The upfront cost was $270 and every 2 weeks after that it was $180.

I'm calling support to view my labs so I can finally see what's going on myself. I cannot trust her to put me on a reasonable dose of hrt in 2 months. I cannot trust her to keep increasing my dosage until complete symptom management. It's been 2 years of suffering. Going on HRT in 2 months feels like a win, but not when I remember she's prob gonna start me on the lowest dose possible and force me to wait while suffering again.

I'm in alberta Canada. Any reccs for drs? I've already been referred to an endocrinologist but I need help soon. I can't live like this.

Honestly, I don't really know what to say. I tested my FSH multiple times this months, it's always 130-140. amh 0.1. My period just stopped, suddenly. The cause it's still not found, there isn't one actually. It's so strange...I'm scared but also in shock

Hi all! I (28 they/them) was diagnosed with POF at 16 after never getting a period. Turns out I was born this way. What I’m here to ask about is painful sex. Not to get too graphic but essentially my tissue internally is very inflamed all the time to the point that getting a Pap smear is incredibly painful. I don’t want to get on HRT because A) my hormone levels are fine and B) I don’t want a period. I’ve tried topical estrogen cream and dilators with no success. I’ve heard that Botox could possibly be helpful, but I want to know if anyone has this symptom and any solutions that have helped? I’m even open to surgery if someone’s surgeon specializes in it and takes insurance. I just want to be able to experience sex like those with functional parts do and it’s bothered me for years. Thanks in advance for any comments.

Does anyone else experience deep shame with this diagnosis?

I was diagnosed as a teen and have always felt so self-conscious, so shameful, so let down by my body. I've worked hard over the years to gain more acceptance, but the shame feels so hard to let go of.