So, I was on low dose HRT 25mg estro and 100mg of progesterone. After 8 months I was bleeding only when going to the bathroom. After a scan my endometrium layer was 13mm. I have been off HRT now for 7 weeks no bleeding. They wanted to straight away do a hysteroscopy and do it under general. I have never been in hospital in my life ( never had kids) and was terrified to have to go to sleep. So I cancelled and I am ignoring everything. I know crazy and not right. I have had bad experience with gyno's who just want to operate. I am going to go for another scan to see if the layer has reduced.

I struggle with finding the correct combination of HRT because it seems like the mix of ADHD, mast cell issues and perimenopause is complicating things.

Oestrogen has had a clearly positive effect on my mood, fatique and joint pain. Even though it does seem to exaberate my mastcell issues, I would really like to find a way to continue using it. So I need endometrial protection because I still have my uterus.

I also have histamine intolerance or mcas - severe daily headaches, palpitations and nausea that significantly improved after I began taking antihistamines.

I'm 44 and also take atomoxetin because of ADHD.

I have tried three different types of progestogens (Utrogestan, Evo-Sequi and Slinda) and have experienced significant side effects with all three - including fatigue on Utrogestan and severe calf pain on Slinda.

So I'm considering testosterone to maybe help make me tolerate progesterone and on the same time calm mast cells.

So my question is - does anyone in here have experience with tolerating progestogens better and or calming mast cells when taking testosterone alongside oestrogen and progestogen?

My allergist can't help with the perimeno-stuff and my gynecologist doesn't understand the mast cell side of it, so I feel like I have to work it out on my own.

Thank you for any answers.

hi :3
i want to start HRT but i don't want to have a breast
so does really (Nolvadex ) tamoxifen help in reducing the grow of the breast or stop the grow ?

As anyone experienced inaccurate lab results?

Edit: I am 8 yrs post menopausal, on HRT for 3 years.

I had labs drawn Oct 8, self referred to Labcorp, who I’ve used many times. I was sure the recent manufacturer changes to my patches were causing issues. Sure enough my E was very low, 35. It was 90 in June. Side note: ferritin was 80 at same draw. Extra side note: I am a faster responder, E levels up or down impact my body quickly and usually negatively.

Went to a new ND, used his lab for blood draw Oct 21. Just got the results. E was 350 and Ferritin was 20.

Between Oct 8 and Oct 21 I did start E gel, 3 pumps per day in addition to my .075 patch that was barely working (Mylan is the worst for me). No bleeding during this period.

Both draw days were a patch replacement day, draw was before patch replacement in the AM.

I feel very confident my estrogen is not that high. I am sure I would feel that.

Also how in the world would my ferritin drop that much? I take a daily iron supplement that has not changed.

I think I need to self refer to Labcorp again and get my E and ferritin rechecked.

Hi

For those of you who have had post menopausal bleeding on HRT and it was caused by that and not anything else, how long did it take for it to come right after you adjusted your estrogen and/or progesterone?

I been on HRT for almost a year. My estrogen levels came back high on my initial blood test. My doctor said I had estrogen dominance and recommended progesterone and testerone to balance it out. A few months into taking the medication My estrogen finally leveled out to a normal range. I had blood work done again at the beginning of this month and estrogen is completely depleted. So now I'm going to ween myself off the medication and start herbal remedies. I researched 2 popular herbs called Shatavari and Chaste berry. Has anyone tried either one? If so what was your experience?

Increase from 0.075 mg to 0.1 mg biweekly E patch. Applied two patches since the increase, one Tuesday then one Saturday. I started noticing brain fog and then fatigue and tiredness the day after applying the second patch. No other BHRT changes. I felt off and not like myself. Tell me if you have had a similar experience, and did you wait it out or return to previous dose?

Having a nightmare . I’ve been on above regime since beginning of the year. Due to local skin irritation and problems sticking in hot weather I tried 1mg Sandrena gel. I had this before and it worked for a time and then stopped. Ok for 10 or so days and then sleep got bad and I started to feel anxious. I swapped back straight away to patches. Oh my days it’s been so hard. Week one brutal but expected, week two promising sleep good getting there, week three everything gone to hell, anxiety and insomnia back with a vengeance. On week 4 and so up and down. Good day followed by a bad day no consistency. So upset I’ve messed myself up. Can’t believe the reaction has been this severe. Anyone else had similar? Background with patches is I get s lot of breakthrough bleeding but my mood and sleep had become stable and that was the main thing for me. I wonder if the patch is too high, I reacted very badly when I tried to increase it before but I am also getting some hot flashes and aching hips so I don’t know. Please help

I've been identifying as genderfluid (I'm a woman most of the time and when im not, I still prefer to look very feminine so this would have very little downsides for me.) for about a year, and i identified as a trans woman for a year before that. I did know I wanted to be a woman since I was about 6 however. I could care less if she used my preferred pronouns since they would chsnge too often to keep up with anyway, and I dont care if im called by my deadname or preferred name. She accepts me as a femboy (she buys me tights, nail polish, and she's willing to buy me makeup and more feminine clothes, so thats not much of an issue), i just need help actually convincing her to get me hrt. Also just to be clear, the state im in doesnt allow hrt for minors and neither does my dads, but my dad does live near a state that does let minors get hrt.​

I'm 28F, 5'8", currently around 141 lbs, and trying to restore my natural menstrual cycle after years of dieting, exercise, hormonal irregularities, and HRT. I'm wondering whether I have hypothalamic amenorrhea (HA), whether HRT is affecting my recovery, and whether I need to significantly increase calories or reduce training despite being at a healthy weight. I haven't had a period since my IUD removal in November of last year.

Background/Hormonal History:

• I have a long history of weight training, exercise, and dieting, including significant calorie restriction. My hormones were already starting to decline before bodybuilding prep, following several major life stressors.
• I underwent an intense bodybuilding prep for 2 shows from March to August 2024, involving high activity (training 5 days a week and up to an hour on the stairmaster per day), severe calorie restriction (as low as 1,300 calories), and Anavar use. The lowest stage weight I got to was 121 but this was a very short period of time. My hormones declined further, with testosterone dropping to approximately 3 and other reproductive hormones becoming extremely low. My thyroid was also low.
• My cycles have been irregular since, although I previously had a hormonal IUD that also affected bleeding patterns. I had it removed in November 2025 and haven't established a consistent natural cycle since.
• I experienced two episodes of bleeding in August and September 2026 while using Anavar, but nothing consistent.
• I have hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hEDS).
• I'm also chronically under significant stress. I take medication for bipolar disorder, insomnia, and anxiety, and struggle significantly with OCD. I recognize that psychological stress and sleep quality may also be contributing to hypothalamic suppression.
• My ovarian reserve testing (AMH) was reassuring, but I'm concerned about HA versus premature ovarian insufficiency (early menopause).

Most Recent Labs & HRT:

My latest bloodwork showed:

• Estradiol (E2): 28 pg/mL
• Total testosterone: 14 ng/dL
• Progesterone: 1.6 ng/mL

My doctor is increasing my estrogen and testosterone based on these results.

Current/recent HRT:

• Testosterone: 6 mg weekly (recently increased)
• Estradiol patch: 0.0375 mg/day (being increased)
• Progesterone: 200 mg nightly

I'm wondering whether HRT, particularly testosterone and continuous progesterone, could be suppressing ovulation or masking natural recovery. I'm also considering asking my doctor about cycling progesterone to induce a withdrawal bleed, although I understand this wouldn't necessarily indicate ovulation.

Current Nutrition & Training:

• Calories: My coach assigns approximately 2,450–2,500 daily, plus one weekly ~650-calorie cheat meal. However, I'm constantly hungry and frequently exceed my targets. I've eaten over 3,000 calories the past couple of days and am STILL hungry.
• Macros: 285–300 g carbs, 65 g fat, 165 g protein.
• Training: Heavy lifting 4–5 days weekly (2 upper, 2–3 lower), plus 10 minutes of cardio 4x/week.
• Steps: Approximately 10,000 daily, often significantly more.
• Sleep: Usually 7–8 hours, closer to 7. I frequently feel tired and rely heavily on caffeine.
• Weight: Lowest was approximately 128 lbs this summer; currently around 141 lbs after gaining 13 lbs over 2.5 months.
• Retatrutide: I've used it for approximately a year (0.5–2 mg), currently 0.5 mg. Despite this, my appetite is extremely high.

I've previously dieted as low as 1,500 calories outside of prep. I'm currently trying to build muscle, but I'm questioning whether I need a prolonged period of significantly higher energy availability to restore my cycle.

I've read research and anecdotal experiences suggesting that HA recovery may require 2,500+ calories daily, sometimes substantially more depending on activity. I've also seen recommendations to use Mifflin-St Jeor multiplied by an activity factor, plus approximately 500 calories.

I'm wondering whether 2,500 calories is appropriate for my activity level, even though I've regained weight pretty quickly. I'm particularly interested in whether eating more can compensate for exercise or whether reducing training is necessary. I like to train really hard and don't wanna give that up because I really need to put on muscle. Having hEDS, my joints are weak so muscle tissue is important. I also have 2 pretty active jobs between being a special ed teacher and bartending part time.

Current Symptoms:

I frequently experience lower abdominal bloating and occasional menstrual-like cramps, almost as though I'm about to get my period, but bleeding never starts.

I'm planning to use LH ovulation strips to look for possible ovulation, although I know they can't confirm it.

Questions:

1. Calories & recovery: Has anyone needed 2,800–3,000+ calories consistently to restore their period despite already being at a healthy weight? How long did recovery take after increasing food and regaining weight?
2. Exercise: Can increasing calories alone overcome exercise-related hypothalamic suppression, or is significantly reducing training necessary? I'd love to continue building muscle if possible.
3. HRT: Could testosterone, estradiol, or continuous progesterone be suppressing ovulation or masking recovery? Could increasing my HRT doses interfere with restoring natural hormone production?
4. Progesterone cycling: Has anyone switched from continuous to cyclic progesterone? Was withdrawal bleeding helpful in assessing recovery?
5. Kisspeptin: Has anyone researched or tried kisspeptin for HA? I've read about its potential to stimulate reproductive hormone signaling but am unsure about sustained effectiveness.
6. HA vs. menopause: How did you distinguish HA from premature ovarian insufficiency, particularly while on HRT? My AMH was reassuring, but I know that doesn't rule out ovarian dysfunction. My doctor diagnosed me with primary ovarian failure but that doesn't really explain anything.
7. Stress, sleep & supplements: Has improving sleep, managing chronic psychological stress, or correcting nutritional deficiencies (such as iron) made a difference? Is 7 hours of sleep potentially insufficient for recovery?

I'm especially interested in experiences from women who developed HA through bodybuilding, chronic dieting, or prolonged stress, particularly those who were already at a healthy weight or taking HRT.

I'm working with doctors, but I'm struggling to get clear answers. I'm starting to feel genuinely scared and hopeless as I'm getting to an age where I'm thinking more seriously about having children. I'm afraid I've somehow caused permanent damage to my reproductive system.

At this point, I'm willing to make uncomfortable changes, including gaining more weight, eating significantly more, or stepping away from maintaining a lean physique, if that's what my body needs to recover.

I'd really appreciate any personal experiences, research, or advice. TYIA! <3

I had been using Dotti 0.0075 patches prescribed through Midi for about a year but about a few weeks ago, I noticed my libido dropped and atrophy. I have also been using vaginal estrogen. I went to my PcP to do blood work and UA to rule out uti or anything else but my hormones were very low.

She prescribed a pill with both estrogen /testosterone and I'm on Day 2. I've created a notebook on my journal to track my improvement. I am post meno, 4 years.