Painful breasts, rapid weight gain

I recently had to increase my estrogen patch and since then my breasts have become so sore it's almost unbearable. It hurts to walk! They are increasing in size as well. Will this settle down? I've had no breast pain at all since my hysterectomy and no longer had periods, but now since HRT it's another story. Honesty I hate HRT, I feel like a human science experiment. I want my old body back! I had a breast reduction done years ago, I don't want to have big full ones again just because I have to take hormones. I'm on the verge of tears all the time because I hate what HRT is doing to my body. One patch back I had severe headaches and nausea, now one patch stronger I have painful breasts, rapid weight gain, brain fog, dry, fuzzy hair. It seems like one extreme to the other. I just don't know what to do. Any advice or encouragement is really needed right now.

(((skyone))) how long have you been on the higher patch dose? If it's been a couple of weeks or more, perhaps you could try adding a little progesterone to balance the estrogen? Many women find that is just the trick to stop the painful breasts. You could take a look at Dr. Lee's book, "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Breast Cancer" (which is not just about cancer) to find out more about progesterone and the breasts.

I hope this helps.
s,
-Linda

Since my dr. put me on the CombiPatch which is lower estrogen and higher progesterone I haven't had the problem of painful breast but nothing has helped the weight gain/larger breast. Because of endo I went five months with no hrt and I still gained weight but my breast shrunk. Guess it's all in the balance and I haven't been able to find that balance yet.

I had the same problem with sore breasts and weight gain on estrogen alone. when I added the progesterone it went away, including the weight gain.

From everything I've read it definitely sounds like I need progesterone. I'll do anything at this point, this pain is unbearable! It would be great if the weight really did go once the hormones were balanced, does it really work that way, it sounds too easy?

I've heard a few women say it's that easy, but for most of us, no. For me, I found that exercise and attention to my diet (but not dieting) is the only thing that helped with weight, and even that didn't help *enough*.

s,
-Linda

skyone - I lost 4 lbs. in one week, all of it water retention from being on the estrogen alone. I will gain it back quickly though if I don't watch my sugar and fat intake, and then it takes awhile and some exercise to drift back down again. Having the estrogen balanced with progesterone definitely helped me to loose the extra weight, but you will probably still have to watch what you eat and exercise.