On HRT - Still having Menopause Symptoms

Hello Ladies

I had a TAH on 1/31 including my last ovary and appendix. I was going along pretty well until the last few days. I had a patch for week one and I felt no different from how I normally do. Last week I started on Estradiol (my bottle says 1 mg). Last night I had night sweats, awful nightmares, yesterday and today a lot of free floating anxiety and teariness, and emotional stability is just a beautiful memory. Everything else seems to be OK. I am on Naproxene DS and Tylenol for the pain, which is resolving nicely. (I won't do narcotics, since I am in recovery.) I am also having a few minor issues with bladder control.

Anyway, I was under the impression that if I was on HRT, I would not have symptoms like these? I am will call doctor tomorrow. She has surgery on Mondays. I am interested in hearing from anyone with some insight into this in the meantime. Thank you.

You are still very early post op. It can take some time for your body to use up its stored reserves of hormones and recover from surgery. The stress on the body can cause symptoms as it can cause your hormone levels to fluctuate. For many of us, balance just does not happen overnight. I would suggest patience and keeping a journal of your symptoms. A journal can give a clearer picture over time if things are getting better or worse.

Do give it some more time. Many of your symptoms are quite common at this point in your recovery. Although I would call the doctor about the bladder control issue.

Hi there
I am still trying to get a bit more balanced post op so my experience is a bit limited - but I just wanted to say that in the past when I switched from one source of HRT to another, it did produce symptoms very much like you mention. I was surprised to get hot flushes, and I remember the horrible vivid nightmares too. So it might just be the change in source and worth giving it a bit longer. Hope it all gets better soon