Activity
Mon
Wed
Fri
Sun
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
What is this?
Less
More
Memberships
Hormone Secrets Unlocked
29 members • $17/m
Hormone Secrets
2.1k members • Free
7 contributions to Hormone Secrets
22d •
Hello from Las Vegas!
I'm 53 and have been struggling to feel like "myself" for 6 years. It's been a journey of seeing all kinds of practioners and not receiving much help. Started HRT May 2025 and haven't found the right delivery method... I've had creams patches, and now pellets but symptoms of brain fog, dizziness, vertigo, frozen shoulder are back! Hoping to find the right support and get my hormones in balance.
0 likes • 2h
I tried everything too, except injx because of needle trauma. I finally became so miserable and desperate that I became willing to do injx and I finally feel the best I’ve ever felt.
14d •
Collecting data - optimal estrodiol level
Out of curiosity - I know we are all different and such but I’m super curious what your all feeling best at with estradiol levels, like what level did you settle at that made you feel you were happy and healthy and optimal?
0 likes • 2h
I didn’t feel human until my e was over 150, but I was still having some joint pain, fatigue and heat intolerance and zero energy so I slowly increased my dose. I’m now at almost 400 and feel 20 again. My shbg is high so even with quite high total T, my free T was still very low and I was having hair loss and really no profound benefits so I’ve lowered my T dose and almost immediately, my hair loss has almost completely stopped. I’m only losing about 5-10 hairs in the shower now, where I was getting handfuls every time. I still feel the same so I’m just going to keep lowering it gradually. I even have tons of new baby hairs, so higher t isn’t always beneficial.
Dec '25 •
Frustrated and confused
I got my lab results back from my appointment last week. They did quite a bit of bloodwork. I haven’t seen my specialist yet to talk about my levels but so far everything is “within normal range”. I had my blood taken during my luteal phase. I know that does not mean I’m not experiencing perimenopause (the symptoms alone tell me I am) but to have blood tests come back in “normal ranges” is tough. I really wanted it to validate my symptoms… I have to keep reminding myself that the blood work isn’t everything and that despite being in range a lot of them were on the low end. I’ve been taking my oral progesterone for about 4 nights now but I haven’t seen much improvement. I know it takes time to see big results and if I need to have estrogen and/or testosterone that might balance things out too but I was hoping to a least sleep a bit better. Anyways, I got my period early (surprise!) and have been having a really rough couple of days. Lastly, does anyone have any insight into a CBC-RLM blood test? I have low neutrophils Absolute at 2.03 and high Basophils Absolute at 0.04. My white blood cells were within range but on the low end at 4.12. I did a bit of googling and the most likely explanation is that I’m fighting off a bug or am experiencing allergies due to a histamine issue. So I guess my question is, since histamines can be a problem In Perimenopause, could that be causing these levels to be off? Sorry for the long post! I hope everyone is having a good day! Thanks! 😊
0 likes • 2h
“Normal range” can span levels from really healthy people all the way down to dead people. The range is so large that just about everyone falls into that category. From my research, they don’t even look at what levels are for actual healthy people, they take allllll the lab results from people sick enough to seek out labs and they average the numbers. It’s definitely not our goal to want levels of sick people. My levels now after switching to injx for e and T are well above normal range. My e is almost 400 and T is around 300, and I feel fantastic. Don’t even look at lab ranges really, we want symptom resolution not to just accept the levels of sick people. Truly knowledgeable providers like ElevateMD know this and will guide you, they know we are all individuals and are willing to get you to optimal so you can live your best life.
Jan 8 •
HRT vs the pill
Hey ladies! I'm 44, have been in peri for 2 years. I just had a full hysterectomy on 10/29/25 and kept my ovaries. After surgery he asked if I had ever been diagnosed with PCOS because my ovaries were covered in little cysts common with PCOS. I had not, but I was diagnosed with severe insulin resistance years ago. Anyways. I made another appointment with him to talk about HRT for peri. He told me that what is offered is the Mili bc pill and Effexor. I'm already on Effexor and it's very helpful for me, especially with hot flashes, night sweats and anxiety. He didn't do any blood work. I asked about testosterone and he said it usually isn't prescribed but he's had enough women ask about it that he's going to do more research and will let me know if he thinks it'd be something helpful. I live in rural PA, so my options in Gynos is very limited. He's 2 hours away and was the 3rd doctor I had to see to get the hysterectomy. 😐 Has anyone else done the Mili pill and Effexor and had success? How soon starting the pill did you feel any relief from other symptoms? Right now the brain fog is what's the most difficult to deal with.
1 like • Jan 12
Oh my Effexor is awful. Withdrawal is absolute hell. I’m so sorry he put you on that. There are thousands of stories from women in your shoes. You are not Effexor deficient. Your ovaries likely failed from the trauma from the surgery and you are now hormone deficient. Please find a dr that actually knows something. This borders on malpractice.
Sep '25 •
Let’s Compare Notes🗒️
Everyone’s experience is different. What’s a symptom you didn’t expect during perimenopause or menopause that others might relate to?
1 like • Sep '25
I literally threw up every single day and was constantly nauseated just like during all three pregnancies. I lost over 60 pounds just because everything I ate came right back up.
1-7 of 7
