Moving target

As we journey/slog/waltz through perimenopause, our hormones fluctuate like the approval ratings of a sitting politician in an election year. Until we officially hit menopause and things stabilize, our HRT dose requirements will likely shift, often several times. You might just need a top-up when you’re PMS’ing and your estrogen levels are particularly low, or you might need to adjust across the board. There is some advocacy for empowering women to monitor their own symptoms and adjust their dosing based on personal need (rather than have to wait another three months to get an appointment with your doctor), so talk to your healthcare provider about giving you some flexibility in your prescriptions (gels are easy to adjust, and patches can be cut up). And as many specialists have noted (*see the Feb 2023 live session from Dr. Louise Newson’s Balance app), every person’s skin absorbs differently, so the dose of estrogen you get from a .75 patch might not be the same as your friend’s. Don’t be afraid to talk to your doctor about altering your dose to find what works best for you.