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[mrs_bella]

Hello, I am new to this forum so please bare with me. I started to get hot flushes and other symptoms last year. After countless restless nights, I decided to go on HRT tablets. Since then it's been a roller coaster of trialing 4 different types and forms over the past 2 months. I thought Tibolone was the answer, but I started to stack on the weight. For this reason, I have switched to another type of HRT. It's effective to some degree. However, my biggest issue is the weight I have gained. I have gained 6kg in under 2 months. I am so miserable as I feel and look fat! I exercise and try to eat well. But, I can't seem to get back to my normal weight. Is my experience normal? Will my body adjust and stabilise?

[Wilks]

Hi,
The tricky thing about weight gain is that it's hard to tell whether it's the HRT or the menopause that's causing it. I've always done lots of sport, have a healthy diet and have never needed to diet - until the peri menopause kicked in when I was about 47 and I felt like I gained weight overnight especially round my middle. I absolutely hate it and what's more it's nigh on impossible to shift!

[Dancinggirl]

mrs_bella - welcome to MM

Fluid retention and a bit of weigh gain can happen with any HRT but it is sometimes simply the menopause that results in more weigh gain.  Chopping and changing HRTs is not a good idea really as the body won't get a chance to settle. 
Unfortunately when meno hits we simply have to eat a lot less and make every meal as nutritious as possible. 

I would have a good look at your diet - cut out as much sugar as possible and reduce animal fat to the minimum and try to increase physical activity. Sadly the metabolism does slow down at this time in our lives - I eat about a third less than I did 10 years ago, I'm 62 and not on HRT any more but keeping the weight under control is a constant battle.
If HRT is making you feel better then it may be a compromise that you carry a few more pounds to gain the benefits  BUT if being on HRT makes you take more exercise, then the weight may be more muscle, which is good.  DG x

[dulciana]

Unfortunately when meno hits we simply have to eat a lot less..............

If you're still working (as I am) and using up a lot of energy, that's well nigh impossible.  Working makes me hungry and if I ate a lot less I'd keel over in the line of duty!  At this time of life, we get tired more quickly, too.  It's a vicious circle, isn't it?   Flipping metabolism..........

[mrs_bella]

Thank you Wilks for responding to my post!
I too have been active my whole life and eaten well. And when I have had the odd chocolate binge not put on weight.
I have noticed that in about a year I put on 2kg. Since starting the HRT I have gain more weight literally overnight. It's gone onto my tummy, bottom and thighs. My jeans and gym gear are too tight to wear. It's depressing! I am only 42 and feel distressed about the road ahead as the HRT isn't working either 😓

[mrs_bella]

Thank you also Dancinggirl for responding to my post!
I wish I were that dancing girl at the moment. However it's quite the opposite. Along with my weight gain, the current HRT is not working. I was placed on an antidepressant at the same time of which I can see I need.
I think the HRT is making me more hungry. I am monitoring what I eat, and being mindful of how much I eat as I know that our metabolism slows as we age. Unfortunately the weight gain is not muscle. It's flab. I have never been flabby. At 42 I wonder how much worse it going to get Dancinggirl 😓

[mrs_bella]

Dulciana it is a vicious cycle. I am active during the day and need to eat. If I don't, I get the shakes and have brain fog. I have read some people majorly reduce their calorie intake during menopause to counteract the weight gain. My body will not let me do this as it screams “I am hungry! Feed me!” all day long. This whole stage in a woman's life is the pits. Well that's what I am finding 😓

[Wilks]

Mrs Bella- I totally agree. I try to eat less but I go all floppy, feel really hungry in the night, can't exercise. I rode 174 km off road on a mountain bike across Wales in 3 days earlier this month, and still my stomach won't budge!!

Just thought- which antidepressant are you taking? Some antidepressants cause weight gain.

[dulciana]

Dulciana it is a vicious cycle. I am active during the day and need to eat. If I don't, I get the shakes and have brain fog. I have read some people majorly reduce their calorie intake during menopause to counteract the weight gain. My body will not let me do this as it screams “I am hungry. Feed me” all day long. This whole stage in a woman's life sucks. Well that's what I am finding 😓

Oh yes indeed.   

[mrs_bella]

Hello again Wilks, my your biking efforts are impressive! I am on Valdoxan. It's not known to increase weight. I am sure the extra 2kg is due to menopause, and the remaining 4kg from taking HRT tablets. I am not very tall so any weight gain is felt and seen.
The Valdoxan does help with my anxiety. I started to have what I now know are panic attacks when the hot flushes started. I got the bonus plan: anxiety plus weight gain. What more could a woman ask for? 😒

[Wilks]

Mrs Bella- I'm on fluoxetine at the moment. I was having relatively mild hot flushes but the rest of my body (and mind) went down the pan. One night last December I was in A&E all night. The mental health team said they had patients signed off work for 6 months with less anxiety than I had. I was so frustrated, anxious, upset and depressed about what I now know was menopause. And in shock I think, because nobody pre-warned me!
I'm hugely better than I was a few months ago but it's down to a cocktail of fluoxetine, HRT and testosterone. I'm still indignant that a “natural process” can wreak so much damage when you're still relatively young and full of life. I could rant about it all day, but I'm gradually accepting it.

[Wilks]

And now I've had a good rant, just had another thought: I don't know a huge amount about HRT but I understand that oral HRT is more likely to give you side effects. Have you tried transdermal patches? They seem to agree with me, apart from giving me massive boobs which I also hate 

[Dancinggirl]

Sadly any ADs are notorious for making one gain weight.  I totally understand that awful hunger, low energy feeling all the time that seems to increase as meno hits.  What I have found is that small changes in diet can really help. So grabbing a handful of nuts or a banana between meals is very sustaining and reduces hunger and cutting out as much sugar as possible - so no chocolate, cakes or biscuits I'm afraid.  Drinking plenty of water (not caffiene drinks) will help, as being dehydrated results in brain fog and fatigue.
It's really not easy I know but small meals often that are high in protein, fruit and veg but low in sugar can make a big difference.  I thought I was eating healthily till I really broke down what I was eating. DG x

[CLKD]

Whereas I have taken ADs since 1988 and NEVER gained weight.  They have saved my Life though.

I didn't gain weight.  But my apron dropped, over 3/4 days a few years back.  So when I look down I look fat  .  This week I feel fat, my belt is tighter.  I think it's the 'smarties' I've been eating for pudding  .  The box is now empty so hopefully ........

Slow release food stuffs are good.  My go to: dried fruits and nuts; bananas; muesli ....... little and often.  And as much veg. as I can eat!

[Annie0710]

I was a trim size 8 prior to menopause.  My weight since meno started has gone up and down like a yo-yo, always still in my healthy BMI range but from the bottom to top sometimes in the middle! .  Hrt and amitriptyline for my back pain took me to the top level so I joined slimming world after Christmas.  I've lost the stone I wanted and love the way of cooking/eating.  I have always been a crispaholic and hardly ever have any now, I'm restricted by many fruits because of allergies but omg their slimming bars are lush and they're my daily snack/breakfast/elevensies depending on whether I'm working or not

It's much harder shifting the pounds as we get older and there were times when the scales wouldn't budge for me but I persevered and upped my water intake and it paid off

X