Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[EllaAurora]

Hello ladies,
I haven't been here for a while as I've been quite OK recently and busy getting on with life. But something's been bothering me for some time now... So my question: do you ladies feel like your old self when you've reached a good balance with HRT?

I've been thinking about this a lot as I'm generally feeling better and seem to have finally found the sweet spot with oestrogen, utrogestan and testosterone.. but still feel like something is 'different'. It's difficult to explain but I just feel all the time like slightly off. Not bad, or anxious, but also not like I remember feeling before all the meno craziness happened. It's like I've recovered from the worst hit but still not the same as I was, if that makes sense  Also I find I'm not getting joy from the same things as before. I used to be an outgoing person and loving parties and meeting people. I still go out occasionally but now it feels almost like an obligation and not at all fun as it used to be before.

Can anyone relate? is this what it is now and I should just settle and stop wishing to become the old me? Or maybe my hormonal balance is still not optimal.

Would love to hear what you think & hope everyone is feeling well! xx

[flossie fiddler]

I definitely feel like ‘me’ again. I have some issues with bleeding, which is being investigated, but on the whole, I don’t feel old any more.

[Flossieteacake]

I do not feel like my old self. I would say I have more anxiety then I used to and feel much older.

[Nas]

No, nothing like my old self.
Couldn’t give a shit about much right now.

[EllaAurora]

I definitely feel like ‘me’ again. I have some issues with bleeding, which is being investigated, but on the whole, I don’t feel old any more.

So nice to hear - it's possible to feel that way. Good for you!
Hoping your bleeding issues get sorted as well!

[EllaAurora]

I do not feel like my old self. I would say I have more anxiety then I used to and feel much older.

Sounds quite familiar, though I'm less anxious nowadays but have much less tolerance for stress and getting tired sooo easily 

[EllaAurora]

No, nothing like my old self.
Couldn’t give a shit about much right now.

So sorry to hear. Just read about your issues from the other thread. Hope you get it sorted soon! Hugs

[SarahT]

No way am I like I used to be.
I was happy,  full of energy, fit, relatively healthy for my age.

Whilst I now seem to be on the right balance of hrt and AD, I think the last couple of years of hormonal Crap has left me shocked at how serious it has been and can be. It has been devastating at times. So because of this I think it has left me a slightly hollower shell of who I was.
In particular for me,being in  the pits of such severe moods due to hormonal imbalances has altered me for good.

Atm I feel balanced hormonally, and so I am happier, despite related health problems I am still trying to sort out. I still dread it all going haywire again,and back to how I was a few months ago, because I have had so many ups and downs I can only consider this as a reprieve for now.

I am No longer how I was but trying to be the best I can, as with how I am now.

[WildOtter]

You say you don't feel joy from the same things, do you feel joy from different things? Or just less joy in general?  If the former, it may be you've just changed as a person and have different priorities, which is fine.  If you're feeling a joy deficit in general, might be a hint everything isn't quite as it should be.

[WildOtter]

No way am I like I used to be.
I was happy,  full of energy, fit, relatively healthy for my age.

Whilst I now seem to be on the right balance of hrt and AD, I think the last couple of years of hormonal Crap has left me shocked at how serious it has been and can be. It has been devastating at times. So because of this I think it has left me a slightly hollower shell of who I was.
In particular for me,being in  the pits of such severe moods due to hormonal imbalances has altered me for good.

Atm I feel balanced hormonally, and so I am happier, despite related health problems I am still trying to sort out. I still dread it all going haywire again,and back to how I was a few months ago, because I have had so many ups and downs I can only consider this as a reprieve for now.

I am No longer how I was but trying to be the best I can, as with how I am now.

I think it can't be underestimated how traumatic it can be to go through major bodily changes and mood changes and depression and anxiety, and trauma does change you. I too feel scared by how much of a state I ended up in. I'm terrified to be there again and feel vulnerable having to rely on artificial hormones to protect me from it happening again. 

[SarahT]

Wild Otter,

In a strange way I feel happy you understand how I feel,though as I know just how incredibly awful it has been it makes me feel for you to have gone through this too. I have undoubtedly changed because of what I have been through. I just hope that the stability I feel hormonally now  stays with me.

But I through all of this I am just trying to accept each day and the person I am. I have been better,but heaven knows I have been so much worse.
I feel tentative most days now.

I wish you well

[Peri2022]

I would tend to agree with SarahT and WildOtter that I feel much better with HRT than without, but the trauma of such a severe and debilitating perimenopause (worst symptoms: depression and anxiety) has definitely changed me as a person. I am definitely able to feel joy, optimism and peace now at appropriate times, but I'll never quite be able to forget what I experienced in that dark place and I'll always worry a bit about going back there. Physically, too, I have to pace myself now in ways I never used to before. I get deeply fatigued sometimes and I also have palpitations which I've been told are 'normal' but definitely unnerving. So...yes...HRT has definitely given me my mental equilibrium back...but the experience of perimenopause itself has left its mark.

[DottyD68]

Personally, no. I don't recognise myself from the old me. I would love to say that I feel great but a never-ending reoccurrence of different symptoms means I no longer have confidence in my body. As a result I have lost confidence and my joie de vivre. One can but hope.

[Dotty]

I can definitely relate to Wild Otter and Sarah T. I’ve been to hell and back more than once in the last 10 years and I feel that I’ve been left with a sort of PTSD. I’ve been on hrt for nearly 6 years and I’m ok on it, but I live in a constant fear of going back to where I was. xxx

[Penguin]

I defo don't feel like me again. I feel traumatised by it all and by how bad I felt, and how scared I was when I had health scares around symptoms. I can still be happy and enjoy life a lot of the time these says so hrt and the right anti depressant has definitely help, but I am wayyyyyyy more preoccupied with my health than I reasonably should be. To the point that a new 'symptom' can make or break my day / week until I know what it is and that it isn't something serious/ sinister. I would give anything to feel as I did before all this started but, like others have said, it feels like a form of ptsd. And I am 49 and still in peri, I am truly hoping it gets better not worse. Sorry, this probably wasn't the best day for me to reply to this post.