Moods and emotions with increased estrogen: a question

[Antonia J]

So this is probably a silly question,  but I am really curious. I have been on low dose HRT for three months. Last week I saw my endo and was approved to have my E dosage increased by double. While on low dose I have felt amazing and balanced like never before in my life. It's like my brain feels normal with the E coursing through it.

I'm worried about becoming a weeping wreck or having my emotions turned upside down if I proceed with the increased dosage. Question: What is your experience with E when dosages increased? I am just starting to see light from a painful divorce and while I am curious about adjusting my dosage with my endo's approval, I am terrified - genuinely anxious and afraid - that round two will mess up this beautiful transition I started, and plunge me into depression over the divorce.  Will the higher levels be noticeable mentally? In two months after this increase,  he wants to increase them once again. Just want to make sure I am strong enough to handle it.

Can you ladies reassure me and promise me rainbows,  sparkles,  and unicorns on the other side if I up the E dosage?  What side effects did you experience?

Thanks for sharing thoughts!

Toni

[Jill F]

My mood got markedly better with each adjustment.  This week I started progesterone and it's even better yet.  I can't stop smiling and now my face hurts.  I do wonder what will happen when I cycle off of P though.

I can be made to cry more easily now, but I always feel better after letting it all out.  Being a girl is awesome.

[Antonia J]

Thanks Jill. How soon after did you start to feel the effects of the increase?  Physically I felt the effects when I started within a few days. Mentally I felt them about a week to 10 days.

[Jill F]

Thanks Jill. How soon after did you start to feel the effects of the increase?  Physically I felt the effects when I started within a few days. Mentally I felt them about a week to 10 days.

I can tell within a couple of hours of taking a dose that I feel better.  I'm pretty in tune with my thoughts and emotions these days.

Physical things take a few days for me to notice.  My tits are really tender in the last couple of days from the P I started on Monday.

[Ashey]

I started my doubled dosage at the same time I started spiro, so I can't say for sure if it was the combo or one or the other, but within days my libido went down (likely the spiro), my perspective shifted to female-mode and I started really getting all girl-brained about things. Within the past couple of weeks I've noticed quite a bit of change in my thinking and feeling. If there's anything that could be considered 'bad' or 'undesirable' I just consider it part of the territory. There will be ups and downs, but it's all part of being a woman. If you're calm and serene throughout it all I think you're doing it wrong. xD

[suzifrommd]

For the first few months I got no mood effects at all. But in the past few weeks, I've started feeling ... different. It's hard to describe. Like I would rather be loving than wary. It meshes much better with my personality than before.

I haven't become a weepy wreck (or any other kind of wreck), at least no worse than I've always been.

[ssneha23]

There have been a few instances where I mistakenly taken an extra e pill or missed a dose.  Those times I have got really weepy and angry at the same time within a few hours.  My friends who know say that I become really bitchy when ever I skip a dose or take more than I should.... Well again its YMMV and am sure you are not as absent minded as me

[Antonia J]

Thanks for all the feedback!  Based on what you shared,  and with my endo's prior approval, I doubled my dosage. I've only had a day and a half on the higher levels. It could very well be psychosomatic,  but my boobs seem rather more sore this morning than usual. No mental effects, other than I see this fabulous woman in the mirror (just kidding).  I feel good, and I will provide an update this weekend on how it goes.

Again - thanks for the support. I really appreciate you all helping me with my fears. Collectively, I think Susan's is far more helpful than the therapists I have gone to over the last year,  and I generally like my current therapist quite a bit.

Toni

[suzifrommd]

Collectively, I think Susan's is far more helpful than the therapists I have gone to over the last year,  and I generally like my current therapist quite a bit.

I agree 100%.

[Eva Marie]

Even on low dose HRT I went through periods of extreme weepiness. I was under unbearable stress at the time and was suffering extreme loss and life changes so maybe that had something to do with it.

The stress that I was under is gone now, and i've been on on a transitioning dose of HRT for about the last two months. I've noticed that my emotions are starting to level out - the sudden bursts of uncontrollable weepiness have passed, but I still get unexpected surges of emotions when something touches me, like certain shows on TVs or certain music or movies, or when certain memories or thoughts come. I think it's just a normal girl thing to have these kinds of feelings.

I believe that once your body adjusts to the new hormone levels you will find that life is a heck of a lot more "right" and enjoyable    I seem to be a lot better adjusted and happier now than before. It's not all lollipops and unicorns, but it's a heck of a lot better than the way I was living before - I wouldn't trade who I am now for that emotionally dead, unhappy, hopeless, drunk person for anything.

[Kayla86]

I know it sounds like a completely repetitive statement but "Your Mileage May Vary" is true in this situation.

Everyone is wired differently and everyone acts differently against different stimuli.

I just started my doubled dosage 3 days ago and while I can say yes I definitely have a stronger emotional reaction to basically everything now it'll probably settle back down to normal once the levels are sustained.

Life is only what you make it, try to look at the positive side of things!

[Antonia J]

One thing I just discovered is that my alcohol tolerance seems to have gone way down. Not sure if it is completely HRT related, or something else, but it seemed when I started on low dose a few months ago it went down a bit...and now last night I went out and had 1 1/2 beers and had to have someone drive me home. WTF? I really hope it was just from being tired and on an empty stomach. I like my red wine and beer too much to cut them out! 

[SnowDrop]

Never noticed mood swings other than randomly crying when I'm not sad a couple days after a dosage increase.

[FrancisAnn]

For myself I just feel like more & more of a normal woman each day & I seem to be nicer to all women that I see even those that are not very pretty. I also talk more with women whenever shopping, etc.... I may cry a little more. It feels good to cry sometimes. It feels great & so normal for me. It will be a nice day when the extra little things between my legs are used for a nice vagina. I probably could not have said that so easy 4 months ago before starting HRT. 

[Miss_Bungle1991]

When my HRT dosages were changed, everything was thrown out of whack. Doubling it gave me all kinds of strange side effects (I was constantly hot, having heart palpitations). When I had it knocked back down (to a dose that was half of what I had always taken) then things weren't working either. I discovered that the doses should have stayed exactly where they always been and left alone. It would have saved me several months of weirdness.

[Antonia J]

I find I have been crying all of the time lately.  Big sobbing that I have only rarely done in my life.  I feel like an emotional teenager. Today was the worst.  I am actually thinking of cutting back to my original low dose or going off altogether.  I have a therapy appointment on Thursday to discuss my transition. I feel really off right now.  Felt good for a long long time,  but now I feel emotionally like I am losing it.

[FrancisAnn]

I hope you feel better soon GF. It's better to go slow & make sure that everything is good for you & if not it's OK to stop. You have to do what is best for yourself and not from what us other girls may think.

[Eva Marie]

I find I have been crying all of the time lately.  Big sobbing that I have only rarely done in my life.  I feel like an emotional teenager. Today was the worst.  I am actually thinking of cutting back to my original low dose or going off altogether.  I have a therapy appointment on Thursday to discuss my transition. I feel really off right now.  Felt good for a long long time,  but now I feel emotionally like I am losing it.

I've been there Toni. It just takes time to work through this trying/crying period. Heck, I was bawling my eyes out 15 minutes before a job interview that I flew across the country for, and I somehow managed to dry up my tears and land the job. You are internally working through a lot of issues that haven't been dealt with in your life and crying is the result. The crying does eventually stop.

Hang in there girl, you'll make it {{ HUGS }}

[Ashey]

I find I have been crying all of the time lately.  Big sobbing that I have only rarely done in my life.  I feel like an emotional teenager. Today was the worst.  I am actually thinking of cutting back to my original low dose or going off altogether.  I have a therapy appointment on Thursday to discuss my transition. I feel really off right now.  Felt good for a long long time,  but now I feel emotionally like I am losing it.

Well, don't forget, you'll still have ups and downs like anyone else. But now you have to learn to cope with the downs as a woman. It'll take time is all. *hugs*

The crying does eventually stop.

I hope not! All this talk of things leveling out.. I just don't know if I want that lol. I know it will a bit eventually, this IS a second puberty after all, but I'm an emotional creature... and frankly, I like to be able to cry now.