lilangel : I don't know if Vivelle is the best of all patches in the world, but of those available in my area, it definitely was; it's about the size of a dime, clear, easy to apply and remove, and the only real catch is that it's kind of expensive compared to generic. (But on insurance that doesn't matter much to me; it's $50 for them and $30 for generic on my plan.) As for dosages, we're not supposed to discuss specific doses, but it's possible to wear more than one patch - which is MUCH less annoying with Vivelle than one that's 1.5" across! Oh, and another benefit is that Vivelle is packaged for menopausal cis women to change every 3.5 days, so there's no fussing about how you're taking "too much" from a pharmacist or insurance; the boxes automatically come with enough to do twice weekly. Patches [any brand] also require less estrogen to get the same effect on blood levels than pills, because it's delivered directly to the bloodstream.
To be fair, I was also professionally fitted as 38DD even though my favorite Lane Bryant bra is 42DDD. Apparently really expensive bras run smaller.
I also started HRT at 5'8", but closer to 200 lbs; I wish I could lose some weight, but I admit it does wonders for the figure to have a bit of padding.
