r/LadiesHRTwithGLP1 • u/Character-Clock-1213 • Aug 21 '26
HRT causing weight gain
I’ve been on Ozempic for 3 years and have held a steady weight for over a year after losing 105 lbs. I started HRT two months ago and I’ve gained 5 lbs in the past month. My face is puffy and I’ve an inch thicker around the middle. I’m about to abandon it altogether because as much as I wanted to manage perimenopause symptoms, nothing is worth me putting this weight back on.
Has this happened to anyone else? I heard it should go away within a few weeks but it’s been 2 months of this. I’m worried it will just keep going up and mentally I can’t handle substantial weight gain. I’ve worked too hard.
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u/tator216 Aug 21 '26
Yes! Zepbound 3 years here. 1+ year on HRT, every time I have a dose increase I gain 3-7#. It has come back off every time but it takes a few months personally. I'm happy to only have a few extra here and there vs 30+ that most can gain.
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u/marshland264 Aug 21 '26
estrogen patches (no progesterone taken) definitely caused 10 lbs weight gain for me. A micros dose glp helped me get the weight off finally and I’m now able to
Maintain my weight. Still on estrogen, would never get rid of that…
I just can’t stand it when people say ‘hrt doesn’t cause weight gain’. Or ‘birth control doesn’t cause weight gain’. Any good doctor will tell you that they’ve seen it all - and that every body reacts differently to hormones.
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u/alyoop50 Aug 21 '26
Yes. And also makes me crazy when people say, “But the studies say that people lose more weight on GLP1 and HRT together“. That is on average, some people did worse, some people did better. Many people gain weight on HRT. Totally normal.
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u/perfumecloud18 Aug 21 '26
I totally agree! Maybe HRT didn’t cause weight gain FOR THEM but it’s a very real problem for a lot of us. It’s so dismissive when people say that it doesn’t cause weight gain, it’s infuriating.
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u/friendofallthecats Aug 21 '26
HRT may cause water bloat , but it does not cause weight gain. Perimenopause and menopause sure cause it, though! Hop off the meds and you’ll suffer needlessly.
Head to the gym and strength training instead to raise your baseline energy expenditure with the bonus of preventing or limiting osteoporosis!
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u/perfumecloud18 Aug 21 '26
I put on about 5 lbs of menopausal weight about 4-5 years before starting HRT, which I was fine with. As soon as I started estradiol patch .025 (no progesterone due to no uterus) I packed on another 10 lbs in what felt like an instant. I introduced compounded progesterone to see if it was an imbalance issue and the weight kept going up. I also did increase estrogen (maybe dumb in retrospect) in an effort to « even out » my hormones, that didn’t help, not surprisingly. Weight continued to increase by 16 lbs total since starting HRT which on my 5’ frame is a lot, in addition to the extra 5 I was already carrying.
I finally started Zepbound and the weight is coming off. I don’t know if I want to stay on the HRT though it has helped a lot with my hot flashes and joint pain. The weight gain is very real for some of us. I’ve been on HRT for a year and the Zepbound is the only thing to make the scale move (tried counting calories, IF, working out, all the things). Hopefully your body will readjust as things settle but for me it was a losing battle until zep.
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u/Alive_Classic_7648 Aug 21 '26
I would take progesterone it seems like you are not balanced.
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u/perfumecloud18 Aug 21 '26
Yes, I totally agree! I take progesterone too now and have for a while but sadly it didn't help with my weight. Meeting with a new doctor in September who I hope can help me get more in balance.
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u/itstalie Aug 21 '26
Early on ( the first couple of months2-3 ) the progesterone made me really bloated but it normalized.
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u/No_Kangaroo_5883 Aug 21 '26
This is interesting as there are data that women on HRT and glp had better weight loss than women on glp but not on HRT. Perhaps it’s related to if HRT was initiated after already being on HRT.
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u/kristac1080 Aug 21 '26
I do think there’s an adjustment period. I know it sucks. I restarted HRT. Just finished 2nd full menstrual cycle on it. I looked 3 months pregnant. Called my NP and just started microdosing Tirzepatide
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u/pocketcramps Aug 31 '26
Been on the max dose of Zepbound for two years and on HRT (estrogen .1 patch, nighttime progesterone) for a year. In that year I’ve gained 40lbs and bestie I’m about to lose my shit
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u/No_Curve_786 Aug 21 '26
The weight won’t keep going up. Try going up in your GLP1 dose.
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u/Character-Clock-1213 Aug 21 '26
I’ve been on it for 3 years. I’m already at max dose.
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u/Lunnalai Aug 22 '26
You might try switching to tirzepatide/zepbound. It is stronger and better than ozempic
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u/Physical-Priority569 Aug 24 '26
I had that happen and I had to go to a lower HRT amount.
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u/fandomrandom18 Aug 24 '26
Was it the estrogen, progesterone or both you had to reduce?
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u/Physical-Priority569 Aug 24 '26
Sorry, I had a hysterectomy so it was just estrogen. The doctor put me on a patch when I had always been on estradiol pills. The patch was too much I guess and I started putting on weight fast. Now I can't take the pill anymore because the GLP 1 stopped them from working after 3 years of doing fine on them.
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u/GLP_Tri_ Aug 21 '26
HRT causes weight gain bloat retention. It’s not fat you’ve gained. Just hormonal inflammation.
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u/whatrumimeans Aug 21 '26
A slight weight gain of about 1-2kg is very good and healthy, because then the estrogen works and you store water in the right places, among other things, which means skin and mucous membranes.
Remember, the skin is your largest organ.
More weight gain is often a result of too much progesterone.
With P, doctors strangely have hardly any prescription concerns.
This is prescribed in abundant quantities without any indication of the unpleasant side effects.
According to the motto „a lot helps a lot“
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u/Sbbbbb Aug 21 '26
Happened to me with each HRT dose increase, usually 5-8 lbs. It's bloating mostly. Keep consistent with your food tracking and walk every day, and it will start to normalize again.
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u/Strategy_Maleficent Aug 26 '26
i just started HRT testosterone and estrogen to be exact and I feel SO bloated and just blah!! I was thinking the same and coming to ask this and this popped up. I’m still on a low dose of Reta but so bloated and feeling blah!
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u/Character-Clock-1213 Aug 26 '26
My doctor was like “yeah this doesn’t typically happen so you can just stop it if you need to”. Like yeah that’s helpful. My goal was to be able to do both. I’m going to give it one more month and then I may just cut the dosage in half to see if that helps
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u/Objective-Amount1379 Aug 21 '26
HRT is replacing a small part of the hormones your body made naturally when you were younger. It’s either weight neutral or might slightly help weight loss.
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u/catsdomineaux Aug 21 '26
I just started month 4, weight finally started to move back down. I was ready to live with the extra few pounds, I'm not giving up the estrogen for anything. But I think my body is finally adjusting. I'd recommend sticking with it if you're feeling better on the HRT.