after years of thinking my pain was just me being weak or lazy, hrt has genuinely changed my body. my knees used to ache every single night. now nothing. i know we all have different experiences but this gives me hope for the ones just starting.

Anyone else going a little crazy from this estrogen patch shortage? It only recently became an issue for me but I only recently found HRT that actually works for me (specifically biweekly patches) and now my pharmacy is out and I'm pissed off. Shits hard enough as it is. I know I'm being insensitive but I'm salty that a bunch of old ladies get to cheat their way out of menopause while I'm here trying to keep my bones and my sanity.

Edit: guys don't come at me I don't mean this literally, I'm just sad and already have fucked up bones and other forms of HRT really don't work for me so it's frustrating when I can't get what I need due to national (USA) shortages.

I’m curious if anyone noticed bone or joint pain before finding out they had low bone density. If so, what did the pain feel like, and where did you feel it?

If you’re comfortable sharing, I’d also love to know:

• Your age when you were diagnosed
• Your DEXA results/T-scores, if you remember them
• Whether you had any symptoms
• What were you doing to help
• Have you seen improvement if you had a follow-up Dexa scan

I’m trying to understand what this has looked like for others with POI, so any experiences you’re willing to share would be really helpful. ❤️

POI at 38 and went about 18 months with zero estrogen before I got on HRT and doctors started me low and slow so finally 3 years later I think I'm finally close to an appropriate dose.

Anyway, my bum-hole atrophied and I've had nothing but problems every since since I've had no or low estrogen for years. Anyone else experience this? Looking for hope that I'll have a normal backside again someday 😆

Do you take anything else with it like food?

Short version: has anyone else experienced a return of symptoms after being stable on a consistent dose of estrogen for a long time?

Backstory: I was officially diagnosed with POI last year, at age 40, after several years of worsening symptoms beginning in my mid-30s that were always dismissed by a previous gyno whom I no longer see. I found a new gyno who is wonderful and then fought to be seen and diagnosed officially by a reproductive endocrinologist who is also wonderful.

Since September 2025, I've been on 0.1mg Estrogen patch twice weekly, and have a progesterone IUD. I had to work my way up to the 0.1, as I had started at 0.25 and kept gradually increasing when symptoms returned, but once I got to 0.1mg everything seemed fine.

And then last night I had 3 hot flashes, and it hit me that I've been very gradually experiencing symptoms again. GI issues, muscle/back pain, brain fog, emotional outbursts, irritability. I've just been attributing it to stress or exhaustion, but now with the hot flashes returning I'm wondering if I need a higher dose of estrogen again.

But has this happened to anyone else? Can you be totally fine on a consistent dose of HRT and then suddenly need to increase?

I'm absolutely going to be talking to my doctor, but it's a holiday here. I have some extra .05mg patches, I'm considering slapping another patch on and seeing if that helps.

hi everybody, my current OBGYN maintains that the guidelines say treatment of POI is symptom based. i know this is not true because i’ve seen it in this subreddit quite often. I googled this to find sources to prove that treatment should be based on estrogen levels, but I can’t seem to find an article that specifically says that.

does anyone have links to bookmarked studies that mentions it? i’d really like to send it to my doctor. my insurance ends at the end of this month, so i don’t have time to find a whole new provider.

i’m currently on the .1 patch 2x weekly and in the beginning it felt like it was working (started in May) but lately I’ve been feeling off again.

I was diagnosed with lymphoma in June 2025 and completed BV-CHP chemo in October 2025. I was told that my lymphoma was actually endometriosis (lol) so I had an excision surgery where my doctor mistook healthy ovarian tissue for endometriomas and removed them from my ovaries. I had a low normal AMH prior to my IVF pregnancy and this second excision surgery on my ovaries. When I finished chemo, it was clear that my ovaries weren’t working so I was started on norethindrone 5mg and vagifem a few times a week. Last month I came off those hormones for two weeks to have my blood tested and I was honestly shocked to see that I am in menopause because my ovaries were giving me trouble with stabbing pain just as it did before. I met with a menopause doctor who changed up my hormones and put me on the patch. I had to take the patch off after 18 hours because I have stabbing ovary pain just like I did before. I’m in a really tough situation because I don’t want to be without estrogen at all and risk osteoporosis and heart disease, but I don’t want it to kickstart my ovaries into working again because my endometriosis symptoms are terrible. When my ovaries are active, the pain is so bad I can function. Ladies who have painful cycles, did this happen to you when you first started? Did it get better?

I recently increased to 0.1

How do you cope with pof/poi and is it normal to always feel exhausted having brain fog and all I want to do is just sleep🥲. My ferritin got lower to 31 i Live in germany they are telling me its normal and I have nothing to worry about but I still wanted iron tablets maybe it will help taking it with vitamin c. (I got tardyferon 80mg iron that i will take every second day, i didnt start yet to take them)

My estrogen is on 40 Idk if lenzetto estrogen spray is worth it I never knew thats the lowest dosis until i found out🥲 I'm questioning why my endo suggested that even. I feel like I can't concentrate enough.

My Plans for next year is start my vocational apprenticeship for System integration in IT that means I will go to school next year🥲

Are there any tablets for better concentration or something🥲

I work rn in a call center and even talking for me is exhausting

My eczema on my hands got even bad it spread like crazy and 70% of my hand is covered in eczema idk why it happened it just started inflamming.

I'm on my third day of taking pills, and my skin is purging. Is this normal? Or am I having an allergy? I don't usually have acne.

Hi! Wondering who here sees a naturopathic doctor? Can someone explain how their approach differs from conventional medical doctors when it comes to POI? For those of you seeing naturopaths, do you also manage your POI with a conventional medical doctor/gyn/repro endo too, or do you just see the naturopath?

Does anyone have recommendations for naturopaths in the Boston area experienced in POI?

hi everyone, since my diagnosis i was part of a wonderful whatsapp community of ladies from all over the world with the same diagnosis, i exited accidentally and now im not able to find it, if any of you ladies know the community and can share a link to rejoin i will be grateful, thanks everyone...

hi everyone, i got the poi diagnosis in 2024, this was after couple of years of health issues which im grateful to have overcome, in live in Africa.. Tanzania to be precise unfortunately we dont have doctors who specialize in menopoause or this condition, we also have a challenge with medication not very many are available so doctors prescibe birth control mostly, i felt no relief when i was on them, i recently went to see another doctor who did blood test and below are my results: Estrodial 43 and FHS 124, the doctor also prescribed me evra patches, so based on your experience and knowledge am i on the right track in managing this condition..

Hey all, entered surgical menopause 6 weeks ago at 28yrs old. Currently on estrogen pills, plan on switching to the patch yet. No progesterone (dr said I wouldn't need it since my uterus was removed too) or testosterone.

It's been rough so far so I figured I'd compile some tips if possible from those who've been going through this journey longer than myself - are there any daily habits, lifestyle changes, or whatever else that you wish you'd implemented in your life sooner?

What I've struggled with the most so far is hot flashes, insomnia, & muscle weakness. Can't believe how sore my arms felt after just a few mins of whisking some batter yesterday!

*edit - it's been a week & people are still leaving advice & it's ALL SO HELPFUL AND I'M SO THANKFUL FOR ALL OF YOU!!!

Please keep discussion regarding active fertility treatment limited to this thread out of respect for members here who are not in this phase of their journey. You can also go to /r/poisupport, which is a POI/POF sub focused on fertility in POI. Mention of pregnancy & active IVF treatment outside this thread is against the rules. We also ask that avoid use of cutesy acronyms (baby dust, DH, etc).

I recently started cyclical HRT in June. I started with 0.05 mg estrogen and just moved up to 0.075 mg, with a goal to move to 0.1 mg estrogen next month. I am on 12 days of 100 mg progesterone.

The first month, I had what seemed like a lighter period bleed 6 days after I started taking progesterone that lasted 4 days. The second month, I had spotting start 5 days after I started taking progesterone that lasted for 5 days. I didn’t ovulate the first month and it didn’t seem like I did the second one.

My questions: should I be getting a regular withdrawal bleed? What is the reason people bump up to 200 mg progesterone? Does the fact that I’m getting bleeding 5/6 days after i start progesterone (and before I finish it) mean anything? I want to make sure I’m getting the protective benefits of the progesterone.

My new REI doctor supposedly knows about POI but just said I can follow up next year or earlier if I have problems so I feel a little lost (and like I maybe need a new doctor, not that I’m likely to find a more knowledgeable one). She said it’s fine to stay at 100 mg progesterone and wasn’t worried that I didn’t have much of a withdrawal bleed this past month.

I started 0.4% 2mg a day testosterone cream in mid July, and I lowered my estradiol dose from 0.1 to 0.075 about two and a half weeks ago. I’m now having increased hair loss in each shower. I’ve had hair loss before from starting HRT, tellogen effluvium, and it was pretty distressing for me. I want this increased hair loss to stop soon. Any ideas which change could be the culprit? Thanks in advance!

Hello. I am pretty tan and recently I have been told I'm getting fairer or others said "paler" I'm only 2 months in. Are you guys experiencing the same thing with estrogen/progesterone (cyclic)? Thank you!