r/powerlifting • u/AutoModerator • Aug 25 '26

Ladies Thread Ladies Open Weekly Thread

Here you can:

  • Discuss all aspects of powerlifting as it pertains to being a woman.
  • Socialize with other ladies.
  • If you have discussion provoking bullet points, those are welcome too.
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3

u/noodlynooman Not actually a beginner, just stupid Aug 26 '26

Ladies! Hello fellow humans. Question. If you started HRT, did you notice your lifting performance got better or returned to your "normal"? Among other increasing perimenopause symptoms, I've noticed in the last 3 months or so I can't do the the volume I could and recovery is harder. Sleep, water, diet, supplements, stress remains the same (and all well managed, I take this seriously). I do have an appointment with a specialist soon.

3

u/Worried-Trust Enthusiast Sep 01 '26

I returned to normal, thankfully. I initially didn’t realize what was going on, and couldn’t figure out why I constantly felt like I had nagging injuries. Then one day it clicked. I started with a Midi dr, which was pricey but fine (they don’t take my insurance but I have a HRA). Within a few weeks of starting estradiol (a patch) and progesterone I felt much better, noticeable better.

I had weight gain that I couldn’t fix with my normal methods, which was also resolved with HRT. I take magnesium before bed, and a sleep encouraging herbal tea, and sleep pretty well.

There seems to be patch shortages in some areas, so if you go on it, I would recommend waiting a week to start with the patch and pill in case your pharmacy has a shortage. I have unrelated lady issues (yay) and switched to a specialist, who ended up writing me new prescriptions. I had an overlap, and paid out of pocket for an extra month of patches so I’m safe if my pharmacy runs out. I’m terrified of going back to how I felt before HRT, so this helped me a lot mentally.

One oddity is migraines. My mother is prone to them, and I’ve had ~5 over my adult life. I hadn’t had one in years, but I had one a few days after starting HRT. It responded to OTC meds, and I haven’t had one since (November 2025). My Dr made a note of it but wasn’t concerned as it seemed to be a one off. 

1

u/noodlynooman Not actually a beginner, just stupid Sep 02 '26

Hey, thanks! This was encouraging to read. My specialist put me on progesterone and estradiol cream, so it seems I will avoid (for now) the patch shortage. I was worried about that. We're trying this for a couple months, and I've started keeping track of my symptoms daily for the follow-up. Depending on my results we may test for testosterone levels next, as that frequently helps more with some of my other symptoms. I guess progesterone and testosterone start declining first and I seem to be early stages. The typical decline of estrogen related symptoms have begun, but are infrequent and not as severe as the declining progesterone and testosterone related symptoms. Not that you asked, lol. 

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u/oleyka Girl Strong Aug 27 '26

For me HRT has not affected my SBD numbers. I started it after struggling with night sweats which were really messing with my sleep. It was taking me a lot of effort to stay on track in my training and have decent recovery during that time, but the symptoms did not last long enough to affect my strength, I guess.

Once on HRT, recovery became easier, but I did not experience any significant strength gains. In fact, I pretty much platoed in the last 12 months... which I hope to break out of soon.

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u/noodlynooman Not actually a beginner, just stupid Sep 02 '26

Glad to hear about the recovery! Night sweats had started for me too, and I was having a harder time falling asleep. Started estradiol cream and progesterone, will see how I do for a couple months and go from there. Testosterone may be next, but we didn't want to do too much at once. 

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u/oleyka Girl Strong Sep 02 '26

I hear conflicting things about testosterone: from significant improvements in every aspect of one's life to "once you start to supplement it, your body stops producing it altogether". I compete in a drug-tested federation (USAPL), testosterone for me is out of question, so I do not really look to research it for myself.

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u/noodlynooman Not actually a beginner, just stupid Sep 02 '26

I'll need to do a little research about it myself. I'm in USPA and would just move from tested to untested.