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[vintagefiend]

Hello,

I'm post menopausal- aged 49- HRT used for 1.5/2 years

I had hysterectomy plus removal ovaries Nov 2020 (due to inability to tolerate progestogens- ovaries removed just because!!)

I had my 75mcg estradot patch increased to 100mcg 2 days ago due to lethargy, mood, dyspepsia, all slightly vague but I thought could be attributable to low oestrogen

The other, more tangible issue, is no libido- nothing there at all.

When i was on estrogel i did have some libido- waxed and waned but definitely *something* there. I went on to estradot because of feeling lethargic and thought i'd try something else! (also much easier to use, of course, but that's not a deal-breaker)

Is it likely that whatever testosterone before ovary removal has taken a few months to fully peter out and it's unlikely to be that estradot is worse than estrogel re sex drive?

right now i feel really shabby, weepy, bad dreams and dry mouth which i tend to think happen to me with too much oestrogen, but it's usually accompanied by an incease in libido!
i've only just increased and is it common to feel a bit crappy before new level settles in? is this what others have found?

maybe i should just try tesosterone and forget about jiggling oestrogen prescriptions!

it's all slightly muddied by the fact that i'm also coming off an anti-depressant which has been bloody hard (and i'm still on 10mg prozac) but i've decreased very, very slowly! and if anything i'd expect libido to reappear, not disappear as i go to lower amounts of prozac.

argh! just feel like i've been here so many times- never really got to grips with hrt- finally had womb removed so don't need prog and i'm not where i thought i'd be

me and partner have had some sort of virus recently that's lingered so that hasn't helped either but i wouldn't think it's resposible for zero libido

thanks if you've read this- it's a bit convoluted but i sometimes you've just got to write stuff down!

[Hurdity]

Hi vntagefiend - sorry to hear about your woes.

Firstly "some sort of virus" - did you have a Covid test? There haven't been many other viruses about because we have been masked and distancing for months....although I gather people with kids/grandkids have been getting colds...whatever it is/was then you are bound to feel rough for a while.

Secondly if you are coming off Prozac then maybe best not to tinker with HRT too much else you won't know what's what but yes anti-depressants ( some) are known to depress libido.

Re testosterone. Well when I had mine prescribed I was told it could take a few months (up to 4-5) to fully take effect so conversely it could take the same amount of time for the effects (which are bodily not just celllular) to decline.

It may well be that the decrease in testosterone effect on libido is outweighing any increase from decreasing the Prozac but I would suggest you may not be able to tell unless you are completely withdrawn from it (though that's not based on any evidence that I know of!).

But all things being equal - testosterone is the magic that could be missing and worked for me even though I do have womb + ovaries (but had zero libido). Now I'm getting a bit aged I barely have any libido but I do have an excellent response which was more than fully restored ....!

Hurdity x

[vintagefiend]

Hurdity,

thank you so so much for replying- you've really digested everything i said!!
i think you're right- stop tinkering with hrt esp when recovering from virus/coming off prozac.
i've removed extra 25mcg and don't feel as shabby.
i think i do have something post viral- i have kids at high school and think i caught random virus from them- did do at-home covid test -it was negative but i might have missed a the window for testing. whatever, think i'm a bit post-viral!! (and attributing to hormones which is my knee-jerk reaction!
i get a bit reactive the moment i start to feel different- have got highly sensitised to change and tend not to let it play out.
that makes absolute sense re the testosterone- firstly that a small decrease in prozac will not have the positive impact on libido that i'd hope now that testosterone supply (such as it was) cut off!! secondly that it may have taken a few months for testosterone effects to leave me.
so good to hear that testosterone worked for you. that's the path i'm going to explore- have name of private consultant who does zoom-type consultation
thank you, hurdity- i feel much better today