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[Bungo]

Just curious. Am 51, late in perimenopause(symptoms started when was 46). I'm taking cerazette so can't be sure am post menopause(no regular periods for years), however my symptoms come and go so am assuming I still have hormonal fluctuations and therefore am still peri. Anyway, I've noticed my weight drops by 3lbs every few months,it's gradually drops over a week and then starts to climb back again. At these times, my tummy isnt bloated( other times I look 8 months pregnant!). My joints at these times are a bit achy and I feel a bit jittery/very high energy.  Ive arranged to meet with a menopause specialist in a few months to start my get journey and am concerned now that the oestrogen will cause persistent bloating and water retention. I feel alot better( bar the joint aches) during these periods of non bloating . Anyone else notice similar  pattern. I'd love to have an at home kit so could measure.my hormones every day, Its no annoying not being able to know for sure what's causing a particular symptom.

[CLKD]

Hormone levels alter every day all day throughout our life-span.  Usually they keep each other 'level' ......... peri causes waxing and waning of periods due to a drop in oestrogen.

My Gynae won't do hormonal blood tests, he works on symptoms.  I may have asked,  - do U keep a mood/food/symptom diary to chart progress?  A lack of oestrogen can cause aches and pains.

Is it water retention? 

[Bungo]

It's definitely water weight as I track what I eat and eat much the same foods every day. It can only be water weight as it comes on and off in the space of a week or 2. This has happened a few times this year. I've heard some women get bloating and weight gain when start hrt so Im wondering if from increase in oestrogen  as then I'd ask Meno specialist for minimum oestrogen dose.I'm really only planning on starting hrt for bone density ( have severe osteopenia). My progesterone levels must be pretty steady so can't be due to that (progesterone doesn't rise and fall as oestrogen does in peri but slowly drops?).

[Wrensong]

I suspect you are still in perimenopause as same happened to me during peri years though I wasn't on BCP/HRT so a bit easier for me to work out what was going on.  During long anovulatory stretches of unopposed oestrogen when I went many weeks & later months between periods, I would retain lots of fluid, feeling uncomfortable, bloated & sluggish.  Then in the 10-14 days before a period however long the cycle had been, I'd suddenly start passing huge volumes of water, feel way too hot & hyper, exhausted, with insomnia ramping up off the scale.  In those 2 weeks I'd lose 7-8lbs, which was alarming as already underweight.  Unlike you I didn't feel better then & came to dread that phase of my cycles. 

It's documented that progesterone has diuretic effects, so I think prog kicking in at ovulation was the cause of those symptoms for me & wonder whether you could be feeling the combined effects of some residual ovarian function & those of your Cerazette POP?  Decades since I took the pill & I had to Google Cerazette which I see is atypical for a POP, so please don't take this interpretation as any more than suggestion.  Hopefully someone with greater knowledge about Cerazette will be along soon.

Certainly for me, oestrogen causes fluid retention & progesterone counters that - I'm on cyclical HRT so it's easy for me to see that in action.  I would talk to your menopause specialist about your concerns so that together you can come up with an appropriate plan of action.

[Wrensong]

We discussed sex hormones' influence on fluid balance on another thread recently where I posted these links & extracts you may be interested in.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4245250/
"Progesterone has both systemic and local effects. At the systemic level, progesterone increases diuresis through activation of the renin-angiotensin system"

https://www.drstephaniegoodwin.co.uk/blog/post/the-menopause-and-bloating
"Firstly oestrogen has an effect on water retention, indeed this is the reason many women experience a higher level of water retention coming up to their period. Unfortunately when oestrogen levels become erratic during perimenopause and menopause water retention is often a consequence.
Oestrogen also influences the production of bile and this acts as a lubricant in the intestines. When this process becomes less efficient fats are less thoroughly digested and bloating can occur.
Increased oestrogen levels lead to the adrenal glands producing aldosterone which effects the kidney function so that there is a water/salt imbalance leading to feelings of bloating and retention of water.
Finally progesterone usually acts as a natural diuretic which helps to relieve excess fluids from the body. If oestrogen levels become much higher than progesterone this will again lead to bloating and retention of water."