I agree that this is a high dose to start with and especially as you are 59. In fact when women start HRT at age 60 or beyond the British Menopause Society advise that transdermal HRT is preferred (patch or gel). If you stay on this dose for too long and your body acclimatises then you may well experience a resumption of hot flushes should you try to reduce the dose in future. Often docs will start women on the lowest dose - and increase if necessary until the lowest effective dose is reached. Yes 3 months is the usual time but maybe not in your case - unless the doc had a particular reason to start you on 2 mg? Also women vary enormously in how much oestrogen they absorb - but does sound like it is working ( on the vasomotor symptoms) in your case.
(Yes Lil22 - the progestogen is included as it is a continuous combined HRT tablet).
The other reason for your symptoms could be due to the progestogen which is a synthetic one called norethisterone. This can cause continuous low-grade non-specific side effects in some women when taken continuously - such as low mood (sometimes headaches) and progestogens also have a sedative effect. To some extent they seem to counteract the beneficial effect of oestrogen in some women.
Personally I would suggest a patch HRT would be better and gentler at your age. However you still have the issue of continuous progestogens. The only alternative to this is to have a bleed (and us a cyclical HRT preparation) - which most women do not want at this age (although there are a few of us weird women on here who do!).
How long is it since your last period?
Anyway do let us know how you get on.
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Hurdity x