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[EleanorB]

Hi,

I am getting to my wit's end with my appetite on hrt. It's definitely the hrt, started when I started with it, and is familiar from previous drugs i've had to take for migraine that caused increased appetite. I am nearly 2 yrs into menopause, 50 and on oestrogen only hrt currently due to migraine fears with progesterone. I am getting regular uterine scans to check all ok. I am slim and want to stay that way, but staving off the incessant hunger is a nightmare. Often eating makes it worse as it just seems to fire my stomach up more. Before hrt I had a small appetite.

I tried oestrogel, couldn't tolerate it, caused chronic fatigue style tiredness,  femseven caused violent depression, evorel 50 is the best yet and although no miracle fix has dealt with the terrible loss of confidence and anxiety/depression and helped with brainfog. can't  face changing due to how bad the others were, and terrified my prior meno symptoms may return, but my unquenchable appetite is making me want to weep.

I am on a very low dose, half a patch, my gynae is happy for me to try increasing (I have to go slow due to chronic migraine) might that help do you think? Has anything helped anyone with this?

[CLKD]

I know that steroids can cause intense hunger in humans and animals.  So maybe it is the hormone? Ladies crave during pregnancy 

[Hurdity]

Not sure I've come across this - especially not for oestrogen. Maybe try ways to feel full without gaining weight - lots of slow release foods, fruit and veg and very little sugar, fat or pure carbs? More exercise? Alter the timing of what you eat? Fill up with low calorie snacks?

I can imagine you would have to be careful if increasing the oestrogen withut having any progesterone but if you are under a gynae and s/he is giving you regular scans then hopefully this will be OK. Increased appetite would not be a reason to increase dose though - only if the lower dose is not helping your symptoms? Have you had blood tests to rule out other causes for your incessant hunger? What do you eat in an average day?

Hurdity x

[EleanorB]

Thanks for your replies.

My diet is pretty decent, try to eat healthily 80 percent of the time, veg, salad, brown bread, protein etc...although along with the hunger is a craving for sweet things. At the moment i'm Limiting that to one sweet thing a day. That may have to go.

Had a lot of blood tests over last 2 years due to all the meno symptoms, nothing stood out to suggest hunger. Weird. I presumed due to people mentioning weight gain with meno that crazy hunger would be a thing. The only thing I can think is that I used to be starving prior to a period. My meno symptoms have increased again recently and the hunger has got worse alongside that, hot flushes seem to be back with a vengeance, amongst other things, so  going to marginally increase hrt dose, see if that helps.

Any idea what could cause an insatiable appetite if it isn't meno? Any conditions this is a symptom of?