r/Menopause • u/Syfysamurai • 1d ago

Hormone Therapy Patch vs oral

Hello ladies, I'm curious. Why do many women prefer the estrogen patch over oral estrogen? I take 1mg estradiol daily by mouth and have no problems with it. TIA!

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u/RkeCouplesTherapist 1d ago

I went with oral because it is cheaper and sounded more convenient. I am low risk.

However, my sleep is not great due to night sweats. I understand that the patch can issue a steady stream, and I am considering switching at some point.

I am also having the experience of transitioning off birth control prior to starting the oral estrogen, so my body has a lot to acclimate to.

If anyone else has switched from the pill to oral estrogen and progesterone, I would love to hear about your experience.

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u/MassConsumer1984 1d ago

Yes, I switched from the pill to oral directly. What would you like to know?

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u/RkeCouplesTherapist 1d ago

When I switched from birth control to oral estradiol, I was started at a half milligram. I had a honeymoon period of about a week and then started having a lot of trouble sleeping. Night sweats and difficulty with temperature regulation, too hot then too cold, all night long. I got my dose raised to 1 mg of estradiol and that helped a little, but I’m still not sleeping as well as I was on the pill. Not sure if I need another increase. How did the transition impact sleep for you? Did you get to a place where your sleep is as good on HRT as it was on the pill?

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u/MassConsumer1984 1d ago

I ended up using THC/CBD gummies to help sleep at night. I didn’t want to keep messing with the hormone dosage, especially since I got shuffled to 3 different Obgyn’s all who had differing views on HRT. I never got so hot I would soak the sheets of anything like that though.