Menopausal women: does HRT cause weight gain? (MRI, hot flashes, lose weight)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
As we approach middle age, our metabolism tends to slow down some and our activity levels tend to decrease, making it likely that we gain weight....Menopause occurs in this same time frame, so it's difficult to say the HRT is responsible for the weight gain. Estrogen determines where you put on the extra pounds more than how much you put on.
There is little to recommend HRT for women who undergo natural menopause except as symptomatic relief for the various annoying things that can occur-- but those tend to be tolerable by some and less tolerable to others. The problem with HRT for that is that the symptoms are essentially a "withdrawal reaction" that will eveentually go away on its own, so, unless you're willing to take the HRT for the restof your life, you're going to go theru an "artifical menopause" when you finally stop taking them anyways.
A major consideration in advising HRT is that 1 in 8 American women will develop breast cancer, and HRT may be like throwing gasoiline on a fire, so to speak. If you have a strong family history fo breast ca, best to avoid HRT....HRT may decrease the risk of osteoporiss slightly, but regular weight bearing exercise will decrease it even more, so recommending it just for that is questionable.
So you're contending that weight gain is simple the result of middle-age metabolism slowdown and the accompanying loss of muscle mass; that hormones don't play a role? I disagree with that. If hormones DO play a role, does replacing them (and I'm not sure about "it just supplements; doesn't replace, either, since it's HRT and not HST) increase or decrease weight? That is the question...
The doctor put my mom on HRT when she had a hysterectomy at age 50. He left her on them until she developed breast cancer in her 70’s. 2 doctors told me the length of time she was on caused her breast cancer. There’s no history of breast cancer in our family. I read that it should be used for the shortest time possible to deal with menopause.
The weight gain in menopause is awful. 2 years ago I got serious about my weight and lost 50lbs by eating 1600 calories a day. I have always exercised. I count my calories every day and this is working.
The doctor put my mom on HRT when she had a hysterectomy at age 50. He left her on them until she developed breast cancer in her 70’s. 2 doctors told me the length of time she was on caused her breast cancer. There’s no history of breast cancer in our family. I read that it should be used for the shortest time possible to deal with menopause.
The weight gain in menopause is awful. 2 years ago I got serious about my weight and lost 50lbs by eating 1600 calories a day. I have always exercised. I count my calories every day and this is working.
I had a complete hysterectomy at age 39. I stayed on HRT (a patch for the most part) till I was in my mid forties. I tapered off at that point, ending the HRT when I was in my late forties or maybe around aged 50. My mom had gone through menopause naturally at aged 51 so I used that as a gauge. I didn't like taking anything anyway.
AFTER (as in years afterward, like well into my fifties) I began slowly gaining weight. It has been a struggle to keep it off but I've largely done so. Still, my waist is bigger than it was when I was younger. Anyway, I just don't worry about it any longer - LOL. I am in good health and that is truly the most important thing to me. But like you, I have had to count (and limit) calories. It also is very helpful to me to WEIGH AT THE SAME TIME EVERY DAY. I know that doesn't work as well for some people, but it works for me. I mean, if I weighed every Monday only, for example, I would weigh more because Sundays are basically the only day I allow myself to eat gluten and regardless of caloric count, I always gain two or three pounds from eating gluten, which I lose over the next day or so. I hate to admit this but I can actually eat more calories (still staying under 2000) if I cut out gluten. But I go out with friends to wherever they want to eat out on Sundays and I just don't worry about it that day.
Anyway, that's my story - count calories and weigh every day and take nothing other than pretty normal supplements (multivitamin, C, Zinc, Vitamin D, calcium).
Interesting aside note regarding hormones - about a year ago, I had my hormones tested mainly because I wasn't sleeping well (though I had lost my precious husband about a year earlier and that played a part in the anxiety keeping me awake). I also just wanted to be the best I could be. And I wanted to feel and look sexy again - LOL. I was not low on testosterone. I was a bit low on estrogen (not bottomed out but a bit low) and progesterone and I just got a compounded cream to rub on my forearms once a day and VOILA! I am sleeping like a baby again.
I had a complete hysterectomy at age 39. I stayed on HRT (a patch for the most part) till I was in my mid forties. I tapered off at that point, ending the HRT when I was in my late forties or maybe around aged 50. My mom had gone through menopause naturally at aged 51 so I used that as a gauge. I didn't like taking anything anyway.
AFTER (as in years afterward, like well into my fifties) I began slowly gaining weight. It has been a struggle to keep it off but I've largely done so. Still, my waist is bigger than it was when I was younger. Anyway, I just don't worry about it any longer - LOL. I am in good health and that is truly the most important thing to me. But like you, I have had to count (and limit) calories. It also is very helpful to me to WEIGH AT THE SAME TIME EVERY DAY. I know that doesn't work as well for some people, but it works for me. I mean, if I weighed every Monday only, for example, I would weigh more because Sundays are basically the only day I allow myself to eat gluten and regardless of caloric count, I always gain two or three pounds from eating gluten, which I lose over the next day or so. I hate to admit this but I can actually eat more calories (still staying under 2000) if I cut out gluten. But I go out with friends to wherever they want to eat out on Sundays and I just don't worry about it that day.
Anyway, that's my story - count calories and weigh every day and take nothing other than pretty normal supplements (multivitamin, C, Zinc, Vitamin D, calcium).
Interesting aside note regarding hormones - about a year ago, I had my hormones tested mainly because I wasn't sleeping well (though I had lost my precious husband about a year earlier and that played a part in the anxiety keeping me awake). I also just wanted to be the best I could be. And I wanted to feel and look sexy again - LOL. I was not low on testosterone. I was a bit low on estrogen (not bottomed out but a bit low) and progesterone and I just got a compounded cream to rub on my forearms once a day and VOILA! I am sleeping like a baby again.
I'm glad you found something that works. Does that work like HRT that they're finding contributes to breast cancer?
I read something where a toddler was going through puberty. It turned out his father was on a testosterone cream that was getting on the toddlers body hours after he applied it to himself. I'd never heard that happening before. Something to keep in mind for all of us if we're around small kids while on HRT creams.
I'm not menopausal yet although at my age (53) I have definitely had some issues relating to hormones changing. As a two-time breast cancer survivor, I will never be able to take any female hormone supplements of any kind, so that is out of the question to begin with. I have always had a good metabolism and have had little difficulty maintaining the same weight, if not exactly the same shape, my entire adult life so far by remaining very active and not overeating.
The one possibly useful thing I can add to this discussion is that when we had one of our cats spayed a few months ago, the vet told us that she would hereafter need a little less food than before because she no longer needs to maintain her reproductive system. That was a bit of a lightbulb moment for me.
When you go through menopause, it's not just that your hormone levels are lower, although they are. It's not just that muscle mass begins to decline, although it does. It's also that your body is no longer having to go through the monthly process of building up the uterine lining and preparing for a possible pregnancy. That maybe takes more energy than we assume it does. Look at it that way, and when women say they gained weight after menopause although they were eating the same, it is logical. Among other factors, they just don't need that many calories any more.
I realize it's is multifaceted. My question remains: does HRT itself as an isolated factor promote weight gain or weight loss? What role does the dosage as well as quality (synthetic versus bio-identical) play? It's a medical question for medical professionals.
I don't think so, and I've been on it for about 7 years. I have gained weight, but it's mostly because I used to exercise (weights) a lot, and now my muscles have shrunk because I've gotten lazy about it, and because it happens at an accelerated rate after menopause. Muscles burn a lot of calories, and when they atrophy you need a lot less calories.
So you're contending that weight gain is simple the result of middle-age metabolism slowdown and the accompanying loss of muscle mass; that hormones don't play a role? I disagree with that.
Don't recall anyone claiming hormones don't play a role, just that they're not the only player and they don't act in isolation. Its more nuanced than that.
Last edited by Parnassia; 06-28-2022 at 02:35 PM..
I've been steadily gaining weight since I started this years ago... Logic leads me to believe that, since it replaces the hormones we lose, it would PREVENT the weight gain associated with menopause, but that hasn't been my experience. I currently take generic synthetic in pill form. Any medical types out there know the answer?
My wife gained weight when she started menopause, went close to a year trying to deal with it and had bad symptoms so the doctor put her on HRT. She gained weight after starting that even though she didn’t change her diet and number of workouts (heck if anything she works out more now). She feels super frustrated and I can’t blame her.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Don't recall anyone claiming hormones don't play a role, just that they're not the only player and they don't act in isolation. Its more nuanced than that.
