Will HRT worsen my RLS

[Oscarsaurus]

I am going through the menopause but lately my mood swings are progressively becoming worse. I can hear myself shouting at my poor partner who is brilliant by the way but doesnt deserve my abuse. I am thinking of visiting my gp to consider options but have heard that an increase in oestrogen can worsen my RLS so do i just suffer and my poor partner .

RLS controls my life and it frustrates me that we have to consider our condition before ourselves. I always turn to this site for advice , even before visiting my gp as he listens to me before he prescribes me anything. He knows i will research before considering what i take. Thank you to you all on here

[Pam34]

Hi

I don’t know about HRT worsening your RLS but I can confirm the menopause certainly worsened mine. And since I’m now through it it hasn’t got any better!

Probably not what you want to hear but I wondered if anyone else had found the same?

Pam

[ssmlady56 in reply to Pam34]

I certainly have found the same. I'm now 63 and it is getting worse by the day. My father improved as he got older, but that's not my experience.

[LanaCSR in reply to Pam34]

Same with me! I always wondered if menopause caused it.

[Lapsedrunner]

I haven’t had any adverse effects and a recent tweak of my HRT adding testosterone I think has helped my quality of sleep a little (I’m also on 200mg gabapentin at night)

Please go and see your GP, don’t suffer unnecessarily.

[Oscarsaurus in reply to Lapsedrunner]

Thank you for your advice , i will visit my gp

[Parminter]

It should improve it, so go ahead!

The extreme spike in oestrogen just prior to birthing a baby makes it (briefly) worse in the RLS of pregnancy, but that is not the same thing.

[Joolsg]

I was on HRT for 16 years and it didn’t make any difference to my RLS. I had to stop 18 months ago ( they stopped making the only combination that worked for me) so I have been experiencing hot flushes, night sweats etc but I haven’t noticed any change in my RLS. So my experience has been it didn’t make a difference on or off HRT.

Go for it- I would definitely still be on it if I could find the right combination.

[Oscarsaurus in reply to Joolsg]

Thanks that is a massive help . I have the night sweats and wake up looking like i was dragged through a hedge and the worst hair do you could imagine. However its the mood swings that are the worst and suddenly feeling low for no reason so your comments mean alot. Gp visit tomorrow , thanks again

[Joolsg in reply to Oscarsaurus]

Lawd yes- the Worzel Gummidge hair. Good luck!

[Mum007]

I have been on hrt for several years and have had no problems apart from really sore breasts. Sage extract (not tablets) really helped my night sweats before that but I had other problems it didn’t help. However I took low dose testosterone for a week and had to come off as my legs and arms went bezerk.

[Oscarsaurus in reply to Mum007]

Thank you i tried to make an appointment this morning but the gp i see is fully booked all day so i will try again tomorrow and fingers crossed. My gp is good and knows i go on this site for advice so if something is a no no then he suggests another drug or method.

[Hidden]

I can not speak specifically the female side of HRT, but I take testosterone for my "andropause" and I have not noticed a difference one way or another in my RLS.

[erinjee]

hey! I’m sorry for the struggle Oscarsaurus. I’ve been on HRT for over a decade. I had a full hysterectomy 14ish years ago and have been trying to find the right cocktail for years. Ultimately pellets have been the best option but I’m still on and off with topical estrogen. I have not ever noticed better or worse RLS on or off of the hormones. Now I take buprenorphine for the suck but even prior I never noticed a difference. I have heard from many that the HRT should be avoided for those of us with RLS but it’s never a one size fits all right? I also think that quality of life matters with all of this. There are so many other things that are touched by our hormones, do what you need to do to take care of yourself. I think most of us have made peace(ish) with the idea that the RLS isn’t going away, the goal then is to manage it right? So it may just be that you have to keep working on the soothe for RLS after you get the hormones worked out. But you get to pick what works for you! Keep trying all the things until you find your answers.