122. What to Expect When You Start Hormone Replacement Therapy

Starting hormone replacement therapy can feel both exciting and overwhelming. What should you expect? How do you find the right provider? Which delivery method is best? And how long does it take before you actually start feeling better?

In this episode of Perimenopause Simplified, Claudia Petrilli walks you through what the HRT journey can look like, from finding a hormone-savvy provider to understanding different delivery methods and the importance of starting low and going slow.

Claudia discusses why simply finding someone who can prescribe HRT isn't always enough, what questions to ask when interviewing a provider, and why finding the right dose and combination of hormones can take some patience and fine-tuning.

She also breaks down progesterone, estrogen, testosterone, DHEA, and several different delivery options, including patches, creams, pills, troches, injections, and pellets. Plus, she shares some of her own experiences with HRT, including the changes she noticed when starting testosterone and the difference estrogen made for her period-related body aches.

If you're considering HRT or have already started and aren't sure what to expect, this episode will help you better understand the process and feel more prepared to advocate for yourself.

In this episode, we covered:

How to find an HRT provider Different deliveries of hormone replacement therapy Why hormone injections and pellets are not recommended Side effects of hormone replacement therapy Progesterone hormone replacement therapy Estrogen hormone replacement therapy Testosterone & DHEA hormone replacement therapy

Sources:

Women's International Pharmacy

Institute of Bioidentical Medicine (IOBIM)-trained providers

The Academy for Preventive and Innovative Medicine (Worldlink Medical)

Institute for Functional Medicine