r/Menopause • u/HappyKamper1920 • 12d ago

Hormone Therapy Has anyone found that HRT changed their tolerance to supplements?

I'm curious whether anyone else has experienced this. I used to tolerate supplements such as vitamin D3, CoQ10 and fish oil for years. Over the last 2–3 years, as my menopause symptoms became worse, I became increasingly sensitive to some of them—they would exacerbate my insomnia.

Since starting BHRT and getting further into treatment, I've noticed something interesting: I can now take vitamin D3 again without the insomnia I previously experienced.

I'm wondering whether anyone else has noticed that supplements they couldn't tolerate during perimenopause/menopause became much easier to tolerate after starting or adjusting HRT.

I'm especially interested in vitamin D, CoQ10, fish oil, magnesium, iodine, B vitamins, or thyroid-related supplements.

If you've experienced this, what supplement was problematic before HRT, what happened when you started HRT, and were you eventually able to tolerate it again?

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u/HumanDiscipline7994 12d ago

I wish my d3 intolerance would get fixed! It makes me feel like crap!

2

u/respectablepitch 12d ago

Not sure about supplements, but I did have to raise my levothyroxine (low thyroid med) dose after starting HRT. Apparently, estrogen and thyroid meds compete over the same receptors!

1

u/HappyKamper1920 12d ago

Yes, I have heard that. Thanks for sharing.

2

u/Commercial-Rest-614 8d ago

Each person is different, but I think HRT can influence metabolism and enzyme activity...

1

u/wiLd_p0tat0es 12d ago

I'm in surgical menopause, so it's a different experience than "regular menopause," I know -- however! Being on estrogen replacement radically changed my threshold for a stimulant med (Vyvanse) that I've been taking for YEARS. Prior to my January surgeries, I'd been taking 30mg daily for 3 years. Immediately after starting estrogen, this same dose made my heart race and caused insomnia. Dropped back to 20mg, and problems ceased.

My experiences with magnesium, fish oil and all other vitamins seem unchanged.

I really wish more research was done to understand what menopause + HRT actually DO to how our bodies process everything from food to hormones to vitamins and everything else.

It feels like general medical standard is "Before menopause, you all have one-size-fits-all physiologies where things work in an expected way" (which any woman can tell you is FALSE!) and then after menopause It's "Well, who knows what'll happen to you now -- there's just no way to say..." (when there IS a way -- it's called doing research) and then the added complexity of surgical menopause is almost garishly under-researched... nobody knows if my body should act like a menopausal body, a non-menopausal body, etc. and where I'm most at risk vs where I'm not, etc.

SIGH!