What’s It Like to Take Estradiol for Menopause Symptoms?
Key takeaways:
If you’re experiencing symptoms of menopause, such as hot flashes, your provider might prescribe estradiol as a hormone supplement.
Estradiol works by replacing the natural estrogen in your body.
Here’s how 3 women describe what it’s like to take estradiol to ease their menopause symptoms.
Menopause is a process that happens as we age. It marks the end of the menstrual cycle, when the ovaries stop releasing eggs. Most people experience menopause naturally between ages 40 and 58. It can also occur earlier in life as a result of an illness or surgery.
Menopause is marked by a significant decrease in the levels of estrogen and progesterone in the body, which can lead to symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, and mood swings.
Providers prescribe estradiol — also sold under the brand names Climara, Divigel, Estrace, Vagifem, and Vivelle-Dot — to treat menopause symptoms. It works by replacing the natural estrogen in the body. It’s also thought to prevent bone loss and improve overall bone health. Here’s how three women describe their experiences taking it.
Estradiol reduced her hot flashes and mood swings
Kimberley Hayden began experiencing perimenopause symptoms several years ago.
Sometimes her hot flashes and insomnia would be so bad that she’d turn her air conditioner down to 60 degrees at night to cool off. Kimberley — who’s 52 and lives in Jacksonville Beach, Florida — says she has also experienced mood swings, anxiety, and depression.
Her hot flashes and insomnia were bothersome enough that she went to the doctor to do something about them.
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She first consulted a functional medicine specialist (someone who takes an alternative approach to traditional medicine), then two different gynecologists. After having her hormone levels tested, Kimberley says these healthcare providers recommended she take progesterone to balance her hormones. After additional blood tests, however, they suggested that she should take estradiol instead.
Kimberley started with a low dose that came in a patch, which she wore on her shoulder. At first, she says, it was itchy and uncomfortable. After conferring with friends who also took estradiol in patch form, she placed it on her stomach. That was more comfortable and stayed in place even when she showered.
Within a couple of weeks, she says, her hot flashes disappeared. Within three months, Kimberley noticed a huge difference in her symptoms.
Though she still sometimes experiences issues with her sleep, she’s glad her providers recommended estradiol.
“Nobody tells you about this stuff,” she says. “You're hot, you're cold, and it was miserable.”
Now, she says, she has some relief.
A thumbs-up on estradiol: ‘It’s so amazing’
Tiffany Yelverton, who’s 49 and lives in Long Beach, California, realized she was going through perimenopause — the first phase of menopause — after hearing a speaker at an event discuss common symptoms.
She decided to go to her provider and ask about estradiol to see if it would help. Her doctor prescribed it, and Tiffany says it has made a big difference.
Before taking estradiol, Tiffany says, she experienced night sweats, hot flashes, and a foggy brain. She also had insomnia, which was causing extreme exhaustion throughout the entire day.
“I couldn’t get to sleep. Or if I did get to sleep, I would wake up every couple hours,” she says.
After 2 weeks of taking estradiol, Tiffany says, she was able to sleep and began to feel like herself again.
In the years since Tiffany first started taking estradiol, her hormone levels have changed. This has sometimes caused issues like breakthrough bleeding. Her provider put her on a higher dose of estradiol and recommended she start taking progesterone as well.
“I just think that everybody should do it [take estradiol], because it’s so amazing,” she says. “I’ve seen so many of my friends suffer through menopause. And you don’t have to suffer.”
Estradiol prevented weekly hormonal migraines
After Sharlie Jefferson had a hysterectomy, in 2022, her surgeon suggested she start taking estradiol.
Sharlie, who’s 31 and lives in St. Louis, had a history of endometriosis. Because of this condition, tissue that normally grows inside the uterus grew elsewhere in her body, which resulted in her having the hysterectomy to treat frozen pelvis. She had also been diagnosed with osteopenia (weak bones), and her surgeon mentioned that estradiol might improve her bone health.
Sharli started taking estradiol the day after her hysterectomy surgery. She uses a patch, which she changes twice a week. Since being on the medication, she hasn’t noticed any side effects.
Once, when she went a week or two without taking it, she says, she started getting hot flashes and night sweats, and she had hormonal migraines every other day. Once she restarted the patch, her symptoms disappeared.
Though she still gets hot flashes and hormone-related migraines occasionally, it’s infrequent.
Now, after a year of taking estradiol, Sharli says she likes “being able to just put the patch on and then just go about life for a few days and not have to think about it or worry that I missed it. It's really easy. And it’s just part of my routine.”
What does the doctor say?
Patricia Pinto-Garcia, MD, MPH
Medical Editor
Menopause is a major life event. And, as with any major life event, everyone’s experience is going to be unique. Studies show that 1 in 4 people who have been through menopause say they never experienced any symptoms. On the flip side, 1 in 4 people experience severe symptoms during menopause. No matter what your experience of menopause is like, don’t assume that you just have to bear your symptoms without help, even if they are “expected” and “normal.” After all, menopause is completely normal. But that doesn’t mean it’s always pleasant.
How you choose to navigate menopause depends on your goals and your overall health. Menopausal hormone therapy — formerly known as hormone replacement therapy — can reduce or even eliminate your menopause symptoms. If your symptoms don’t interfere with your day-to-day life and you’d rather not try any treatment, that’s OK. If you want to explore complementary therapies along with hormone therapy, that’s OK, too. But, if you want to try hormone therapy, be sure to ask your healthcare provider or ob-gyn about it.
There’s been a lot of turbulence around hormone replacement over the past two decades, but hormone therapy may be safe for you. What kind of hormone therapy to use and how long you should use it will depend on your individual situation. Like the stories above show, hormone therapy might make menopause a much more manageable life experience.
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