Recently, after taking hormone replacement for a number of years, I went off them to see if it would impact some blood levels that looked wonky to my doctor. Not only did it NOT impact those levels, but it also made me literally crazy with hot flashes that were out of control, depression, mood swings, and breakouts. I was a mess.
Recently, I returned to my hormone replacements and feel so much better.
For me, taking synthetic hormones was not an option. Without compounded hormone replacement therapy I would suffer. As medicines go, this has been a Godsend. I guess I don't understand why the FDA would want to limit this possibility to MILLIONS of women who don't want to put a synthetic substance in our bodies and prefer a hormone pre-made for us specifically.