Premarin and Hot Flashes: What Users Say

• dev...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• January 14, 2015

For Postmenopausal Symptoms "Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) - I took Prempro for two years after becoming menopausal at age 40. When it stopped working a year ago, I was changed to a daily combination of Premarin 1.25 and medroxyprogesterone 2.5. Without HRT, I experience irritability and irrational rage, hot flashes, and a non-existent sex drive. The current HRT, which includes Premarin, works very well for me. It is frustrating how difficult it is for a woman in her 40s to be taken seriously by the medical community for complaints of low libido. (Consider Viagra, etc., for men.) Every year, my doctors suggest I give up this medication therapy that increases my quality of life by 100%. I'm 43, and so far, I'm winning, but I expect that I will have to keep fighting."

• Anonymous
• July 5, 2011

For Postmenopausal Symptoms "I had surgery in 1995 and the other half in 2004. I have been taking Premarin since then. I am now going through a divorce. Because of depression, I stopped taking my medicines. NEVER AGAIN. The past two months have been hell without my Premarin. Not sleeping because of night sweats, hot flashes all day and just feeling like I have no energy. I have started back for 6 days now and can already feel the difference. I will never stop taking Premarin again."

• Boz...
• May 6, 2010

For Postmenopausal Symptoms "I had a hysterectomy in 1998. I had a horrible 2 years prior with night sweats, mood swings (huge swings), irritability. Then after my hysterectomy, I started taking Premarin 1.25. I have been on it ever since. For me, it is a lifetime therapy that, quite honestly, I cannot be without. I forgot to take them once for 2 weeks. I went into such a rage and cried until I realized I had forgotten to get it filled. NEVER AGAIN. In my 50s, my hot flashes no longer exist, my mood is even most of the time, and I enjoy the physical side of a relationship more than I did when I was younger."

• ove...
• October 13, 2017

For Postmenopausal Symptoms "So I just started this yesterday and wonder, I am feeling a little bit worked up (sexually charged). Has anyone else experienced this? My main concern was dryness. I had a hysterectomy 11 years ago and was taking Estradiol. I didn't really feel anything different, I would still get the hot flashes mostly during the day. But BOY oh BOY, today definitely increased libido! Just looking to see if this is normal?"

• ann...
• August 24, 2016

For Postmenopausal Symptoms "I have taken Premarin in the 1.25 strength for over 40 years. It has not stopped the hot flashes and night sweats, but it reduces them by at least 50%. I do not have osteoporosis (my mother and all of my aunts did) and my bone density is better than most women half my age, a lot of which I attribute to the Premarin. I have never taken Prempro or any progestin product, just the Premarin alone. I tried the half strength and was miserable with all-day hot flashes, so overheated that I looked like I had a sunburn with heat rash and nasty skin breakouts. I changed doctors and now back to the 1.25 strength. My only complaint is that a product like this, which has been on the market for over 50 years, I do not understand why there is no generic as it is very expensive."

• cur...
• September 19, 2009

For Postmenopausal Symptoms "I had a hysterectomy in 1998 and was on Premarin 0.0625 for many years. Then the doctor decided not good to prescribe anymore. I was so very miserable! If I have to live like that, I don't want to. It was terrible. No doctor knows your body like you do! And just for the record, one of my sisters is 73 years old and still has terrible hot flashes! Sometimes it looks as if she just stepped out of the shower! My mother was the same way! I am not willing to live like that! There are pros and cons to everything!"

• Mag...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 24, 2017

For Postmenopausal Symptoms "I am 57 years old. My sister-in-law mentioned that she took Premarin for 5 years with no side effects. I was intrigued; I had never heard of this medication. I went to my doctor and asked for Premarin; she prescribed me 0.3 mg. Wow, amazing results! No side effects. I just finished my 30-day supply, went back to my doctor, and asked for a little higher dosage because I was still having hot flashes and vaginal dryness, so she prescribed another 30 days at 0.45. Of course, my doctor does not recommend this medication because of all the possible side effects, especially heart attack. I told her to let me try and see how I feel. Now I will have one more month at 0.45 mg; I will see what the results are. I will keep everyone posted."

• hap...
• August 28, 2011

For Oophorectomy "Had oophorectomy 8 years ago. On the second week, I started to have terrible hot flashes, couldn't sleep anymore. The doctor started me on all you can name before trying Premarin. Since taking Premarin, I got my life back. Several times, the doctor tried to decrease the dose and wean it off completely. I went into deep depression, crying all the time, and back to the nightmare again. Thanks to Premarin, I feel like a normal human being again. As a floor nurse on a cardiac floor, I have talked to several ladies in their seventies still taking Premarin daily. My actual dose for years has been 0.65 mg daily."

• jas...
• December 31, 2008

For Oophorectomy "I have been taking Premarin for (the better part of) 25 years. Due to insurance changes through this time, I've been directed to use other estrogens. I will emphatically state that there is NO substitute for Premarin. The others gave me breakthrough hot flashes and PMS. With all of the plumbing gone, these were not acceptable being 32 years old. Premarin every day has kept me at a steady keel with no wavering in mood or temperament."

• Jam...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• January 12, 2025

For Oophorectomy "I began menstruating at age 14, suffered severe PMS 2 weeks per month, and had severe pain for several days during each period. Age 30, miserable most days, uterus and ovaries removed. Given Premarin & told to never go off. PMS and pain gone forever! Dose gradually reduced & I’m doing fine. 80, taking the lowest dose, .3 mg. Through the years, I tried to go off of Premarin several times & suffered severe hot flashes, fatigue, PMS, and depression. Without Premarin, I do not have a life worth living because I’m sick almost every day & can’t function. I know taking Premarin may cause cancer. Tell your doctor to please give you good information about the cancer risks and a choice to keep taking it or not. I choose to not be sick all of the time vs. the tiny chance of cancer. In my opinion, physicians who refuse to prescribe Premarin under certain circumstances are not listening or don’t care enough. I’ll always choose a physician who can hear & help me."

• Meg...
• February 14, 2020

For Oophorectomy "I took Premarin from the day after my hysterectomy at age 45 until a year ago at age 76. It was trouble-free for me. My doctor finally insisted on changing me from the low-dose pill to the cream. Anyway, my bone density tests show my bones to be 30 years younger than I am, my hair is thick, my skin is 20 years younger than I am, I have never had hot flashes or anything one would think I'd have had. I wish I was still taking it. But I didn't know about the horses/mares."

• For...
• August 19, 2017

For Osteoporosis "My doctor retired, and his replacement stopped five of my drugs (all now prescribed by specialists). However, Premarin was stopped for one and a half months. Two weeks later, forty hot flashes a day began. I felt like I was going to die. Finally, an endocrinologist re-prescribed Premarin but only half the dose I had taken for thirty-two years (since forty). Hot flashes are still outrageous. All my sisters have osteoporosis, but not me (I took HRT). In the time it was stopped, I lost weight, lost one inch in height, about twenty percent of my hair, and I'm so tempted to order it online without a prescription so I can take the other half of my regular dose. Desperate people do desperate things."

• Bos...
• March 31, 2020

For Postmenopausal Symptoms "My third month using Premarin 0.625 g due to unbearable hot flashes, vaginal dryness, sleep disturbances, and night sweats. I had a hysterectomy about a year ago. Since taking Premarin, both hot flashes and night sweats have lessened. Now my biggest challenge is persistent and enlarging painful breasts. Am due to discuss this feedback with my gynecologist."

• Mid...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• July 18, 2016

For Primary Ovarian Failure "I've been on Premarin for over 20 years. When I started, I had side effects of bloating and constipation. Over time, those resolved. I don't know why I'm still having hot flashes 20+ years after menopause. Now I take .625 every other day due to the expense. That works. If I try to cut back to every third day, the hot flashes return in a short time."

• Kst...
• April 25, 2016

For Postmenopausal Symptoms "I was prescribed Premarin 1.25 right after a total hysterectomy 11-1983. This was to help avoid, at age 32, hot flashes, dryness in skin and hair, and protect my bones. Personal dryness. I took it for 20 yrs. Then, when the doctors thought I was having a heart attack in 4-2004, they took me off of it cold turkey. In 2-2009, I was found to have stage 1.5 breast cancer. The cancer doctor told me it was from taking Premarin for 20 yrs. Should only have been prescribed no more than 7 yrs. The cancer was caused by extra hormones. Extra hormones were driving my endometriosis, which was the cause of removing everything in 1983. My cancer doctor said, with my family background, I was lucky never to have had a major heart attack."

• mis...
• December 12, 2015

For Postmenopausal Symptoms "I have been taking Premarin a little over a month, and my hair is starting to fall out. I am having stomach issues now, including odd bloating, and I still have hot flashes every day. I used to take Enjuvia, and it was the best thing ever, but it is no longer being manufactured or distributed. I can't seem to tolerate anything else. Does anyone know of something better? I take the highest dose of this without causing the high risk for breast cancer. I wish this stuff would work for me :("

• Ter...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• May 4, 2020

For Oophorectomy "I had a complete hysterectomy when I was 46 yrs. old. Went on Premarin tablets immediately. On the advice of my physician, I have tried several times to wean off. Unfortunately, side effects were terrible, so I always went back on until now. I’m now 74 years old. I started weaning off a few weeks ago and am now totally off. Other than a lot of hot flashes for the first week (not bad) and now just a few here and there, I’m doing great. I don’t think it helped my bones, as I have osteoporosis and am taking Risedronate for that."

• njb...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 16, 2017

For Atrophic Vaginitis "I was given this to help with vaginal atrophy that resulted in painful UTI-like symptoms and painful sex. By the third week, I got limited relief from those symptoms, but had debilitating dizziness and horrible hot flashes. This stuff took me from having had a handful of hot flashes in my entire life to 5 or 6 a night. Not taking it anymore."